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My Future Guitarprojekt. What Do You Think?


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I see your good will... in everyone. So could you give me a quick advice, what would be a good start? which tools would I need for doing a neck? how much would that cost?(*checkingthebudget*)any additional lecture except the one I will find here? :D

Well, okay, you've made it clear you're not going to budge on this. So...how can I put this politely?...quit wasting our time. :D

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You’re not wasting our time.

Remember that the emails and postings are most likely (like 99.99%) are filtered by the once that are charging you for the course. And I have never ever heard of Nick Huber before this….

Anyway:

Check out StewMac, LMII or other online sellers for a pre-cut and radiuses fret board. The Ebony blanks starts at a little more then 30 USD. You can probably get some good maple, straight and true from that local wood supplier for a few € (just check so that it is dry). Get a straight truss rod (same recourse as the fretboard) for around 15 USD that CAN (not the best method, but a good way to learn/perfect woodworking skills) be installed with a chisel and a hammer. Get (or borrow) a power drill (for the tuners), a narrow chisel (for the truss rod channel), a hammer (for the chisel), some clamps (try borrowing those), a saw, a knife, a rasp or a surform (or both) and some sandpaper and you are ready to go.

If possible you can also rent a router for the truss rod channel. Renting will save you a lot of bucks.

I guess that the material will cost you like 60€ (including glue and some other stuff) and most tools can be borrowed or rented.

I’d say go for it. When you take the course, you will be much more prepared and you will learn a lot more. Who knows, you might find out that in three years time you have learned enough to skip that course. OR take it and learn a LOT.

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Well, okay, you've made it clear you're not going to budge on this. So...how can I put this politely?...quit wasting our time. :D

...times they are changing... I didn't know that it is possible to go professional being a bored unfriendly fart on a board nowadys... how crazy is that?!

if it ain't yet possible - too bad for you, I guess that would be the perfect job for you. But then I ask myself what the freakin hell forced you to reply to this thread? If your time is so precious, why don't you go and make yourself a nice stair guitar? :DB)

thanks though to SL who could afford to use his 2min to post something rather useful. As far as tools are concerned I think I can borrow a lot of the mentioned stuff from m father as well...

Being from sweden, aren't there any other options for you to get your stuff except from stew mac?(I'm from Europe too)... so is the projectguitar page enough information-wise or should I get a book or something?

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The list isn't complete when I try to view it...

I know that Mattia (from Holland) posted some good info on suppliers in Europe and some in Germany I think. Didn’t find it right now, but do a search and you will find it. StewMac and LMII are always a little expensive, but offer very good customer service, are seldom out of stock on items and have a lot of specialised supplies that is hard to find.

Get Melvin Hiscocks book “Build an electric guitar” or Martin Kochs book (don’t remember the namne and I might have misspelled some things here). They are considered industry standards when it comes to starting out building guitars. I started with Hiscocks book. I have not read Kochs but it is supposed to be very good.

And don’t get pissed on Mickguard. He is actually a quite nice guy. He has probably just had too much coffee for breakfast. :D

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The list isn't complete when I try to view it...

I know that Mattia (from Holland) posted some good info on suppliers in Europe and some in Germany I think. Didn’t find it right now, but do a search and you will find it. StewMac and LMII are always a little expensive, but offer very good customer service, are seldom out of stock on items and have a lot of specialised supplies that is hard to find.

Get Melvin Hiscocks book “Build an electric guitar” or Martin Kochs book (don’t remember the namne and I might have misspelled some things here). They are considered industry standards when it comes to starting out building guitars. I started with Hiscocks book. I have not read Kochs but it is supposed to be very good.

And don’t get pissed on Mickguard. He is actually a quite nice guy. He has probably just had too much coffee for breakfast. :D

nah. I ain't pissed by him. that's just someone from the internet I don't know. how could I get pissed by that?

so what's missing on the list?

I'll check if I can find the Mattia thread...

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I just checked StewMac to see how much the material for my first guitar would be(w/o) pups...

http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi/h...&PRODUCT_1951=1

the cheapest way... did I forget anything?

Have a look on ebay for the parts for your first build if you want to save some $. I've bought some parts (bridge, tuners P/ups) from Guitarfetish on ebay which are pretty good for the price. Remember that if you are really pleased with the guitar you can always upgrade these parts as your finances allow....although you may find that there's no need to.

Good luck with whatever decision you make, but I know that if was me I wouldn't be able to wait 3 years to start building. You're enthusiastic and motivated....strike while the iron's hot.

Regards,

Brian.

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Oh, sorry if I wasn’t clear. The list contained only the tuners. Have another go at it and I’ll have a look at the list.

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You know Mattia is in much the same boat as you. He has very little space to work while at school. He might be able to really offer some good tips. He does have good lines on what materials are available and a good idea of where to find reasonable prices. I know he has a dealer that beats the heck out of Stewmac on Ebony fretboards(most other US dealers also). Maybe you could drop him a line.

Look at second hand tools as much as possible. You can get nice files, planes, chisels, hand saws, hammers and other hand tools at really good prices(and a lot of the time better quality, especially if someone has set the tool up). Power tools can also be had for much better prices via classified adds. Also look at some of the tool making tutorials on this site. The fret beveling tool can be made for next to nothing, but works perfectly.

A radiused sanding block is a good tool to purchase(long one works well). A fret saw is a good tool to purchase(can also be found locally if you find one with the correct kerf- but Stews is not very expensive). There is a long list of special tools that may make things easier, but are not required.

Tools-

Straight edge (metal rulers are usually acceptable).

Long flat sanding block(can be a wood block) or hand plane.

Jig saw(hand or powered), or scroll, or band saw(each will do the job).

Fret saw(even w/preslotted boards, its best to touch up the slots).

Radiused sanding block

Spoke shave or rasp or surform (back of neck shaping)- (can also be done by hand sanding, power sanding, router with roundover bit).

Scrapers or sand paper (smoothing and final shaping)

Light hammer for tapping frets or press & caul

Drill & bits or drill press & bits

chisel or router & bit (for truss rod channel)

Nut files or ( fine(correct kerf) scroll saw blades or believe it or not strings will cut nuts slots.)

Small straight edge for fret rocking(does not have to be fancy- just straight)

Small wire cutters

Some basic files(one for fret beveling tool, a second for fret work, possibly a third for the nut)

Most all of these can be purchased from a second hand tool shop(files 25-50 cents, $10-15 hand planes, .50-$1 for chisels, $5 spoke shaves- you get the idea).

Parts-

Nut blank(pre-cut or blank)

Fretboard(pre-slotted,pre-radiused or blank)

4"x34"x1"(3/4"-1")thick neck blank

Wood Glue(non-water proof)

Fret wire

inlay dots(plastic-shell dot, inlay whatever you prefer.)

A set of tuners

Take a peak at neck making tutorials. You can see the process and it will help with some of the tool and part selection.

Peace,Rich

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And don’t get pissed on Mickguard. He is actually a quite nice guy. He has probably just had too much coffee for breakfast. B)

Yeah, but as of this afternoon at 2:39 pm, I've got a month vacation... :D That ought to help my mood! :D

Anyway, I had a thought on how TC can achieve his larger LP body...it's quite simple.

When you get your router, you'll probably get a guide collar with it (if not, get one). Choose a pretty narrow bit compared to the diameter of the guide collar.

Now, take an existing LP template or body, run your router around that --presto! You'll have a larger LP shape.

You can make it larger or smaller depending on what bit you choose. Adapt the neck area accordingly.

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That technique will not yield an enlarged version of the guitar. That will make all of the concave portions of the profile smaller and the convex portions larger. You really need to have a CAD version and scale it up a bit or get a set of plans and blow them up on a photo copy machine.

peace,

russ

EDIT:

I just thought I'd show you what the tang top would look like if you ran around it with a collar and smaller bit, enlarging the perimeter by 1" in every direction:

bloatedpig.JPG

...looks like a bloated pig imo.

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Fryovanni’s list is good. I only have a few thoughts

About the tools:

For a first neck on a budget I would stay with a chisel and a hammer, or (and that is the best) try to rent/borrow a router for the truss rod channel. Borrowing a power drill for inlay dots and tuners is the way to go if you don’t already have one. Also planes are quite delicate to set up and take some time to get used to/good at, and for minor adjustments a long straight hard block of wood wrapped in sand paper will do a good job. Save the money on the fret saw. For a first job a pre-cut and radiused fretboard is all you need and you will do an acceptable job without a fretsaw. You can also do without a radiused sanding block. The fret job can be done (I did my first 20-30 this way) with a file that I cut the handle off and glued to a piece of wood for a handle. An ordinary square/triangular needle file with one off the edges downward can be used for the string slots in the nut. I did my first 10-15 nuts like that. Tapping the frets in will save up on fret pressing tools. When you are really stuck on guitar building it is time to move up to fret pressing.

About the parts:

You will also need a truss rod. I really recommend that you buy one that is intended to be used with a flat bottomed channel.

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thank you all.

I guess I have most of the required tools already at my fathers garage...

I would have chosen GFS pickups anyway. They're supposed to be the sh#* for the money.

a trussrod was never a question. SURE!

I guess I'll go for a complete guitar anyway that summer... some LP dc stuff with mpale/ebony neck and some p90 action...

about the design for THE dream guitar I will have to do a lot of work cos the bodyshaping shouldn't look too retarded... Are there any helpful tools for drawing outlines etc available? curves n stuff(I've used a small one for my small drawing...)

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thank you all.

I guess I have most of the required tools already at my fathers garage...

I would have chosen GFS pickups anyway. They're supposed to be the sh#* for the money.

a trussrod was never a question. SURE!

I guess I'll go for a complete guitar anyway that summer... some LP dc stuff with mpale/ebony neck and some p90 action...

about the design for THE dream guitar I will have to do a lot of work cos the bodyshaping shouldn't look too retarded... Are there any helpful tools for drawing outlines etc available? curves n stuff(I've used a small one for my small drawing...)

CAD software is great for designing. It makes modifications a breeze and you can build to your plan(be sure to draw 1-1/ to scale). Turbo Cad can be downloaded for free if you don't have access to Autocad(Autodesk). There is a bit of a learning curve to the software, but it is well worth the effort.

Peace,Rich

P.S. I highly recommend Allied's flat bar double acting truss rods. They are a good value, and the last batch I purchased were built really well.

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I would have chosen GFS pickups anyway. They're supposed to be the sh#* for the money.

They can be hit or miss. I loved the mini-buckers they used to sell (they don't carry them any more - I emailed him; I guess a lot of folks had problems with microphonics and such? I didn't), and I *love* the "Nashville" p'up. That one's one of my favorite pickups right now. Not such a fan of of the Dream 90's (or whatever the humbucker-sized P90 is.) Wasn't really expecting a spot-on P90 sound, but I wasn't digging the tone at all. I've got another humbucker (a PAF copy? and I'm hit or miss on it - it works great on some guitars, but not others. Surprisingly, it's not cutting it on some guitars that I've tossed some awful Epi humbuckers in and really dug.

But all in all, for the money they're great. Especially the Nashvilles. Those are amazing.

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I would have chosen GFS pickups anyway. They're supposed to be the sh#* for the money.

They can be hit or miss. I loved the mini-buckers they used to sell (they don't carry them any more - I emailed him; I guess a lot of folks had problems with microphonics and such? I didn't)

You mean the Memphis? Great lil' pickup...easily my favorite of the GFS stuff I've tried. I didn't like the Dream 90s either, just sounded kind of sterile, didn't have the bite I was supposed to get. I also had a set of Hot Nashvilles, didn't like those either --maybe the regular Nashvilles sound better? And I still have a set of Brooklyns here--didn't like them in the one guitar I tried (a semi), I'm saving them for a later guitar, because they look so nice.

If you look on ebay these days there are a couple of sellers starting to carry very similar pickups --Diesel is one of them. Same low price... probably same manufacturer.

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hm that sucks... if they'Re hit or miss.

I wanted something like a Filtertron in the neck, a Strat middle SC and ap90 bridge pup...

oh. btw... I guess I'll go for the Martin Koch book and start doing a guitar myself... I've read a complete Formentera camp diary and it didn't seem to be that much voodoo about it... and I really can't take a three year wait...

thought about a modified LP shape mahogani body, a maple neck with ebony fretboard(and I'll try a deep-set neck tenon like this http://www.edromanguitars.com/tech/neck_tenon.htm if I can do that...) I guess it's a good I dea if I'll do something like a DC LP...sustain and tone-wise(that means that I would need a cap... so I'll thik about that...)

what about that CAD software? How will I get things on paper if I'm done? I mean the 1:1 thang?!

and I've always wanted to know: what about those pups:

http://cgi.ebay.de/GFS-Vintage-Split-Bridg...oQQcmdZViewItem

I've always thougth they're SCs... what's behind the polescrew system?

And who can guide me to Mattias thread? does anyone remember its name or something?!

edit:

AAHHH! where are all those filtertrons gone? the liverpools and everything! why don't they make em anymore at guitarfestish?

Edited by TheCross
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I just checked the materials (w/o the tools cos I have most of em)... the guitar will cost me something like 450€(quilt maple top included) and a lot of time.... :D

how much are your average material costs for your guitars?

btw. if I'll use Filtertron-SC-p90 combo which pots should I use? rather 250Ks right?(planning master tone, master volume, SC blend pot, and maybe... hahaha a 6way toggle for a Varitone... if I can do that at all)

Edited by TheCross
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Its funny, doesn't the Hiscock book start with a Les Paul Style set, angled neck and a carved top?

The Second one is the tele-style, maple neck.

:D

:D something concerning my questions?!

Well, couple of thoughts.

The idea of a run-up tot he big one is a good idea. You will figure quicly which tools you need/lack. I thought I was ready when I bought wood, but then I found I was short on skills with the tools. So I have built a few needed items around the house, learned to laminate and scarf and other things that will come in handy. I've made tables so I could practice using s spokeshave, and keeping them planes and chisels sharp.

Also, do a few google searches for "hollow body Les Paul" and eventualy you will find a photo of a gibson "chambered" semi-hollow-body Lew Paul that you could use as a temple for routing out the body.

Also, you could buy Les Paul plans at steward-mac.

...

I also bought templates for the 59 Les Paul from Stew Mac.

B)

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