the_dude1829 Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 hi im new to this site and i decided to join to get help with a guitar im planning to build. my name is dave and im 17 and from ireland. being from ireland has its good points, but not when it comes to gyuitars. i live 60 miles away from the nearest shop, and that shop cant help me get what im looking for. what i want is a mosrite ventures II, as played by Johnny Ramone of the Ramones. I have found them on the net, but cosidering im 17, and still in school, i cant afford the 2500+euros to buy one. so i decided i would make one instead. I have been studying up on the guitar to see how hard would be. It looks pretty easy and relativley inexpensive. I figured out that it would cost about 400euros, and thats allowing a lot of money for each part. But if it comes to it, i would be willing to spend around 500. I have pretty good setup. My dad is a carpenter, so i have access to his advice 24/7, and access to his workshop, which has every tool i need, you know the usual bandsaws, jigsaws, routers, drill press, spraying and finishing equipment, sanders..etc. I myself have an A in junior cert woodwork, and a B in metalwork(which included electronics and plastic working), i worked with my father doing various woodwork tasks for three years, and i have now branched off into doing my own work refinishing, repairing and in some cases, making antiques. So dont take me for some punk kid who thinks he can just magically make a guitar in his bedroom. I have the equipment, i have the knowledge, i have the money and i have the time. But what i dont have is the measurments. What im looking for is the scale length, the thickness, the measurments for the outline of the guitar, and the outline of the pickguard. I would also like to know the where i could get a schematic for the electronics, i might do it differently than johnnys (disconnected mini humbucker, with permanantly on single coil always at full volume and tone), but if i could get a copy of them it would be great to start. Ill more than likely have both the minihumbucker and the single coil connected, but with a strat style selector switch so i can change between, cause im not gonna pay 95 euros for a humbucker that doesnt even work. I also have a plan fo the paint job, black body, with a pink pickguard and various pictures and decals around the body. i have the tools to do the paint and the pictures, but i dont know where i can get any pink plastic. I cant just buy a pickguard because it needs to be custom to the body im building. So any leads on that would be handy. I do have some clear perspex, which if it comes down to it i can just shape, buff up, and paint pink on the back of it. So anybody who has built a guitar in this style, or knows where i can get any info regarding the size, could you please pass it on. Im talkng anything her, even if it is the smallest thing like the thickness of the guitar or the space between the pickups. Any info would be great. Also any useful tips on how to do stuff would be very helpful. Thank you in advance Dave"the dude" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 hi im new to this site and i decided to join to get help with a guitar im planning to build. my name is dave and im 17 and from ireland. being from ireland has its good points, but not when it comes to gyuitars. i live 60 miles away from the nearest shop, and that shop cant help me get what im looking for. what i want is a mosrite ventures II, as played by Johnny Ramone of the Ramones. I have found them on the net, but cosidering im 17, and still in school, i cant afford the 2500+euros to buy one. so i decided i would make one instead. I have been studying up on the guitar to see how hard would be. It looks pretty easy and relativley inexpensive. I figured out that it would cost about 400euros, and thats allowing a lot of money for each part. But if it comes to it, i would be willing to spend around 500. I have pretty good setup. My dad is a carpenter, so i have access to his advice 24/7, and access to his workshop, which has every tool i need, you know the usual bandsaws, jigsaws, routers, drill press, spraying and finishing equipment, sanders..etc. I myself have an A in junior cert woodwork, and a B in metalwork(which included electronics and plastic working), i worked with my father doing various woodwork tasks for three years, and i have now branched off into doing my own work refinishing, repairing and in some cases, making antiques. So dont take me for some punk kid who thinks he can just magically make a guitar in his bedroom. I have the equipment, i have the knowledge, i have the money and i have the time. But what i dont have is the measurments. What im looking for is the scale length, the thickness, the measurments for the outline of the guitar, and the outline of the pickguard. I would also like to know the where i could get a schematic for the electronics, i might do it differently than johnnys (disconnected mini humbucker, with permanantly on single coil always at full volume and tone), but if i could get a copy of them it would be great to start. Ill more than likely have both the minihumbucker and the single coil connected, but with a strat style selector switch so i can change between, cause im not gonna pay 95 euros for a humbucker that doesnt even work. I also have a plan fo the paint job, black body, with a pink pickguard and various pictures and decals around the body. i have the tools to do the paint and the pictures, but i dont know where i can get any pink plastic. I cant just buy a pickguard because it needs to be custom to the body im building. So any leads on that would be handy. I do have some clear perspex, which if it comes down to it i can just shape, buff up, and paint pink on the back of it. So anybody who has built a guitar in this style, or knows where i can get any info regarding the size, could you please pass it on. Im talkng anything her, even if it is the smallest thing like the thickness of the guitar or the space between the pickups. Any info would be great. Also any useful tips on how to do stuff would be very helpful. Thank you in advance Dave"the dude" ← Maybe try the below ebay auction for the template? Does this help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 my god i love you, ill have to wait to get this though, but thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 my god i love you, ill have to wait to get this though, but thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks ← The guys who make those templates post on this site also. I suggest you browse the forum and the main site and you will soon figure out how to make your guitar, there is TONS of info here! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcamp67 Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Good luck on the build Dave. Be sure to post some pics in progress. Sounds like you have your head on straight, just do a mock-up first so you don't mess up your 'good wood'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Yay, now i cant get it. it only ships within the united states.See what i mean by th drawbacks of being irish. i have a lot of pictures of this guitar, so i think i can make a proportioned template. ill print a picture out, as large as possible, and then i can try make a bigger template so that it is the size of a stratacaster, the guitar i play right now. that should be a comfortable size, and going by the pictures i have of johnny ramone playing both of these guitars, it will be about the right size. but will this work, if i try make an enlarged picture of the guitar. i can try do it myself, or i can get a bit of help from my friend, he does technical drawing, so he has done stuff like that before, plus he is a huge ramones fan as well so he shouldnt have a problem with it. my dad might know how to do it as well. but will it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Don't remember where I read it, but it seems like Semie Moseley once said he took a Strat, flipped it over and traced it, and that was the beginning of that body style. It's worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 i dont know what wood im going to use though. i have an abundance of steamed beech. my dad says it should make a good guitar, and he will make the block out of planks, so that it wont warp. he says that through the years he has become an expert at that and can make as big a block as i want, with out any visibe lines, or faults in the stablity of the wood, so that isnt a problem. the wood itself weighs a tonne, and the grain is very close together, plus it is a few years old and is steamed so it is dryervthan most woods that are readily avaiable to me. is it true that the heavier a, dryer, and closer the grain makes for good tone. ive heard that on a few sites. but if its not, i know a place where i can import basswood. i dont think it would make make much difference, but i have to consider cost, so i mightent have a choice. well i do, i could afford the real thing, but im just a bit of a scrooge once price gets past a hundred euros. i havent designed the decals yet. im thinking about doing an rip ramones thing, with too tough to die written some where, and of course a romones eagle logo. but i wont get designing them until i have the body built i cant get a pic up yet, i dont know how, but ill figure out and get something up, and yeah that thing about the strat upside doen sounds cool, but i dont know, the body seem sa bit differnt than just that. anyway, ill keep posting with my progress. thabks guys, and remember, any little thing is useful to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 You can get your template from here: http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/ Im pretty sure they ship international. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 (edited) that company dont have the mosrite up yet but it doesnt matter, that guy is right, flip a strat over and you have a mosrite, i was sceptical at first, but its the exact same thing. so thanks whoever that guywas. you solved my problem. now i wont have to pay a lot for a piece of plywood to be shiped over from america. thanks but onto the next problem. colour scheme, i havent decided yet. im either gonna so the classic black plate on white body, like johnny and dee dee had on thier guitars. or my own colour scheem. i want this to be a tribute to the ramones. they are the greatest band to ever walk the face of the earth. im sitting here right now, in a pair of tight jeans, black and white converse shoes, and a ramones t shirt, listening to sheena is a punk rocker. so the next logical step is to carry the tribute on to my guitars. so ive chosen the standard ramones colours of black and pink. im either going to have a black body with a pink plate, or a pink body with a black plate. it will have the ramones written somwher in block capitals, the way it is on the tshirts and the albums. then the little eagle logo somewhere, and possibly a graffiti style picture of the band. but which coluor scheme should i go for. white and black would be easieist, but then thats just the same as everyone elses mosrite(for the lucky SOBS that have them). so then onto the tribute ones. pink on black would look cool, but i dont have a clue were to get pink plastic for the plate. so that leaves me with black on pink. i can easily get black plastic, and pink paint. so im thinking of doing it that way. plus it would be fairly eyecatching. when people see that, the are going to know its a custom guitar, and that there is not one other person in the world who has one. but i dont know, what do you guys think. this is OUR guitar now, you will help me design it and build it, but i will play hit, lol also, could anybody who is a ramones fan or is interested in this guitar bookmark the page, cause you all have useful advice, so i would love to keep hearing from you. if i get this done, ill make it into make either an article about it, or a site so you can do them too. ill learn from my mistakes(if you guys help i wont have any), and make as good an explanation on how to build your own. just like every other page on this thing, but do a search on the net for a mosrite progect page. i found one, and it was for a slightly different model, and only showed the basic stuff. ill make a good one so it can be done easily Edited November 1, 2005 by the_dude1829 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Yay, now i cant get it. it only ships within the united states. ← Not true, he just wants you to email him for international shipping rates. Read the ad again. I think you'll have no problem with this build, considering your own experience and your dad's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 ^^^thanks, but i dont need it, ill just flip over the strat and trace it onto a piece of plywood, then just get the block of wood im using and put it on that and make a jig so that i can route it out, either that or run it through the bandsaw, but i think thats broken so, router it is. im now having a problem with the neck. i can get a neck easy, but i cant get one of those necks. i dont want to make one either, cause i dont no anything about trussrods or fretboards. but i want that shape that he has. so what i need is a bolt on neck with a blank head, that i could shape myself, if its possible to get them anywhere, i looked at stewmac, but they didnt have one. they have neck blanks, but i want one with a prefitted fretboard. also does any body know how many frets the mosrite had. im guessing its about the dame as a strat, cause thats probobaly the neck ill end up using. but if any ody has any alternatives that would be great. and yeah the project should be a breze, but thats if i can get my dad to get off his ass and clean out his workshop.he has tools thrown every where. now this is nowher near a professional workshop. its better. he has all his own self built tools that cost some eigits a few thousand to buy, that cost him nothing. he has everything down there. the oplace is made up of a two small rooms that have benn joined together, the back of a lorry, and two "temporary" wooden sheds that have been up for 3 years. but hes been runnng a successful buisness out of it since i was a kid, so i guess it will work. plus there is people in the same oplace who do other construction work, so i have access to a metal workshop as well, if i need it. i know how to use that stuff from school as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Look around for an old Univox Hi Flyer...they're pretty much exact copies of the Mosrites...I have the Hi Flyer bass (my first guitar!), the neck is excellent, and it's bolt on...they got a little pricier after the Nirvana thing, but they still can be had pretty cheap. The Univox headstock gives you that same Bart Simpson haircut thing. But it should be easy enough to convert most any 3x3 headstock to a Mosrite. The Mosrite isn't exactly a reversed strat though...but that could end up looking pretty cool too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Here ya go. http://www.myrareguitars.com/hiflyerramones.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I had one of the Eastwood Sidejacks for a while, when I was just getting back into playing guitar...it was an okay guitar, but nothing to shout home about...and it was way too heavy for me, so I sold it on (the current owner is very pleased with it though). For the same price you can get a 'real' Univox copy of a Mosrite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 that guitar looks cool, and im sure sounds cool, but its wrong, its not what i want, and i would rather have something that i can say i built. look at it this you, all you guys build guitars. welll imagine your friend just buys the same type. so you are sitting there with your les pauls or strats or whatever you got, that look, play and feel the exact same. some guy comes alomg and says, "hey, cool guitars dudes". who do you think is going to take the comment better. the guy who paid a few thousand for it, or the guy that spent a few thousand hours in thier garage building it. thats why i want to make one. i sorted out the neck problem, it was something i totally overlooked. let me tell the story. so i had just got paid, and was going into the town, thats sixty miles away, to look for guitars. i wasnt planning on buying, becuase all i had on me was 120euros. before i could go looking in the guitar shops i took my brotther into a toyshop. i let him off on his own, and made my way to the video game section. on my way don one of the aisles i spotted a pile of guitars and drums and stuff, and thought to myself, "what junk are they trying to pawn off on kids this time". so over i went planning to make a quick detour, then back to the games. i looked and saw i modified strat copy and thought, ''how original". then i took a closer look, nice look, nice neck, nice red and orange sunburst, nice accessories. i was getting interested. i looked at the price. 90euro. then i ripped open one of the boxes, mad sure no one was looking though. i saw a buetifal litle guitar staring back at me. i was torn. save my money and buy something else, or just get this and have a bit of fun. i wasnt excpecting much, but thought, "hey i can do something with this, experiment, smash, whatever. so i grabbed one and headed off. dont worry , i got my brother too, i didnt just leave him. so off i went. got home a few hours later and plugged it in. i was amazed. it felt great, sounded great, looked great. it was perfect. so i got my sisters squier(that she cant play) i compared the two. they were the exact same thing, but looked different. the squier costs 200, the toyshop guitar was 90. best impulse buy ever. i use this as my main guitar. so what ive decided to do is buy another one. take it apart and use some of the pieces. and the pices i dont use, like the body, bridge and pickups, i will have for use another time. the neck is for a strat, bolt on style, but the head will have to be modified.but ill just take off the tuners, plug the holes, add two peices of wood on either side(reiniforced with steel dowels) te shape the head, and add in the tuners, then refinish everything and bolt it onto the new body. so for 90 euros i can get a neck, tuners, controls, strap locks and jack plus left over i will have a strat body(that i can use for a template), a tremelo arm, bridge and 3 single coil pickups. now thats i bargain. but remember, any pictures of anything, or sites that could help woud be great. also ideas fo the colour scheme as well. and of course any other useful tips or tricks. im gettingthe stuff tomorow, and i can get wood soon as well(pun not intended, lol) im going to use ash i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I had one of the Eastwood Sidejacks for a while, when I was just getting back into playing guitar...it was an okay guitar, but nothing to shout home about...and it was way too heavy for me, so I sold it on (the current owner is very pleased with it though). For the same price you can get a 'real' Univox copy of a Mosrite ← Enh. There's a full-length front pic he could use for template-fashioning-type activity or just reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Enh. There's a full-length front pic he could use for template-fashioning-type activity or just reference. ← Well, if he scratches me the right way, I'll just ship him a tracing of my Hi-Flyer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 (edited) i wont scratch you the right way, cause i dont need the template, but thanks for the offer. im just going to flip the strat, and make the changes where i need them. but was there any contours on theguitar, cause i dont think tere was, and i just wondering, cause i hope to start soon. i got a bit of money today so i can buy a bridge, and the cheap guitar for parts. but what do you guys think of the neck idea, will it work Edited November 1, 2005 by the_dude1829 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Heh heh...I just laid my strat on the back of my Hi-Flyer...you know, it just might work...they're damn close...the differences are pretty minor. Only thing is, how are you going to deal with the contours? Unless that cheapo guitar has no contours? Still, I already did the cheap guitar mod idea (the Bocaster)--and I gotta say, it's not worth it. I had to change too many parts to make it playable (well, I still have to change the neck, if I really want to make it work)> You're better off making your own body and picking up a decent neck hardware for it. In the end, you're going to spend the same anyway. That's just my opinion. I have to say I'm intrigued by your mod idea, I'd love to see you pull it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dude1829 Posted November 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 i wasnt going to use the cheap body, just the neck. i will use the body for something else. i just take the guitar apart, take what i need, and use it for the mosrite. no way in hell would i try mod the body, or would i, maybe some other time, for a different guitar. but anyway, down to my new idea. instead of painting it black with a pink scratchplate, im going to cover the guitar in leather, and give it a denim scratch plate.when you think of the ramones, you think of black leather jackets, and ripped jeans. so im going to get some old leather jackets, and upholster the guitar with them, so that there is buttons and zips and stuff, then add some chains and badges, maby a patch here and there. then to top it all off, make a scratchplate, and cover it in denim, from an old pair of jeans. it should look cool, and very punk. plus who in the world has an upholstered guitar, in black leather, and blue denim. it just brings the ramones tribute one step further, maybe too far. but for any nay sayers, if you saw a guita covered in leather and other ramones ****, you would think its cool, woudnt you. but still, i want opinions, or ideas, or places wher i can get cheap ramones style leather jackets, off to the charity shop i go..... and in other news, i will have to put this project on hold for a few weeks. money problems. i bought two guitars today, so im broke. but im still in the planning stages of this guitar, so ill keep posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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