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Tips For A Newbie?


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Hey all, first post, woot! :D

Well, the topic title says it all, I'm a noob at guitar building and want to learn about it, and hopefully attempt building an electric guitar with my brother in the next few months. At least, I assume electric is much easier than acoustic, yes? I gather the biggest constraint with building a guitar is the cost of all the materials, mainly the wood to start with. Which brings me to my first question. What kind of wood should I use? I've looked into different types an rosewood seems like a good bet, is that so? I'm hoping to get a great big bassy tone out of the guitar with a lot of sustain.

Next question: should I go with neck-through, set-in, or bolt-on? I honestly have no idea which would be best or most economical.

I do have power tools at my disposal, just the basic stuff, nothing expensive, certainly no CnC or anything like that. So, if I want to design my own guitar, how would I go about actually getting that design cut out and everything? I had planned on doing the design in 3DS Max (a 3D modeling application).

One other question, what should I do about frets? How are those made and put onto the fingerboard? And also, inlays. I got some pretty crazy inlay ideas. But, hey, since its my design, why not be crazy? So, how do you go about doing inlays? What should I use for the inlays and the cutting of the neck and headstock to put the inlays in?

Oh, one more question! Measurements and angles! How do I know what angle the neck should be at? How do I know what all the measurements and stuff should be? The designs I'm thinking about doing for the guitar are fairly simple...that is, nothing that would require crazy measurements and crap for aligning everything, just a flat-top with a cool design.

Thanks everyone!

- Tommy

Edited by FlapJack
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First thing to do is read Melvyn Hiscock's book Make Your Own Electric Guitar. It'll answer most of those questions and give you a good understanding of the details you need to know.

For a first electric guitar body, I'd choose from alder, African mahogany (AKA Khaya), swamp ash, mahogany, poplar, or basswood. Alder may be your best bet, but swamp ash or khaya aren't much more expensive.

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First thing to do is read Melvyn Hiscock's book Make Your Own Electric Guitar. It'll answer most of those questions and give you a good understanding of the details you need to know.

For a first electric guitar body, I'd choose from alder, African mahogany (AKA Khaya), swamp ash, mahogany, poplar, or basswood. Alder may be your best bet, but swamp ash or khaya aren't much more expensive.

Okay, thanks...I'll look into the book.

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Step 1: Buy the Melvyn Hiscock book.

Step 2: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book. All of it. Cover to cover. Make notes whilst doing so.

Step 3: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book again. And again. Especially the bits you're not certain about.

(Notice how I haven't mentioned buying anything yet?)

Step 4: Start breaking it down, then come back with very specific questions. This will enable you to get the most out of the members here.

Hope this helps!

DJ

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Step 1: Buy the Melvyn Hiscock book.

Step 2: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book. All of it. Cover to cover. Make notes whilst doing so.

Step 3: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book again. And again. Especially the bits you're not certain about.

(Notice how I haven't mentioned buying anything yet?)

Step 4: Start breaking it down, then come back with very specific questions. This will enable you to get the most out of the members here.

Hope this helps!

DJ

Especially #3. I'm wanting to build my first neck, and I've read that section six or eight times trying to get my head around it. Now I'm about to the point to begin. It is a great book anyone wanting to build a guitar should read.

My $0.02

Steve

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I gather the biggest constraint with building a guitar is the cost of all the materials, mainly the wood to start with. Which brings me to my first question.

In my experience, the biggest constraint is tools, and the cost there of. I've spent much more on that than anything else in this hobby.

As far as pieces that actually go into the guitar, until you start going with highly figured or exotic wood, the cost of the wood can often be the least expensive part of a build, although buying wood that is prepared for use as an instrument (pre-made body and neck blanks, etc.) will add to the cost. If you're planning on using a tremolo rather than a fixed bridge, or want nice pickups or tuning machines, the cost of the project can increase very quickly.

While there are certainly deals to be had, why would you want to put cheap hardware on a project you spent this much time on? (Although something is to be said about usign a standard pickup route, allowing you to start with 20 dollar pickups and drop nice ones in in the future.)

The one nice thing is that often hardware is easily reused on future builds, (once you get started on this hobby, it's hard to stop at one) and if you totally mess up the body, you can start again without having to buy a whole new set of hardware.

Oh, and I totally concur with everything said above about Melvyn Hiscock's book.

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Step 1: Buy the Melvyn Hiscock book.

Step 2: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book. All of it. Cover to cover. Make notes whilst doing so.

Step 3: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book again. And again. Especially the bits you're not certain about.

(Notice how I haven't mentioned buying anything yet?)

Step 4: Start breaking it down, then come back with very specific questions. This will enable you to get the most out of the members here.

Hope this helps!

DJ

I just have to say, that post needs to be stickied! Best advice ever. And, tools are probably going to be your biggest initial investment.

CMA

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.....and don't forget that measuring tools are very important. If you don't already have them, get good steel rules - I regularly use 3 sizes: 6", 12" and 24". (TIP - get rules with the graduations scribed and marked in ink, not just scribed on, they're much easier to read!) Also, reliable straightedges are VERY important, esp. if you plan to make necks, but also for many other things. I could not live without my digital caliper - it was a cheap one, but I'm not working to tolerances of within 0.0001"!!! Add in decent set-square, protractor, scribe - now you're rolling!

+1 regarding the cost of tools and hardware! Tools are always an investment anyway! I sometimes try to buy good tools secondhand from garage sales etc. That way I can get something a little better without shelling out megabucks. Plenty of people who are selling tools, esp. bigger ones, have really looked after them and they make good purchases.

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Step 1: Buy the Melvyn Hiscock book.

Step 2: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book. All of it. Cover to cover. Make notes whilst doing so.

Step 3: Read the Melvyn Hiscock book again. And again. Especially the bits you're not certain about.

(Notice how I haven't mentioned buying anything yet?)

Step 4: Start breaking it down, then come back with very specific questions. This will enable you to get the most out of the members here.

Hope this helps!

DJ

I just have to say, that post needs to be stickied! Best advice ever. And, tools are probably going to be your biggest initial investment.

CMA

Wow, cool! Thanks Andy! I really appreciate that.

I'm really very new to this game myself, so it's good to know I'm on the right track!

DJ

...feeling very humble now....

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There is one tool that is free and is probably my most used tool, the search function on this website. If you have a question, it is a good bet that it has been asked before and answered. Before you even finalize your design, read as much as you can. You'll understand why certain guitars have certain design features. Some are just for looks, some are very functional.

Also, check out the ReRanch forum. Almost all of the finishing work over there is done with spray cans, so you can gain a lot of finishing knowledge from them.

You can buy a premade neck, but expect to be at least at $100 on up. But the tools to make and fret a neck are going to cost well over $100.

Good luck and welcome. :D

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