jamesj Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 My Brother-in-law asked me last night what would be the easiest guitar for him to build ... Tele? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncertain Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Yeah, I agree, a tele would be the easiest design. pRetty basic shape, no contouring, simple routing, all round easiest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 definitely a tele. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 I'll go one better, a tele with a top loading bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 I'll go one better, a tele with a top loading bridge. ← lol.. there you go. I will say that if you do a tele, pick up a set of templates from someone. It will make your life a whole lot easier. You can certainly make your own body template but getting the pup cavities right is a pain. You can usually buy a complete template set for about 50 bucks or less on fleabay, or if you want to make the outline yourself you can buy individual pup and cavity templates from stewmac for 5-6 bucks a pop and they are well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joej Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 My Brother-in-law asked me last night what would be the easiest guitar for him to build ... Tele? ← You'll get lots of opinions on this one (and, yes, the tele sounds like a nice/easy introduction into making a guitar) ...let me start: Simplest/easiest guitar is - flat, solid body (no carves, bevels, etc.) ... 1 or 2 piece body - single humbucker / simple wiring with only 1 volume control - standard scale length - simple hard-tail bridge From here on down, the cost start rising ... Easier? - buy the body, neck, and parts - finish the body yourself - just assemble Easier? - buy a finished body does that sound right, folks? -- joe Oh -- go buy the Hiscock book, too. Its worth it for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 ...makes you wonder why so many people on this site are so obsessed with building telecasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 the easiest guitar... Get a 2x4 and put some strings on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 a bo-diddly tis easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 If you want to make sure you won't scrap something, you should buy a neck... it would at least (almost) guarantee a guitar that plays good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesj Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 If you want to make sure you won't scrap something, you should buy a neck... it would at least (almost) guarantee a guitar that plays good... ← Thats what I was thinking, the Tele seems like the simplest design and parts are all over ebay. Templates, necks, everything. Only thing ... he keeps saying I already have a real Tele (Strat too) I told him good he has something to "compare" his first build to. Then if he likes his work enough try something more demanding. He wants to build a LP but I'm trying to get him not to waste the "nice" wood till his skills improve. I've seen some of his "furniture repair" lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28if Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 If he doesn't want to do a Tele because he already has one, why doesn't he just make up his own design, but keep it simple, using the features that some other guys have mentioned. (flat top, pickguard, etc) That's what I did for my first build. Custom design, wraparound TOM tailpiece, one vol one tone one switch, flat top, and a couple of strat pups. Sounds and looks great. Different but still easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertonessuckbutigotone Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 gibson-style flying v? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesj Posted August 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 gibson-style flying v? ← Yea........ they dont look real complicated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Yep, but they use more wood than a tele or lp. How about a Les Paul Jr. type guitar? Go with p90's and a wraparound tailpiece and you have a very simple rock/blues machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 ...makes you wonder why so many people on this site are so obsessed with building telecasters. Hmmmmmmm..... I build Teles (among lots of other styles) because nothing else in this world SOUNDS like a well-made Telecaster if it is put together properly and all the components are picked out for their particular traits, it has nothing to do at all with how hard or easy it is to build, I build guitars to play them and I'm looking for particular traits in tone and sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Everyone has a little secret he keeps Like your original post? Tele's fall into the same category as a Les Paul Jr (etc) does. It is nothing more than a plank of wood with a neck and a simple bridge that is easy to purchase and install. That is why people are so obsessed; you get quick results with Tele type guitars. Beginners like that, it is near instant gratification. From the perspective of a woodworking challenge Tele's don't offer much. Especially when you can purchase everything and simply put it together. Just building a body and screwing the rest together may produce an accurate Tele but it does nothing for your skills as a luthier. If you really want to begin building guitars then build everything. Or try Warmoth, they can help you get out of actually building it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Everyone has a little secret he keeps Like your original post? Tele's fall into the same category as a Les Paul Jr (etc) does. It is nothing more than a plank of wood with a neck and a simple bridge that is easy to purchase and install. That is why people are so obsessed; you get quick results with Tele type guitars. Beginners like that, it is near instant gratification. From the perspective of a woodworking challenge Tele's don't offer much. Especially when you can purchase everything and simply put it together. Just building a body and screwing the rest together may produce an accurate Tele but it does nothing for your skills as a luthier. If you really want to begin building guitars then build everything. Or try Warmoth, they can help you get out of actually building it. ← I'll second that, for sure. My 'staples' are carved top (and back), generally chambered set neck instruments, so I figured I'd try my hand at a strat and a tele (in part because, well, I didn't have any maple neck bolt ons with single coils, so I figured I'd build me a couple. That's a normal way of doing things, right?). They've been on hold (for various reasons) for a good while now, but basically, I'm the equivalent of 7-9 days into the actual building, and I've pretty much got two instruments I could, in a pinch, bolt together and wire in an afternoon. The necks need a bit of finish sanding work, one needs a small amount of shaping (doesn't feel quite right), but they were very, very quick and easy to build. I'll probably be making another couple of Teles (because, though I don't quite understand the hype, quite a few of my friends like 'em), and I guesstimate I could probably, now I've done it, knock out a body and have it ready for spraying in a day, maybe another day and a bit for the neck. Couple of templates, good router bits, and yer body's done. Neck building's neck building, doesn't matter overmuch if its bolted, glued or neck-through. In a sense, it's what makes or breaks a guitar; assuming a good setup, the quality of the fretting, the shape of the neck define what a guitar feels and plays like more than any other feature. This said, it's a huge amount of fun, and not that obscenely difficult to do, even if you're a beginner with little to no woodworking experience (though it helps), as long as you've got a lot of patience, a good eye, and a good hand (your sense of touch will tell you more about a neck than any amount of looking will. Anyway, given a long weekend, a Tele's a very doable project if you know what you're up to. Excluding finishing, natch, and that's a whole other can of worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaam Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 I agree with the other guys. I looked for the shape that I wanted to make as my first guitar for months and all I ended up were... tele and jr. Those actually seemed possible to build. And duh since tele is the ugliest looking guitar I can think of I'm building a jr. Should be done in a month or two... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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