Dave I Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 For those of you who are fairly accomplished builders . . . Do you still buy guitars, or simply design what you want and make it yourself? If you DO still purchase guitar(s), what determines if you buy it or build it? -Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I have always built what I have been wanting as far as guitars go. I have only bought one guitar, a cheapo nylon string acoustic for my son. So far I have built two Dreadnoughts, LP, ES335 and Strat and I have a Tele build ready to go sometime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) I haven't bought a guitar since I've become confident that I can build what I want. But I probably won't be able to resist picking up one of these sometime this year. I'm not up to building one of those. Yet. Edited January 23, 2008 by Rick500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 The only reason I look at guitars in stores anymore is for ideas. Over the years, I sold off all my vintage guitars (all old Gibsons) as well, only keeping my '73 LPC. My first guitar (that was bought for me of course) was in 1974. The first guitar I bought for myself was in 1979. The last guitar I actually ever 'bought' was in 1995. The same year I started building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I still buy. what determines if you buy it or build it? For me,that is simple.If someone already has available a guitar I want,and it is to my specs,I buy it...mostly customs though. For example,I love Vees,I insist on emg pickups,24 frets,etc...KXK builds a V exactly to the specs I want,and it is a top quality instrument,so instead of "ripping off" Rob's intellectual property,I commisioned him to build me one.I like it so much I ordered another...and I get much more enjoyment from it than from my own...I think because in my own I can't forgive any minor flaws,because I know where they are. If Rob had told me he could not build one with 24 frets,or that it was only available in hot pink with green spots,I would have built it myself. I only build what is not available already at an acceptable price and quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396742 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I still buy. For me,that is simple.If someone already has available a guitar I want,and it is to my specs,I buy it...mostly customs though. +1 for 2 reasons: 1. The original designer/builder has every right to profit solely from that product. 2. A copy is just that, a copy. It will never be the real thing. I happen to be partial to the Les Paul line (shape, feel, looks, etc.). As far as I know Gibson makes them. Hence, it's not a Les Paul if it's not made by Gibson. (I'm no guitar history buff though) -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I haven't bought a guitar in years; I rarely want straight-up copies, but I don't really feel a desire to build wacky original-for-the-sake-of-original guitars. So most of mine look a bit like PRS guitars (which, in turn, look like the love child of a Gibson and a Strat, so they're hardly original themselves). Headstock shapes, carves, inlays, that's all off limits. Most other guitar designs are derivative of past designs, so I see nothing wrong with creating my own interpretation of a certain shape. It helps that I don't actually much like Les Pauls, and PRS could do with some refinements I like in my instruments (smoother heel transition, carved back, no plastic control covers, that sort of thing), ergo: I build my own. Frankly, building's more than half the fun for me. I'll never be a great player, but I hope (someday) to be a builder of great guitars (I personally think they're reasonably good right now, but there's a ways to go yet...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Certainly, but I play basses. And there are only a few 6-stringers on the market, the only other thing that interests me is custom work for ideas. Like my LeCompte 8-stringer. http://www.lecomptebass.com/specials/sn39/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 For those of you who are fairly accomplished builders . . . Do you still buy guitars, or simply design what you want and make it yourself? If you DO still purchase guitar(s), what determines if you buy it or build it? -Cheers I mostly build my own custom spec'd guitars. If I find something that suits my needs, I'll buy it. Last guitar I bought was a 1974 Les Paul Custom in 2006. I don't see myself buying anything else anything soon, aside from maybe a Martin acoustic. I'm also thinking of selling off a couple of brand name guitars. I'll keep the Strat, LP and Jem though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 so I see nothing wrong with creating my own interpretation of a certain shape. I do that too.As an example,I love the basic shape of an explorer,but I don't like the obstructed fret access,the 22 frets,the limited options/finishes available,or the lack of a trem...so the exploder was born with a highly modified EVERYTHING,but the basic shape is close enough that it looks the same to the eye http://westhemann.com/cgi-bin/i/exploder/IM000122.JPG http://westhemann.com/exploder/IM000120.JPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I still don't 'trust' the guitars I build. They play all right and all, but I just don't have the feeling yet that they're real guitars. Hard to explain. I agree that I don't really want to build a copy of a guitar that already exists. It just doesn't feel the same. I built/modified a tele as one of my first projects, but I get no real satisfaction out of playing the guitar --it just isn't a real Telecaster. So I took it apart again. One day I'll end up buying one, but I'm not in a hurry. On the other hand, building an original design is probably the most difficult to do. Most of the 'original' designs I see here are either copies of existing guitar shapes anyway, or just plain ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Mattia summed it up perfectly... and I quote "Most other guitar designs are derivative of past designs, so I see nothing wrong with creating my own interpretation of a certain shape." This is a far cry from an outright copy of something off the shelf at your local music store. Getting ideas etc. from others' work is fine of course. So... if I want a gold sparkle top Les Paul, I would buy it. If I wanted something that is reminiscent of a Les Paul in concept, yet has certain design feature improvements/changes then I would build it. Why? It's no longer a copy. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I haven't bought a guitar since I've become confident that I can build what I want. But I probably won't be able to resist picking up one of these sometime this year. I'm not up to building one of those. Yet. I've been working on a plan for something very similar to that ax, but with a modified Dean Cadillac shape. Since I don't plan on doing necks, I'm very open to still buying guitars, but only to scavenge them for parts. The pawn shops will be my friends. I was an inch away from buying the intro-level Dean guitar that Guitar Center has on sale for $80. I read some reviews that said the hardware & pups were poo (go figure!), but the neck was fast & the body was solid mahogany. I figured I could take what hardware was good along with the neck and sell the body on eBay. That might leave ne with $30-40 for a useable neck when it's all done. The only reason I didn't get it is the neck was a little narrow and thin. I need a fat, wide neck for my huge hands. So yea, I'd still buy one, but only for parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 On the other hand, building an original design is probably the most difficult to do. Most of the 'original' designs I see here are either copies of existing guitar shapes anyway, or just plain ugly. Almost the only constraint in an original design is where the bridge and pickups go in relation to the nut. Sometimes I think people are hesitant to veer from "familiar" looks when designing their own. Still, looking similar and outright copy (available templates etc.) are two very different things. It's true... we've all seen the posts. "My New Build..." What do we find? Another direct Strat or PRS copy built from CAD drawings or CNC made templates. This is far different than looking at a Strat and PRS for ideas then drawing your own based on aspects one deems appealing . -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 i havnt in a while but it doesn't mean i wouldnt ever again. If its something i think i could do better then i aint going to buy it but i would take one of these in a second if i had the money http://www.jamestrussart.com/Newsite/Models.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Modding's cool. Who ever buys a Harley Davidson and leaves it stock? That's just nuts. A guitar in no less of an adventure... Take it home, take it apart, replace the things you want different. All in good fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcovis Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I have been building guitars since attending the Roberto-Venn School of Lutiery in the fall of 2001. Since then I've bought one guitar. It was a 2004 PRS custom 22 with the artist package and a solid Indian rosewood neck. They offered the rosewood neck option on the custom for a two week period and I bit. While waiting for the PRS, I built myself a guitar with an Indian rosewood neck. I ened up selling the PRS within three months for what I paid for it. Currently I only own one guitar that I havn't built. It's a '97 PRS ce22 with an artist grade quilt top. I bought it new as a freshman in high school and have kept it for that reason. It's somewhat rare because of the quilt top and it was my first really nice guitar. With that being said.....I never play it. I don't see myself buying another guitar, but maybe doing a guitar swap with another builder or something. I'm really impressed with builders like Artinger, Myka, Ron Thorn, Rick Turner, and John Reuter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Almost the only constraint in an original design is where the bridge and pickups go in relation to the nut. When I design an original(I have designed a few),I take and draw on posterboard a full scale representation of the bridge,nut,frets,and pickup placement(I decide on scale first obviously),then I draw the body design around that....I keep in mind fret access,picking hand ergonomics,and all that,but The rest is up to me. Of course,they always end up looking similar to something else,but that is only because I think all of the basic shapes have been done.I just make sure my designs work as good as I think they look. I still have an offset vee design I have yet to make...I think it will make a very special instrument...but the plexiglass templates are all made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I haven't purchased one since I started building. I can build something nicer than what you get in a store for less cost, and it's exactly what I want. Plus you get the satisfaction of building it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I can build something nicer than what you get in a store for less cost, and it's exactly what I want. Now that you have all of the tools,you mean? I factor in my time and new tools for each build(blades,router bits,sandpaper,paint of the correct type,etc) and I find the investment to build as being quite similar to buying a custom from some builders....and I get to keep my house clean and spend more time playing the instrument to boot! But I do know what you mean.I am just saying cost is a very minimal savings.Alot of great builders are very reasonably priced. Of course...factory guitars are another field altogether...for the most part,they just flat out blow chunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 What Daniel said. And Wes, c'mon, we're all completely ignoring those nice, big, fat piles of cash we paid for our arsenal of tools. I can now build an electric for about 150 bucks (and up, depending on options), and I'm ignoring the 4,000 or so bucks I've got invested in tools, large and small. I figure I need to build another dozen guitars before I'm properly 'in the red' compared to just buying instruments, but honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I can now build an electric for about 150 bucks (and up, depending on options), My goodness! What low end pups are you using? $15 no-names from eBay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 can now build an electric for about 150 bucks (and up, depending on options), WOW!I must be a snob...I paid over $1000 for the wood,hardware,and paint for the Exploder(counting router bits and blades the bubinga chewed up) No way could I build a guitar to my liking for that little cash...congrats to you on being frugal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 When I design an original(I have designed a few),I take and draw on posterboard a full scale representation of the bridge,nut,frets,and pickup placement(I decide on scale first obviously),then I draw the body design around that....I keep in mind fret access,picking hand ergonomics,and all that,but The rest is up to me. Exactly! In the end, if there was a guitar I liked made by someone else, I would of course buy that instead of trying to mimic it. Of course I like my own guitars, and so do my customers. Yet, I also like my Les Paul. So I'm tickled to play either when the time comes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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