Re-starting 30 year project - Guitar Parts Recommendation

[PA_GuitarDad]

When I was in high school I bought a piece of Mahogany, stopped by a guitar shop and traced the shape of an SG body and began an project that unfortunately I never finished. Fast forward 30 years and my son (he is 9) has found the guitar body I had cut and asked if we could finish building the guitar together.  I had bought a neck, tuning machines, and a bridge years ago but they are all lost.

To get my project up and going again I would like recommendations for purchasing a neck (and other hardware too). I would like a good quality neck with a SG style head but as I search the web I am overwhelmed with the choices available starting at a price point of $50 (which I am skeptical of the quality) and upwards to $400-$500. I would like a good quality, above average neck but just don't know where to go and how to judge the quality when I am buying online. I am looking for a neck that I can bolt on; this guitar just has to be Gibson-like. :-)

I am also open to recommendations for the hardware. I tried to see if there was a topic on this already posted but I could not find one. If I missed it please point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bizman62]

I can't tell about brands but basically you should get a decent quality neck even for $50. One with a "paddle" headstock you then carve to whichever shape you like would add to the "made by yourself" theme. The fret ends will most likely be rough and the frets may not be leveled, even some loose frets may appear. As long as the scale is right (which seems to have improved) any straight neck should do. The "flaws" can be considered as part of the building and learning how to deal with them is part of the fun! When experimenting with an inexpensive and replaceable neck a total catastrophe won't ruin the build. Truth to be said, the "above average" necks have started their life as average. The love and affection of a builder is what raises them. And the tricks are pretty simple: Check that the frets are properly seated, level them, file the fret ends flush with the fretboard, round the ends of the frets, adjust the truss rod, adjust the nut, adjust the bridge. There's videos about making a $100 guitar play like a $500 guitar and that's what they do.

There's companies that make kits more or less finished according to the wishes of the buyer. Crimson Guitars in England are one of those, you can get anything from a rough CNC'd piece to a polished and finished item you'll just have to attach.

Gotoh make good quality hardware for a decent price. There's also cost effective pickups available. I've been toying with the cheapest Chinese parts and to be honest that's a lottery as the parts can be picked from the reject bin. Paying $20 instead of a tenner for bulk Korean tuners is worth the price, the benefits of a $500 bridge can be questionable compared to a sub $100 one.

[Charlie H 72]

Biz is right about the necks-you can make em work for you. And that will be part of the fun. It will also give you the skills to seriously upgrade your other guitars if you want.

Set yourself a budget and see what you can do in that range with hardware-try to match the quality. No point in a fancy bridge if the tuners can’t stay in tune. And if there are parts that you want to go above and beyond with (pickups come to mind) then adjust accordingly. Don’t go for bottom of the line on anything that the strings touch.

Gfs has great budget pickups, Seymour Duncan is the standard for quality pickups, and Lollar and many others make gorgeous boutique pickups. Just depends what you are looking for and what you want to spend. I have all three and I currently play the guitar with gfs the most. 

Stewart Macdonald is a great resource for all sorts of hardware etc. and they have great customer service & return policies. There are a few other small places but as far as a one stop shop stewmac should be your go-to.

 

[PA_GuitarDad]

Thanks for the feedback Biz and Charlie. Cleaning up the workshop here as I start to price parts. I will post a pic of where we are starting from soon.