Anyone ever build their own guitar?

Doctor J

Has anyone here ever made the leap and made their own instrument? It's something that I've planned to do for a while but never got around to doing. The most I've done is turn two perfectly normal fretted basses into one abnormal (but nice) fretless bass. Sort of like carving a spoon out of a larger spoon?

Creamy Goodness

i havn't but this is a good site for the materials needed.

www.warmoth.com

Doctor J

Nah, I mean making rather than assembling

feylya

I've a mate who did it for his leaving cert and I'm dying to make one.

Doctor J

I was think of trying something stupid like a 6-string fretless bass... not something that looks like a Fender or a typical instrument, something more bizarre...



Anyone know a good place to get wood(ie- not Atlantic or Woodies )?

feylya

Mmm, ambitious you are with your strange body shapes.

As for exotic wood suppliers, I can't think of one off the top of my head. My dad told me about a place in Dublin but I just can't think of it at the moment. Check the Golden pages for timber merchants. What woods are you thinking of using and what neck construction?

Doctor J

Early days, my friend, early days. I figure I should aim high so failure isn't such a blow

At the moment I'm thinking of mahogany for the body, possibly a maple neck (nech through perhaps) and if I can get it, ebony for the fretboard and I'd probably make the bridge and nut out of ebony.

Of course, the pickups will be passive Seymour Duncans

feylya

Passive? Bah! Word of advice: before you even touch mahogany or maple, go to Woodies or Atlantic and get a BIG sheet of MDF or plywood. Chop it up into shape, lamentate them to get the right thickness and make a guitar from that. Not as crazy as I look!

Doctor J

and I was also considering, and this might be the stupidest bit of all, making the treble side 34" scale and gradually moving to a 35-36" bass side, using an exaggerated angle on the bridge and the nut - ie

\

---

/
\

---

/
\

---

/
\

---

/
\

---

/
\

---

/


Stupide?

feylya

For your first guitar? Extremely stupid tbh. If you were going to do that, then your intonation would be WAY out so you'd have to put in angled frets. You don't want to have to do that!

Doctor J

Ahhhhh, but it's fretless. :cool: Frets are for wimps and posers. That's why it might work. Then again...

Gettin my jazz chops together Daddio

feylya

Mmmm, fretless eh? Personally, I wouldn't do it on my first custom. Then again, I couldn't play a fretless to save my life so....

There is a book that is like the bible in guitar making circles. You should probably have a look at it before you buy woods and tools.

Doctor J

Nice one. I'll have to give that a once over. Ta

feylya

No worries. When you're finished with it, I may take it off your hands, turn a Harley Benton into a guitar

Doctor J

Here's my guide on how to turn a Harley Benton into a real guitar, you might want to write this down


1. Don't buy a Harley Benton.
2. Take the money you were going to spend on a Harley Benton and add it to some more money.
3. Buy a real guitar

feylya

Ah, where's the fun in that?

Here's my guide.
1) Buy €200 Harley Benton
2) Cut in half
3) Glue long piece of maple between body halves
4) Shape neck
5) Respray

Congratulations, you know have your own 7 string neck through guitar for about €300.

Giblet

If you haven't done anything like this, it is going to be impossible. You need the tools, the time, and the know-how.

It's not simpley carving wood, and sticking frets on it. You have to choose the right wood, with the right tensile strenght, and you have to drill holes in it which will damage the whole make up of the wood ( think truss rod)

I'd look up a few (hundred) books first before even planning this.

Doctor J

I'm aware of the difficulties, but hey, if you don't try you can't fail

feylya

Do it! YAY! And takes photos as you go

sound_wave

have a bud who did this for his leaving cert, made a dog shape with teeth and all. pretty class. it doesnt hold its tuning very well though but i suppose that could be sorted. said the hardest part was shaping the neck.