Maxim Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 (edited) I'm gonna build my first guitar soon and plan on making most bad-ass guitar I've ever played. The Neck fret inlays? I was thinking of silver triangles but other ideas are welcomed to. (please note that I'm a complete novice and that I'm not sure if I can do this, any HELP would be nice ) -Wich wood for the neck? I like the tone and feel of maple but any help/suggestions would again be nice -Tuning knobs? Need some good looking black ones that aren't total shite, some names/pics would be useful -fret width? 25.5 I like alot -How many frets? 24 -What type of headstock? Normal ibanez RG one with a custom logo, nothing fancy -How will it be attached to the body? No idea how I'm supposed to get the neck attached to the body, tutorial would be helluva useful. The Body -Floyd rose or simple tune-o-matic? The shredder in me loves the idea of a floyd rose but I have absolutely no idea on how to build one and it could **** up everything I've been told, so again a tutorial with pics on how to do this would be nice. -Shape? I was thinking of an ibanez RG like this: http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/body.htm Electronics -Wich/how many pick-ups? I'm thinking of 2 (active)EMG 81's, I like the bad-ass sound and the nice clean they give. Finish -colour? this black http://www.ibanez.ru/gear_el_guitar/big/rg7321.jpg image is too large -Varnish? No idea wether I'm supposed to use some or not. --------------------- This is all I've got so far, I'm open for any type of suggestions or tips since I'm a beginner I'll need all the help I can get Edited March 22, 2007 by westhemann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 I'm gonna build my first guitar soon and plan on making most bad-ass guitar I've ever played. Sounds like a pretty much standard RG though... For your questions, you probably have to make them a lot more specified. Help with tuning knobs?...what sort of help do you want? Same with neck material, what sort of help are you looking for. Maple is fine and is probably the most common neck material. Use the search feature and your questions will probably be answered ten times over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 I'm gonna build my first guitar soon and plan on making most bad-ass guitar I've ever played. Sounds like a pretty much standard RG though... For your questions, you probably have to make them a lot more specified. Help with tuning knobs?...what sort of help do you want? Same with neck material, what sort of help are you looking for. Maple is fine and is probably the most common neck material. Use the search feature and your questions will probably be answered ten times over. I just edited some of it to make it more clear, but they're not all meant as questions, some of'm are just specifications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wats Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Do you mean real Iron Maiden/Black Sabbath metal? or Poison hair metal? or the growling/screamo nu metal? Either way it's gotta have a Floyd. Anyway, since it is so much like the Ibanez RG I think you have to ask yourself why you want to build this guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Do you mean real Iron Maiden/Black Sabbath metal? or Poison hair metal? or the growling/screamo nu metal? Either way it's gotta have a Floyd. Anyway, since it is so much like the Ibanez RG I think you have to ask yourself why you want to build this guitar. Because I want to get into building guitars and I want to "merge" some of the things I like from different guitars into 1. One of the reasons I'm taking the body as an RG is that I didn't find any mesuraments from other body types I like, think it's possible for me as a total novice to make a decent guitar from a body where I don't have all mesuraments of? Because I've been thinking of making it V-ish or explorerish body-wise but it seems nearly impossible. And I meant slayer, metallica, megadeth, Children of bodom etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Ummmm. Please read the rules - one picture per post, no larger than 640x480 and no linking to commercial site's images as this leeches their data transfer which they pay for. Anyway - guitars. I would recommend buying a couple of books on building solidbodies so you have a working knowledge of why things are built the way they are. You'll need to understand truss rods and the different types (if you're going thin/flat you need a shallow rod), neck specifics (laminations, wood grain orientation, scarf joints, glueing, fretting...) and then the difficult bit. Making the neck stick to the big blunt bit. At the right angle so you get a playable adjustable action all that good stuff. First plan of action would be to buy/acquire these things as a first priority. None of these will help you to build a guitar: - 6"/15cm steel ruler - 30"/762mm steel ruler - small retractable tape measure - pencils - angle protractor - calculator - Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscox - Stewmac catalogue (for drooling over before you get the right ideas easily, and then learn how to buy them cheaper elsewhere as you get better) By this point you will be able to measure an instrument up and figure out important dimensions such as balance points (top button) neck angles where the body meets the neck (check out a TOM bridge on a Les Paul or something) headstock angles (check Ibanez', Jackson, Gibson, then Fender/Squire....) Read HEAVILY into tool safety, specifically chisels, routers, bandsaws etc. Wouldn't want you to not be able to play your guitar now would we? Oh hell, just read HEAVILY. Building the 'ker is just 1% of the work. No more. 99% planning and knowing what you're going to do and WHY is far more important, and will take up way more time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wats Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Second Prostheta's post. A good steel ruler made everything so much easier to plan out for me (I'm building my first finally) and Mr. Hiscock's book was like a candle in the dark. Then read as many of the posts here as you can, reread the book, then read the forum again - seems like it takes a while but things get easier to understand the more you read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Thanks, I'll go out and buy that book tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 I say reverse or regular Jackson headstock in place of the Ibanez headstock. Ibanez's headstock never struck me as very "metal". Otherwise what you've described is pretty much an off-of-the-shelf RG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P90 Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Hey Maxim, why not a Warmoth? If you really wanna build from scratch, great, but IMO your requirements don't really seem all that extreme. It looks like all you need is the Soloist body: http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/soloi...=flatop_soloist And the Jackson headstock (or get the paddle and cut out your own design) http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm (and get all the Floyd routing, and shark inlays, and whatever you want there) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 check out kxk guitars...he basically just specializes in metal,so he makes them perfect for that. i have the ssv and it is the most perfect v i have ever played..so good i ordered another one last year but i don't mean necessarily buy one,i just mean check out his setup...floyd or kahler trems,emg 81/85 combo...stuff like that.check out where the neck joins the body(they are neck thru) because it provides full fret access and still balances well.might give you some ideas. www.kxkguitars.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Hey Maxim, why not a Warmoth? Since I live in belgium I pay about 90 dollars worth of shipping for a neck and a body =P And because I want to try and make it myself since I want to do it all from scratch and I might as wel go truh all of this since I intend to build more guitars if I like it =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 I think you really need to do more reading, especially after the last thread you created. Seriously, most of your questions will be answered by reading the tutorials on the main site (www.projectguitar.com) and by reading Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melyvn Hiscock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 I think you really need to do more reading, especially after the last thread you created. Seriously, most of your questions will be answered by reading the tutorials on the main site (www.projectguitar.com) and by reading Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melyvn Hiscock. ++1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskim86 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 this seems like it's gonna be pretty epic. subscribed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VesQ Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Yeah it´s good to read how to tutorials and stuff. It´s also good to know what not to do when building. Since you can basically ruin the whole thing in each and every step. And try to be realistic about your skills. Don´t let yourself think that you can pull something at first try without practicing first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 (edited) I did some research and I only need help with the routing and the neck, I'm going for a Neck Thru Body but I'm not sure how it works and how I'm also nto sure how I'm supposed to get decent inlays. Another problem is that I don't have a router and I don't want to buy just any machine, any suggestions? EDIT: getting the flyod rose in will be a difficult task to but I have lots of scrap wood to practise on Edited March 29, 2007 by Maxim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suicidecustom Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 "I think you really need to do more reading, especially after the last thread you created. Seriously, most of your questions will be answered by reading the tutorials on the main site (www.projectguitar.com) and by reading Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melyvn Hiscock. " i think you missed this post. buy that book and read it several times. it will answer every question you just asked and much more, best book i ever bought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 "I think you really need to do more reading, especially after the last thread you created. Seriously, most of your questions will be answered by reading the tutorials on the main site (www.projectguitar.com) and by reading Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melyvn Hiscock. " i think you missed this post. buy that book and read it several times. it will answer every question you just asked and much more, best book i ever bought Still waiting for it to arrive =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Anyway, since it is so much like the Ibanez RG I think you have to ask yourself why you want to build this guitar. I have to agree with Wats... Why not use the RG measurements as a guideline for creating your own design? You're going through all the steps of making one from scratch anyway so why not add your own 'flair' as a way to be unique? Reading the books mentioned will answer many technical questions and may even spark new ideas. Then creating templates will make your project even more accurate. Be careful and use the right tools for the job. An online search will reveal several companies that specialize in inlay work, so you shouldn't have too much problem finding one to inlay your fingerboard. Of course you could always try it yourself... -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 (edited) I did some research and I only need help with the routing and the neck, I'm going for a Neck Thru Body but I'm not sure how it works and how I'm also not sure how I'm supposed to get decent inlays. Another problem is that I don't have a router and I don't want to buy just any machine, any suggestions? Just a hunch......but I see a car crash in the making. and I only need help with the routing and the neck I think you need some more help then just with the routing. I'm going for a Neck Thru Body but I'm not sure how it works A neck thru is a more challenging project for a newbie. I wouldn't start with a neck thru from the get-go. It needs more planning, is more of a hassle to deal with. I'm also not sure how I'm supposed to get decent inlays Me neither .... but ordering fretboard & inlays from places like this might save you some hassle. http://stores.ebay.com/The-Guitar-Parts-Ce...6QQftidZ2QQtZkm Another problem is that I don't have a router and I don't want to buy just any machine, any suggestions? Forget the whole idea to begin with. Cause building guitars you have to buy many more tools and machines. (although the heavy equipment (bandsaws, planers, circle saws, tickness sanders) can be sorted by asking around, and for 6 pack most woodworking places (furniture makers, etc) would be willing to help you out here..No need to buy the expensive-only-use-twice-stuff.....but your router and decent bits are essential. Without a router, no custom built guitar. Simple as that. (My $39.95 cheap-ass Chinese router still works like charm, so this is not the expense.) If you're in for the building experience....you serious need to read up on your stuff. If you're just after the guitar you're describing.....you should order RG550 from fleabay and do some customization. This way you will get some experience playing around with guitars. Edited March 30, 2007 by RGGR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted April 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 My book arrived today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 I'm not coming on here trying to replan the entire build for you, but I think after you do some reading, you should really rethink your ideas. My first build was an RG body, because I wanted the simplicity of a strat style body, but I like the lines of an RG much better, definitely more metal looking. But there is not much difference the difficulty of the body shape until you get into craved tops. The process is the same. Cut out shape, sand to final size, route edges and cavities, sand smooth, paint, assemble (well, not that simple, but basically thats all you do, the shape doesn't matter). If you would rather an Explorer or a Vee, then build one. In fact those are a little easier since they don't have body recess cuts. For your first build you are probably better off buying a bolt on neck from ebay. I agree that I think a Jackson head stock looks better, along with the shark fin inlays. Bare minimum buy a slotted fretboard with simple inlays, or none at all. A lot of metal players only have a 12th fret marker. Even though it is only your first build, there is no reason to compromise your dreams. Build what you want and have fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 Explorers and V's are easier, IMO. More straight lines, fewer shorter smooth curves that need to flow into each other and change directions quickly. More long swoopy bits, easy to clean up with long swoopy movements. Making the template for the Kelly was faster than making one for a basic singlecut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 Explorers and V's are easier, agreed..but the explorer is more difficult than a vee...you still have that cutaway to flow into the neck heel, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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