Thinking Of Building A Guitar.

[jeepis]

Alright, so I have decided that my old guitar is a piece of s**t. (It's a freaking Stagg, ffs! ) I want to build a guitar and it would be my first build.

I haven't settled on anything, except that it will have an original Floyd Rose.

I need help deciding on:

1. Body Shape. I'm stuck between a Randy Rhoads or a King V, cause I want an aggressive looking metal guitar. I would like to hear from people, who have played both of these. I need to know which one is more comfortable. (I'll be playing it pretty low, a bit above my knees...) And I'll probably put on a reverse Jackson-style headstock. Does anyone have plans for a King V or Randy Rhoads with the whole measurements and all? Can fxd. files be used in a router or tracer or whatever it's called?

2. Wood. I want it to have good sustain and the body would have to be a bit heavy, so it would balance out the neck weight. (My friend has a Randy Rhoads type and the neck is heavier than the body, I guess, cause the neck goes down.) Also, what's the best wood for a metal sound? And what kind of wood should I get for the neck?

3. Pick-ups. I'm definately going with active pick-ups. I need ones that aren't overpriced, but sound good. (I'm thinking at a 100$ max.) Which EMGs sound better? I'm only going to install a bridge pickup.

4. Neck. Since it's my first build, should I maybe go with a pre-built neck and fretboard? Also, how hard is it to make inlays and install them? I was thinking of a custom inlay design. Also, is a thinner neck easier to play on? Some say that they find fat ones better. And how thin can I go? (depth not width) Maybe more like flat not thin? What's the right word?

And if there's any more advice you can give me, i'd be thankful, cause I would like to make my first build with as little screw-ups as I can.... HELP PLEASE!

[Xanthus]

ooooooooooook where to begin?

1) Have you played either guitar? Which one feels better to YOU? You're going to be the one playing it every day, so I feel that other people's opinions don't really hold much sway. FWIW I built a Rhoads last summer and it's VERY comfortable. King Vs are far too big for me, ungainly, can't play when sitting down, etc etc.

Plans can be found here:

guitarbuildingtemplates.com

guitarplansunlimited.com

google.com

2) Wood. What kind of wood do you like on your guitars? Read up.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/NeckWoods.aspx

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Optio...oodOptions.aspx

google.com (note the heavy emphasis on search engines )

Ash, Alder, and Mahogany are popular, Maple and Walnut for necks. This is also a question of how well-sourced your area is, and how much you want to spend. There is no specific wood per-se for a metal sound. The more gain and effects you throw on your sound, the less important the wood is. Search the forums for plywood guitar experiments.

Strap button position is more important on how a guitar hangs. Your strap buttons want to be in as straight of a line as possible. Normal guitars balance well because the strap button on the horn is higher than the strap button on the butt.

3) Have you played guitars with EMGs? Have you played them through YOUR amp? The rest of your effects chain is just as, if not more important than your pickups. But, and not to be rude, you probably think gain is king. Play more guitars with different pickups. How many old-school mettalers played Strats with Seymour humbuckers? I remember this one guitarist who played a secondhand guitar with a stock Gibson pickup through an old Marshall Plexi, and even hooked up a Variac to LOWER the power of his amp. Crazy! (Yes I'm aware I'm beating a dead horse..)

What's the reasoning behind not having a neck pickup? If you REALLY just hate the sound of a neck pickup then you could drop more money on a GOOD bridge pickup. Look at:

http://www.swinesheadpickups.co.uk/

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/

4) A neck build is only difficult because it requires more specialized tools and greater attention to detail. That said, I built my first with a premade neck and couldn't have been happier.

carvin.com

soulmateguitars.com

Some of the best necks around. Soulmate by reputation, but I have a Carvin guitar and bought a neckthrough and they are the nicest feeling necks. Carvin, if you call them by phone, will give you plenty more options on necks than on their website. Basically any option they offer for a full guitar they will do for a neck.

Here's my opinion on inlays: They don't make you play better or faster. If you're just looking to pretty up your metal machine, though, go for it. Inlays require lots of time and offer basically no room for error. I would either get them done if you HAVE to have them, or go without, aside from simple dots.

Have you played a thin neck? I'll repeat what I've been hinting at previously: Get thyself to a Guitar Center and play on two or three guitars from every brand they have. Make a note, take a notebook and write down what you like and what you dislike, and you'll come further to finding out what works for you than asking people online. Compare a Tele to a Les Paul/355 to a JEM and find out if you even like a thin neck. I personally do not.

Do some searching on the forums, and you should be able to find answers to any question you have.

[ihocky2]

Xanthus pretty summed up my response.

But before you buy anything else, go out and buy Melvyn Hiscock's book on how to build an electric guitar. I can't believe Xanthus missed that.

[Keegan]

1. I would say a Rhoads, because it looks more comfortable out of the two. I wouldn't go for either one personally, but the Rhodes seems the better choice. You can get plans for a Rhodes body with a floyd here http://www.guitarplansunlimited.com/Customs.htm

2. Mahogany is probably your best bet for its weight and darker tone. Wenge if you want even more weight and brighter attack. Walnut for more brightness than Wenge. Maple if you're insane(will probably give you an ear-piercing treble sound, but if you adjust your tone controls right you'll just get extra bite in the bass/mid).

3. I would pair an EMG 58 with the mahogany and an EMG 85 or 89 with the brighter woods or if you want more of a focused bassy sound. The 58 has sort of a P-90 tonality, mean and thick. The 89 is similar to the 85 but it has the added option of being splittable(very good clean sound).

Here are some good clips of the sound of each

EMG 85

EMG 58

(It'd be more thicker-sounding than this in real life, since he's running into a camcorder)

I'd stay away from the 81 since it's really thin and trebly.

4. I'd stick with a pre-made neck if I were you.

What tools do you have available? At the very least for a body you're going to need a band saw(or some sort of saw you can cut the outline with), router(to clean up the outline and to route controls/pickups/neck pocket), and drill press(or hand drill if you're careful). A spindle sander is also handy for shaping your template, but not required(I only used our crappy band saw and just hand sanded from there). If you don't have the tools, you can go to Woodcraft and rent their tools to cut/sand the outline. I had to go there to get my wood jointed and planed for my guitar. The router you're going to want to own, because you'll be spending a lot of time with it.

You can also always just go with a pre-made body if you don't want to buy tools, especially if this is a one-time thing. A floyd could be a lot for a first-time builder. Warmoth does Rhodes Vs at $230 for Mahogany.

[Xanthus]

Xanthus pretty summed up my response.

But before you buy anything else, go out and buy Melvyn Hiscock's book on how to build an electric guitar. I can't believe Xanthus missed that.

Maybe because Melvyn hasn't sent me my royalties check for plugging his book yet But yes, as a self-respecting guitar builder I should be ashamed at failing to mention Hiscock's book.

I actually don't have the Hiscock book, but I do have Martin Koch's book on the same subject. It's in need of and update, a few diagrams, and color photos, but it does the job.

My favorite book, though, is The Search Function by the PG Forum guys.

Ok, I'll stop

[Sand Paper]

Seymour Duncan Blackouts and the Dave Mustaine Livewire signature actives are killer. I'd go with those over EMG's any day. They seem a lot more transparent sounding and can actually deliver some good attack and nuance that I find EMG's do not have. I'd definitely give them a listen and a try.

As for thin necks, I have a 1995 Ibanez S with the Wizard (I or II, I can't remember) neck and I hate it for metal. A few people on here, as well as myself, find that it tires out your hand and it sometimes gives me cramps. Super thick necks feel cumbersome to me, but awesome to others. I like the ESP/LTD "Thin U" profile, it's a nice feeling no frills easy design that's fast yet comfortable.

When I started looking into building I took a whole day and went to a guitar store and tried a ton of stuff. I started noticing that a lot of guitars have some pretty bad flaws. Not just in the finishes either, but their inherent designs. Just pick your favorite features from a bunch of models and make them into one thing.

[westhemann]

EMG 81 is what you want for the bridge...if you go with EMG

I have not tried the blackouts,but the live wires suck ass...they are way too hot and they shriek on high gain settings like a scalded cat at any decent volume...plus they are too trebly by far.

But the medium output blackouts seem promising...remember the EMG pickups are not high outbut,they are just given a preamp boost....which is why the things are so quiet...anytime you up the output to the insane degree of a livewire you will have noise on a tube amp...

I am not bashing the blackouts though..I fully intend to try the "medium" outputs...but I would stay away from the "metal" ones,because they are described by Duncan as very similar to the live wires mustain pickups...

SP....the 95 s model has the wizard neck,if I recall....I have a 93 with a wizard neck,and you are correct in that it is too thin for most people's comfort...the wizard II is much more to my liking...a great neck profile....I replaced the neck on my sabre with a mahogany warmoth with a profile similar to a wizard II,and it sounds better now...but I never liked it for metal because the sound seems too thin...

The best pickups I ever found to compliment the sabre's tonal signature(for metal) are the Duncan Dimebuckers...give them a shot in yours and I think you may like it better...

right now I have mine set up 81/s/s and I use it mostly for spanking clean blues...or the occasional melodic thing...

[ihocky2]

I haven't gotten a chance to try the Duncan actives yet. But I doubt I'll ever use EMG again. I bought a Jackson Soloist with them already loaded in and just could not get the tone I wanted. I know everyone says they sound sterile, and I hate to add to cliche's or stereotypes, but in my guitar I have to agree. No matter what I did with my amp I just could not get any kind of bite from them on overdrive or high gain. They did have a nice clean tone though. But even then I think they were a little lacking. I am a huge fan of Seymour Duncan. I have not been let down yet.

[westhemann]

Yeah...but want to know the problem?the japanese soloist is poplar,which is a very sterile sounding wood...very soggy...but the duncan JB works great with it...also...those WERE active EMG,correct?Because most jacksons do not come with active EMG pups..only the sig models,mostly....the rest are usually EMG HZ,which are passive.

I have an alder Jackson with active EMG pups...sounds great...very cutting tone.Of course I also have a few others loaded with EMG..all sound very,very different

[ihocky2]

SL1 Soloist, but still poplar. The EMG's were upgrades by the previous owner and were actives. 81/SA/SA, and were wired correctly. I just couldn't get the sound I wanted from them. Replaced with a Duncan Distortion in the bridge, Duck Bucker in the middle and Hot Rail in the neck. Surprisingly, the Duck Bucker sounds great on high gain, but yet gives a great glassy clean.

[westhemann]

One other little tidbit...I find EMG is not really the pickup to use if you are playing through a non-tube amp...they are really best through a high gain tube monster like,Mesa,Marshall,diezel,etc...and of course Engl...what I have..

Before the Engl I had a Marshall...sounded good through that...

If I were playing through say,a Line 6 or something like that,I would go with the passive pups every time...I have a behringer amp right now,as well as a crate...both sound better with my passive guitars...

edit

Well the Duncans are great pups too...never tried those that you mention,aside from the distortion in the bridge..but all duncans are great...

I had a poplar soloist with a JB in the bridge and a fernandes sustainer in the neck...it was allright,but not for me I guess.

[XBIGJIMX]

I would go with the EMG 81 is has really been really good to me as far as an aggressive pick up goes.

My advice as far as your first build would be go with Warmoth parts. THey do all the hard work as far as drilling and building the hard parts. I would compare it to a snap together model kit vs 500 piece advanced model. You can get a great guitar that is very custom but with out investing in alot of tools. But if you go the full build route just remember to relax and take your time. You will feel the excitment to rush but take your time and enjoy it

[ihocky2]

I'll disagree with that a little. The body work is not that hard at all. Look at the Oak Guitar build. Not the highest quality work, but built with a rasp and chisel and drill. So you don't need to invest a lot in tools to get a good product. I would go with a premade neck if you don't want to sink a ton into tools though. My first build was done with a borrowed router, a hand drill, a rasp, and sandpaper. I bought a neck and used spray paint to finish, and it turned out great.

[jeepis]

The thing is, I don't want a pre-made body, cause I want to modify the shape a bit. And about the neck, it costs like 300$ I think... Ok, that's fine, I want a quality guitar, but then, the delivery to my country probably costs like 170$, like in other internet shops. And that's kind of messed up.

Also, I don't want the guitar to look like it's my first build, I hope I can make something that will still look and hopefully sound good after 10 years or so. I'm definately not going to try and pull a 1-month build or anything, I'll invest a year in it if I have to...

[ihocky2]

Like I said, for a body, minimal tools are needed. If you don't own a router, but can borrow one great. That will get most of the work done. The body really is the easy part.

What country are you in? Shipping overseas is not always the most reasonable. But there are quality necks on eBay that can be had for a reasonable price, and may be available closer to you. Even at $300, you are still coming in at about the same price or less than the cost of all of the tools needed for building a neck.

Look up any of the work the Drak has done on this board. I don't know how many of the pictures are still hosted though. He doesn't and won't build his own necks. He has no desire to at all, but he makes some of the best looking guitars you'll find.