First Guitar

[sexybeast]

Let's talk about how your first guitar came out. Good bad or so so.

A luthier I met about twenty years ago told me that you'll build ten before you build one that's playable. That kept me from cuttong wood for a long time. After doing a bt of research, I see that a lot of people have built very nice instruments their first time out.

Good or bad, let's hear your story.

Me? Mine's in the "In progress" thread, and it's going pretty well, but I'm not at a stage where any real precision is required.

[Southpa]

It depends. My first guitar turned out great! Then again, I already knew how to use all the tools and how a guitar worked. It also depends on what sort of tools you have to work with. If you have access to all the big power tools like bandsaw, belt sander, drill press etc. etc. your precision is going to be much better.

[unclej]

my very first guitar was a big ole gumby looking thing made of mesquite. i bought an allparts neck, some nice dimarzio humbuckers, and schaller roller bridge and schaller locking tuners. the neck pocket was probably embarassing by the standards that i go by now but not bad.

the girlfriend of the lead guitar player in my band at the time bought it from me as as a birthday gift for him. that was five years ago. he's with another band now and i saw them recently and he's still giggin' with it so i guess it turned out to be a pretty good guitar.

[Devon Headen]

That luthier was full of crap. He probably just wanted to scare away someone who could possibly be competition down the road. My first guitar turned out great. I can honestly say it's one of the best guitars I've ever owned. Just pay attention to the details and know what you're doing. You will wind up with a playable guitar whether it's better than a POC import or not, who knows.

[ooten2]

My first guitar build was a mahogany body that I built to fit an old pawn shop guitar neck that I had laying around. The mahogany was pretty small, barely bigger than a steinberger headless type thing. It was ugly, and the control plate and jack plate were cobbled together. The pickup cavity was horribly disfigured, but the pickup and rings covered it all up.

I was in high school at the time, and using my dad's tools which consisted of a hand saw, a jig saw, a hand drill, and a couple of files. Although the guitar was butt-ugly, it was playable, and the intonation was ok. But the guitar was only as good as the pawn shop neck, which pretty much sucked. I have no idea what ever happened to it, might still be in my parents' garage.

[thedoctor]

My first build was not a guitar but it came out awful because I never considered having to play it. It was an excercise in woodwork. After playing in bands as a union callup, I tried building again (at age 17) and made probly the best, off-the-wall thing I have ever done. I was not impeded by the thought process and came up with FrankenBass. Too much knowlege CAN get in the way.

[Mickguard]

But the guitar was only as good as the pawn shop neck, which pretty much sucked.

←

Yep, I've run into that....

Since I have no experience at all working with wood, tools, etc., I'm not all that hopeful for my first build(s)...I look at them as learning experiences along the way. Since I already have three manufactured guitars, it's no big deal if it takes me a while to build a truly playable guitar.

My current project, and my first real build, is designed to be way too difficult for me...I'm making tons of mistakes, and having to find ways to correct them without abandoning the project ...but I'm learning a lot about how to go about this, how not to especially, and about my own limitations as a builder...

[Pibrocher]

My first came out pretty well.

I hit most of my bumps after finishing the guitar, during the setup phase. I had an awefull time getting the intonation right on mine, and ended up having to plug the bridge holes and re-drill them farther back. I had my Tune-O-Matic bridge saddles all the way back and i was still way sharp! Its was a mess, but i got it finally and now it stays in tune and plays like a dream.

The other mistake i made was with the finish. We put a wax on it at first but found that it didn't offer anywhere near enough protection, expecially on the neck area. Se we tried to remove all teh maxe ( which didn't go too well). Then I coated it with a polyuerethane finish. This loked much better and sealed much harder. Well two months later now i am experianceing some chippping of the finish, so it looks like i will probably end up sanding it all down again and re-finishing soon. I'm up for the practice though. Heres a link to the finished guitar pic.

Mushroom Project

[guitar_ed]

I have built some good ones and some bad ones. Only one have I actually taken apart because I refused to play it. I gave one away because it was butt ugly, but I built it as a prototype guitar, and it proved my point on the electronics. So I gave it to my 6yo nephew who loves it.

Guitar ed

[skibum5545]

My first turned out beautifully (you can see it in my sig). It was trial and error working out all the kinks, but in the end I am very happy with the results.

The main problem I had was the finish: I first tried a wax finish, and when that didn't work, I tried tung oil, which is working okay, but not great. I'm getting a little sick of having to recoat the body every month or so, so I'm just going to give it a bunch of coats of Waterlox and call it good.

Actually, besides the finish, I love that bass. It sounds great, feels great, and is currently my main gigging bass.