Diy For The Novice Builder

[palecriminal]

I don't have the tools necessary, or the experience with woodworking to fashion bodies and necks from scratch. I was wondering if anyone out there has purchased bodies, necks, etc, from suppliers like Allparts, and assembled their own that way. Were you happy with the results? Etc. Band saws and such scare me. I like having all of my fingers!

[Xanthus]

I think the overall sucess of the company is a testament in and of itself. I personally fancy Carvin necks, and bought one for my build. Granted I haven't strung it up and played it yet, but I'm familiar with the brand and know that it's a good quality piece.

Warmoth, Stewmac, Allparts, Carvin, and others all have solid reputations, and from what I've seen and read, people are very satisfied with their completed projects. See Warmoth's gallery page, which are for the most part projects built with entirely Warmoth parts. The only downside to ordering from these companies is the price that some offer. I know it's a hard gamble to choose for an inexperienced builder like you and me, haha, between decent quality at a moderate price, or an unknown finished quality at a cheapr price, but with plenty of room for error. I knew I wasn't up to fretting a fingerboard, crowning, leveling, or the like, which is why I ordered from Carvin. Yeah, the neck cost me $240, but I wasn't willing to take the risk

It's all up to you, man. Best of luck on whichever road you choose.

[palecriminal]

Thanks for answering. I figure that it'll be expensive compared to the type of guitars which I've been playing..the best one I've ever owned is my Highway One tele, which I've only had for a short while. But I've always wanted to start from just parts. A pre routed body and a neck with nut and frets already there would be a big help. Imagine all the time these guys spend on measuring and such to layout a guitar body so that the bridge is in the right place, neck aligned, etc. I would hate to mess up a beautiful piece of wood by putting the holes in the wrong places! Some of the work here is really beautiful. Thanks again!

[marksound]

A good source of bodies and necks is USA Custom Guitars. The prices are reasonable and the quality is good.

I've used Mighty Mite necks on my parts Strats and Tele, but they might require a little more work to get right than you're comfortable with. Of course, that's for you to decide.

Some people don't like parts guitars, but I don't see anything wrong with adopting and adapting and using whatever suits your needs. If that's what you're shooting for, ebay is always an option.

Another option for a first guitar (is it?) is a kit. Carvin makes one of the best kits on the market, it's customizable, and it's not extremely expensive. It's also not a Tele.

Anyway, there are a multitude of choices out there, the hard part is deciding which way to go.

[palecriminal]

Thanks for the Info. Never even thought of Carvin. There stuff is really cool. I figured it would be a good way to start, building a parts guitar, rather than going whole hog and due to inexperience and ineptitude ending up with an expensive monstrosity.

Teles Rule

[palecriminal]

Here's a question: If I buy a pre-drilled/routed body, does it matter what size neck I put on? Like 21,22, or 24 fret, or will they all work?

[postal]

Here's a question: If I buy a pre-drilled/routed body, does it matter what size neck I put on? Like 21,22, or 24 fret, or will they all work?

Yes you need to match the two parts. If the body was predilled/routed for bridge, the neck has to be the right scale length/number of frets/and heel size to fit the body correctly and have the bridge location correct.

The easiest way to ensure things are right, is to get both pieces from the same company, and research the info on those parts to be sure they were meant to go together.

[marksound]

It would help if we knew what you were looking at, what you were shooting for, etc.

[palecriminal]

It would help if we knew what you were looking at, what you were shooting for, etc.

I was thinking about a strat-stlye body, but I'd really like a 24 fret neck. I'm aiming at something like the 80's era Jacksons, or my old washburn. I was figuring on a HSS type of arrangement, but I'd probably want to put stacked humbuckers in the single coil slots. I do a lot of playing into my computer, and I pick up a lot of hum from the computer monitor. I'm looking for a lot of versatility. In my band we do a wide variety of things, from STP type grunge to really clean type stuff like CHilli Peppers. A tremolo system would be cool, too. I took your hint and looked at the carvin site, and their bodies looked cool. Do you know how well the Wilkinson trem systems work? All of the routing for a floyd rose seems like a lot of work.

thanks

Edited November 26, 2006 by palecriminal

[postal]

A wilki is a different design of a modern strat bridge. They are basically identical in all "important" aspects.... except they are less sensitive to stud spacing. They are basically a drop in replacement for a strat bridge.

[palecriminal]

A wilki is a different design of a modern strat bridge. They are basically identical in all "important" aspects.... except they are less sensitive to stud spacing. They are basically a drop in replacement for a strat bridge.

Does this mean that if I buy a guitar body that is routed for a standard strat trem, I could put in a wilkinson, and vice versa?

[rahimiiii]

A wilki is a different design of a modern strat bridge. They are basically identical in all "important" aspects.... except they are less sensitive to stud spacing. They are basically a drop in replacement for a strat bridge.

Just a note... if you want wilkinson to work in a stock modern strat routing, you have to enlarge the holes for the tremolo a wee bit. The thing is that Wilkinson seems to have larger block or something so the rectangle for the trem needs to be a little larger. Its not hard to do, you can use chisel and sandpaper because you're just enlarging a hole and the wood is pretty thin.

[Hydrogeoman]

Thanks for the Info. Never even thought of Carvin. There stuff is really cool. I figured it would be a good way to start, building a parts guitar, rather than going whole hog and due to inexperience and ineptitude ending up with an expensive monstrosity.

Teles Rule

I used a Carvin neck on my first "build." It was a bolt on bass neck with a blank paddle headstock. I made the body myself. This was a very good way for me to get my feet wet before advancing to the next step of building the necks myself. I think a kit guitar or at least a pre-routed body and pre-made neck would also be a good way to get started, especially if you do not have some of the basic tools that make the job easier (and more precise).

Be careful though, you could end up with this building addiction that can get very expensive!

[palecriminal]

Thanks for the Info. Never even thought of Carvin. There stuff is really cool. I figured it would be a good way to start, building a parts guitar, rather than going whole hog and due to inexperience and ineptitude ending up with an expensive monstrosity.

Teles Rule

I used a Carvin neck on my first "build." It was a bolt on bass neck with a blank paddle headstock. I made the body myself. This was a very good way for me to get my feet wet before advancing to the next step of building the necks myself. I think a kit guitar or at least a pre-routed body and pre-made neck would also be a good way to get started, especially if you do not have some of the basic tools that make the job easier (and more precise).

Be careful though, you could end up with this building addiction that can get very expensive!

Hey, at least it's legal