JPK

I ask building a les Paul type guitar for a friend, we recently built a guitar he uses with active pick ups which he is requesting again. He already had the pick ups and wiring was just a case of putting it all in. I have found a kit for active pick ups however it's for 2 pick ups only.. he is a start player and likes his single coils, his other guitar has 2 singles and 1hummer, all active. My idea is to give him the hum bucker and the 2 single coils (placed next to each other to maintain. The twin hum bucker look of the les Paul) 3 way toggle to give him option of hum bucker, hum bucker and lowest single coil and finally the single coil in the neck position. Through observing him play I realise h has no need for a middle pick up position or option, he uses the combo of single and hum bucker for certain rhythm parts and switches between hum bucker and neck single for soloing. Wiring is not my strong point in building guitars, if I purchase the kit (which is a solder less kit) what mods can be done so that I can wire the single coils as I individual pickups, and wire the switch to get those selections.... much help needed. Diagrams would be helpful and very much appreciated. John

All well and good guys, i came for honest oppinions otherwise i wouldn't of asked. But £25 for a whole complete starter set up is absolute bollocks either way, they claimed they could sell it for 6o quid, of course they could any bugger could people would snap up that price, but doesn't mean if you price it higher somebody wont buy it. I might play with it see if this guitarist friend of mine fancies a bash at some sort of custom thing, cos he likes his strat shapes which is why i wasnt gonna change it in anyway, jus not sure if he'd like the colour....keep u all updated see what happens. JP

I have a squire strat which i really haven't played for a long time, i'm not that big of a player i just love fiddling with the things. i lost my job and need money i went to sell my whole package guitar, amp, lead, strap, bag even had the original allan keys for saddles and truss rod....heres the bitch...£25 the lot, naturally i said the F word and got the hell out. Now i still need the money, my resources are small, but i have a guitar to work with to make it better. with the whole thing being hand built a decent guitar shop will offer atleast decent money for it. the body will more or less be the same, though i probably will change the colour. as i don't know what wood any part of the guitar is, any veneers or colours i'm not really thinking about right now. i will post pictures when i get some on the PC but all i wanted to ask you all really was, what advice can you offer, is it worth doing? i do have a friend who wants a guitar built and has a very expensive humbucker he has never heard the sound of, but its whether he will pay price for guitar to, i've yet to talk to him...But all in all, guys...What can i do to make this thing Better? JP

Indeed it is damaged...i thought it was just a few scratches at first, turns out few things need filling in, i had the idea of 12 string the work i'd need to do did put me off tho, if it was easy enough i wasn going to do it, now i know not to. there is really nothing wrong with the guitar apart from slight discolouration and the small damage to the bridge, and machine heads missing and it had no strings to start with. its origins are from a previous builder who was moving workshops and the project was no longer wanted and it was recovered from a skip. my friend gave it to me cos he had no use for it...just wanted a small project for time between work cos i don't have much nowadays. With your advice i'm now gonna keep it 6 string n over the next week just make it look good, i think i can purchase and electro-acoustic unit locally so i'll keep that if i can. i can buy machine heads locally, just finding the right type. let you all know how it goes. JC

My first project i embarked on is provin hard so in mean time i have this. and i really need help. A friend of mine heard me talking bout building guitars and he said he had a guitar in his garage that wa being thrown away, i said i would look at it and see what i could do. Turns out its an acoustic, union jack paint work, no machine heads, looks like it was once wired to be electro-acoustic. now first i thought, 4get the the electro' past and cover the holes Up put machine heads on and just string it up. but then i thought 12 string. always wanted a twelve string and seen as the guitar is in fairly good condition why not. I tried removing the bridge, proving very hard, the nuts turn it gets loose and the bolts start moving as i'm trying to unscrew, bringing me my first problem. then i thought about the headstock n wondered if it was worth lengthening it just a little to allow for the other 6 strings, but the neck is attatched to the body and i don't want to damage any of it. When the bridge problem came about i thought of just drilling more holes, buyin the farules sorted, but the strings wont fit on with the design of da bridge, so heres where i need help... What can i do with it all, i will post pictures so you can see what condition its in so its easier to see whats going on. the colour of it seems to be turning Yellow, i'm hopin its just the clear coat ageing a little, so just gonna wet sand laquer agen, wet sand laquer agen n hope it turns out Ok, if not may mean a whole body strip which i don't really want to do...I'm also thinking of keepin the elcectro-acoustic if the 12 string idea works out...hope you guys can help me... Picture soon JC

Well my guitar hero is Brian May and being a big queen fan, he influenced me to both build and play guitar (although i'm really singer) The redspecial is not a through neck construction, and it is made of blockboard with mahogany veneer and has a solid oak core. I intend on building a Red Special replica at some point aswel. JP

well the guitar its self is a custom design, its not a tele-style or strat style, its something i just came Up with. Its going to be a neck through, hollow guitar. Just want something with decent sustain, and a neck through i've never tried before so i decided on that method. quilted maple i want only for the top, body wise maybe mahogany, same for the neck to maybe, and oak fingerboard perhaps. I'm going to have to go to the timber Yard and see what they do have, those are the woods i'm after, but if push comes to shove i'll just take what i can get. Pickups i want humbuckers, not sure which ones, theres going to be 2 switches for each pickup, and on/off and and an out of phase (these will be slide switches rather than toggles) 1 volume n tone for each pickup to. so not a great deal of modification needed for the electronics. I'm also thinking of doing a custom tremolo system, using a roller bridge rather than a locking system. Still thinking about whether to tackle that though. JP

I know Maple wont be cheap, i know that, but i want a good finish n the look of quitled maple i love so thats why i am willing to go that extra mile for that. Believe me i want to dig deep, i would spend like hell on wood if it was sum great stuff, but i have a car to buy and a drivin test to pay for, bills to pay flights to pay for also...all with what the boss requires adequite for me. In other words he's near enough paying me Jack, i'm only just surviving on it. My first job so i should of expected much. Thanks for all your help though its appreciated. I have Yet to go to my local timber Yard there just around the corner, and they are the opposite of cheap, but if i can get off cuts, doubt they will need them so they might be kind to me cheers JP

Hey guys wonder if you cant point me in a few directions, i live in wigan and area in the northwest of england for those who dont know, and have looked around for wood that good value for money and good quality, so far to no avail, i'm also finding quilted maple extremely hard to find. It needs to be relatively cheap, where as my new project has no real budget i do have other things to pay for and buy, so i gotta keep as much money as i can. I've read a few threads on here where come people have bought good pieces of wood for under £20, that i can handle. Well i hope you can give me a few directions guys JP

What does it matter how old you are mate, woodwork runs in my family so i have some sort of confidence in embarking on mad things like guitar building, this is way to good a guitar to just be a school project, when finished i think this should be guitar of the month for the sheer fact you have so much. Not only have you got great craftwork and attention to detail, but the pickup mods aswel. amazing mate. How far are you along now. Keen to seen the finished product. JP

This Is one AMAZING project, to think i was worried about embarking on a hollow neck through guitar with quilted maple top makes me feel abit embarassed. I'm 17, this guy is 14 and doing a wonderful job. I envy you, keep up the good work. JP

Cheers guys that helped alot. Have to try some of that. Pmarlin tht guitar looks well sweet, i aint really into pink guitars but that i would be seen with, for some mad reason. thanks alot guys.

No i am not charging for this, this is for a relative and i am paying for it. I could finish the other guitar but the friend i was building it with said he wanted it and he would buy everything for it and...he hasn't so if theres no bridge, pick ups, strings machine heads, any electricals at all...how can i go any further, all i have is 2 pieces of wood, 1 shaped like a guitar body, the other like a neck. This guitar i am taking my time with cos its for sumbody else, whether there paying or not, when i built the other 1 my friend was rushing ahead, i was trying to concentrate on the neck and getting tht perfect while he just buggered off n did the body. so the body had alot of modifications for the neck to fit because HE didnt know what he was doing. Wood work and Electricals run in my family, anything we can build, we'll build it so its not like i know nothing. And i've been researching building a guitar for over 7 years before i even put pen to paper to design one, and saw to wood to build one. all i wanted was sum advice thats all. JP P.S Crazy Man, i have seen that thread and have read it and it is now safely saved on my laptop ready for printing and going into my plans. thanks for that.

Hey there, i'm planning on building a neck through hollow guitar and staining it pink, whether this sort of stain is available i don't know. The reason i was the stain is because the person i am building it for wants the grain to show through, but wants it to be pink (yes it is a girl) can you guys help me out here, can it be done, if it can how, and is a pink stain available? JP

The Names John, but cakl me JP i dnt mind, glad so many people are as fanatic about all this stuff as i am. I Need some help though, my first guitar isnt finished because the guy who's guitar it is, isn't paying for the parts so i'vestopped building it, now i'm onto this new guitar for a relative. I need to know all about neck through guitars and how ther made, there used to bea page on projectguitar.com but it doesnt seem be there no more, and also mesaure meants for nickel plate humbuckers, with rings of course...that way i can add to my plans. I have drawn full size plans for everything already, just certain measurements need, i'm takin exra care with this one. Hope anyone can help Thanks alot guys, keep buildin keep playin JP