maface Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Hello all I am thinking of building my first solid body so bear with my newbie questions. I am thinking of buying the body and neck already finished. How difficult will it be to put the pieces together? Should I be concerned with balancing the weight of the body with the neck (I am looking at a Mahogany body) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Hello all I am thinking of building my first solid body so bear with my newbie questions. I am thinking of buying the body and neck already finished. How difficult will it be to put the pieces together? Should I be concerned with balancing the weight of the body with the neck (I am looking at a Mahogany body) Thanks that wouldn`t be building. It`s just putting it together. and that would not be very difficult, just make sure that all the pieces are compatible. but my advice would be, go on! do it. you`ll love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 +1 building is getting the wood and doing it from scratch! i find it would be much more gratifying doing it that way, but if you dont have acess to the equipment then you could buy and assmeble parts www.stewmac.com has good stuff fwiw i do all my shopping there hope this helps Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maface Posted February 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 If you're going to buy parts and put one together, save some hassle and buy a kit. Saga makes kits; I have no experience with them and have heard good and bad. Carvin makes kits...I do have a couple of those and they're top-notch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pariah223 Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 what kind of equipment/woodworking experience do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maface Posted February 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 what kind of equipment/woodworking experience do you have? I don't have much experience actually working on guitars. I have moderate woodworking experience. I'm thinking the only drilling I will need to do is at the neck and bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulinnc Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 I am excited to build a guitar and effects, amps all that stuff. I will probably try a kit or put together a strat before going all in for the wood, hardware etc. I think it will be a valuable learning tool plus I don't have tools or tons of time on my hands. These days you can pretty much get anything you want as far as bodies/necks etc. So putting one together probably wouldn't take very long once you get all the parts etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Whatever you do, keep the first one as simple as possible. I highly advise using a one-piece fixed bridge/tailpiece that screws directly onto the body. This basically eliminates any neck angle calculations. If you get a kit, +1 for the Carvin kit. VERY high quality. This was what I built my first one with about 9 years ago. I wouldn't say there was much learning involved, though, because all you're really doing is finishing the wood & screwing it together. The telecaster I'm currently trying to finish is very similar to a kit, but not quite. I bought all the pieces, then did all the drilling, finishing, and assembly. A LOT more thought went into this than buying a kit, where all teh thinking has been done for you. This has been a lot more satisfying than building the kit was. Honestly, I didn't learn anything from the kit other than wiring. Another suggestion would be to buy cheap parts for your first one. Seriously - get a cheap body, neck, and all the hardware on eBay. You are going to make mistakes through this learning process. It's much beter to learn on something inexpensive. After that, upgrade to better parts. Good luck, keep us posted, and memorize Hyssock's book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.