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okay well with the recent bad advice thread i think it is a good idea for those of us dispensing advice to post pics of our best work...so the newbs have a better understanding of the value of a person's advice...this is BY NO MEANS a be all/end all fix to the problem,and just because a person giving advice is not posted here,it doesn't mean the advice is no good...but at least you will have more of a clue than you had before you read this

i think everyone should put in a "resume" here...so to speak

i describe myself as a hobbyist...i have built a very small number of guitars,and modded(with electronics mostly)many others.

i hope everyone will post something...even if you think it is nothing...think of it as a "get to know you" kind of thing

if you want to talk about yourself a little,that would be good too

i am a 32 year old ironworker from central texas...graduated high school,no college,been playing guitar since i was 18,and came from a poor family,so it was a longtime before i could afford decent musical equipment.

i am now building my first seven string...it is a v and i am about halfway through it...maybe later i will post pictures of it...it so far is my best work to date

EDIT .heh...now I am 35...and the exploder has been my best work so far.

IM000120.JPG

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I'm using westhemann's post as a template B)

I too describe myself as a hobbist. I have either assembled, modified, repaired or painted many personal guitars. I loved mixing and matching parts that didn't belong together B). I have replaced the electronics (pick-ups/pots, etc.) on nearly all guitars I've ever owned. I have refretted guitars only twice and I have scalloped a total of three necks. I plan to make my first "from scratch" guitar(s) this year after accruing much info from this site over the past months I've been here. B) but in the mean time I've been having fun buying cheap guitars and fixing them up :D.

I don't have any pics of my past work as I have sold most of them B).

As for sound clips... here's a video of my old band from about 1994, song is called Broken Glass (sorry, it's nearly 10 MB and you'll need Window Media Player version 9 to view it.)

As of this post I am 37, semi-"retired" (meaning work is hard to come by :D) computer programmer. I have a BS from OSU (Oregon, not Ohio B)) and got about half way through a Master's before I realized that computers are evil :D. I am currently living in Westchester, NY (although I long to move back to the NW.) I have been playing guitar since I was 16. My family was also poor when we first moved to the USA but once my parents started a business, they put me to work starting at about age 9(?) so by the time I was 16, I went guitar crazy!!! :D

I love headless guitar designs so my first and most probably subsequent "from scratch" guitars will be decapitated :D.

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following the trend heres my info and what not,

I am a hobbiest, i got into the idea of building a guitar roughly two years ago, since then i have read as much as i can, searched the web and have refinished one guitar that was competely destroyed (ebay purchase), built one guitar from scratch (minus the neck), and have been working on another guitar for the last year and a half, in addition to my building all the guitars i currently owned have been modified electronicly, pickups pots inout jacks etc, i like to tinker around with guitars and figure out what makes em tick, ive taken my guitars apart numerous times just for the hell of it, currently, i have my first project still going, a neck thru 59 v, im in the developmental stages of a bass guitar for a friend, and i also am in the process of starting a neck thru sg,

heres a link to my work Linky thing

as for myself, im currently 20 going on 21 in september, im an architecture major at roger williams university in RI, home base is upstate NY (saratoga area ) for school i design buildings from begining idea to end in which i come up with a concept and see it thru to final review stage, at school i have knowledge of autocad 2000 and other such programs,

my plans for after school include moving back home to upstate NY, gettin a job as an architect and gettin my license of course, and for fun or as a second job building guitars

my playing experience, ive been playing since i was 16 just over 5 years now

i have a particular taste for gibson guitars, especially 59 V's

and thank you

MzI

p.s, hey wes is there any reason why we couldnt do this in our personal profiles so everyone has one and we dont hafta make a huge long thread

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Hi, my name is Matt and I'm 20yrs. I started building guitars about 7 1/2 years ago, back in elementary school. My very first was an acoustic, but my main focus has been solid body electric guitars/basses, but I built other acoustic instruments as well.

Here are examples of my work:

Some of my instruments

While still in highschool I got a part-time job at Northwood Guitars,which lead to 5 months of full time employment as soon as I graduated, mainly bracing the soundbaords and backs, and gluing the backs and soundboards to the side assemblies.

I consider myself a hobby builder, but a more serious hobby builder, who would like break into it as a full time career...eventually. I have never done repairs, and don't really care to do that, I also don't really like doing custom order instruments, though I've done two.

I've been playing for a bit longer than building, but spent more time building once I got into that. I took violin lessons three years ago, played the alto and barry sax in elementary school, and have just begun teaching myself the cello.

Matt

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My name is, of course, Dave and I built my first guitar only about a year ago. I've been at it non-stop since then with the help of many from ProjectGuitar. I have been into woodworking for most of my life but was too dumb to put my love for playing guitar and woodworking together until last year - duh. I went to college for a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering but got right into software out of school. I currently work as a Software Engineer in Upstate New York. I'm 34.

Here's a link to my collection of random pics which I hope to assemble better in the future.

I've been playing guitar for about 18 years. I knew I had to learn when a friend of mine let me play his electric guitar - I played an open low E with distortion and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I fought a huge battle with my parents just to rent a guitar - they thought it would corrupt my soul. It actually has saved my soul many, many times. It's an incredible release for me to go down there and crank it up and go at it. I hope to record something soon.

I'm certainly a hobby builder. I don't have much tolerance for anything looking less than professional - I try to be a very hard critic on myself. I want my work to hold up against most guitars in any music shop so I really put a lot of time and effort into them. I have made plenty of mistakes along the way and have a huge bin of scrap to prove it.

I have two guitars ready for buffing and a few more on the way. I'm tired of doing LED inlays / fiber optic inlays myself but would be glad to share my experience with anyone who would like to learn more about them. I have one more silver skull on the way with fiber optics and hopefully, and ESP M1 Tiger'ish guitar. I'm really battling with learning finishing - it's certainly my weakness.

That's about it for now - long live ProjectGuitar!!!!! :D:D:DB)

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My name is Derek, I'm a hobbyist builder,I dove into making guitars feb 2003, and i'm just finishing those first guitars now, i've got a bunch of krazy ideas but i have a hard time keeping concentrated on one project. I work as precisly as possible and often spend days thinking about how to do something before proceeding to the next stage of construction on any and all of my guitars. Before that i'd take my guitars apart all the time to see how they worked, i've also done repair work, and parts upgrades on both my fender squire guitars.

All my guitars i'm working on (from scratch) can bee seen here

I've been playing guitar for probably 8 or more years, i would class myself as an amateur metal/rock instrument musician. You can hear some of my songs here

I'm 21 and I've done 2 years of University majoring in Economics, after graduating from highschool with a 77% average and a bilingual certificate. I have no idea what i want to do in life other then relax, play some guitar and be happy.

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My name is Al I'm 45 yrs. old. I guess I'm a semi-pro/hobbyist builder/repairer. My background is mostly in metal work, ie. fabricating, welding etc. also almost every other aspect of trades and construction. I guess you could call me a jack of all trades and I like to incorporate what I know into my projects ie. stainless pickguards, plates, different structural designs, materials, techniques, tools etc. I'm also a fair hand at making CAD drawings of my work.

Most of the guitars that I've owned and worked on are gone (too many to remember), sold, pawned :D or given away freely. As far as I know the guitars I've worked on for money are still being played and everyone is still happy.

I tend to have a radical approach to my work with good results. I only post the results of my successful adventures. If someone doesn't agree and thinks that I am giving bad advice...well, all I can say is...tough luck! It works for me and if it doesn't for you then you just aren't doing it right. I'm always open to new concepts and believe that progress in our society would never have been accomplished without experimentation. It just takes a little imagination. So don't try to tell me its all been done before, I won't believe you, B) .

Edited by Southpa
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My name is William, and I'm an ... no, wait that's another forum. B) I'm 47 years old, extremely opinionated, not very tactful, easily frustrated, stubborn to a fault, and I have a twisted sardonic sense of humor that many find unnerving. I have never built an entire guitar from scratch. I've played 'em, hot-rodded 'em, assembled 'em out of pre-made parts, but I'm not a luthier. I started in 1974, when I reworked my Fender Duo-Sonic with Bill Lawrence pickups and a hardtail Start-style bridge because the stock parts weren't any good. I built a Heathkit amp that same year, and became a fairly avid electronics hobbyist. I started repairing amps and PA equipment by default while playing in a road band, '79-'83, until the inevitable breakup of the band. I've worked as a motorcycle and small-motors mechanic, done some automotive bodywork and painting, worked part-time for a music store doing guitar setups and minor repairs and electrical repairs, and worked as a site coordinator for a party rental operation on lighting, electrical and mechanical problems. I play bass in a cover band when we can keep a drummer. I'm currently working with a company that sells used equipment and custom speaker cabs on getting a vintage style prototype amplifier into production. I had amassed a large collection of cool cheap axes, but recent health problems followed by long-term unemployment has seriously thinned the herd. And I try not to say anything I'm not sure about, because I hate being wrong! Oh, and I ask a lot of stupid questions. :D

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Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars

My work has been seen here, but here's some info. I own a business called "Litchfield Enterprises & Custom Guitars", but there is more enterprises going on that guitars. I have sold one guitar, and built 4 others. Having said that, I am not up to a pro level yet. I am trying very hard to get to a pro level, and as long as my pride stays out of the way, I'll be able to progress. Thats the best advice I can give. Keep your pride and ego in check, otherwise you will regress rather that progress.

And yes, I have a website. It's a Tripod site, because I am too broke to actually have a server. Just goes to show ya dont it?

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My Name is Guy but most people refer to me as Johnny (school nicknames can really stick lol)

im about 90% of the way through building my first guitar which has been built from parts ive bought from ebay and a few other places. its basically just a custom paint job so nothing to amazing. im planning to build more guitars when i have the time and cash.

in truth im much more of an electronics person that a luthier but im hoping to learn

ive been playing guitar for about a year and a half now and from what im told by lots of people im pretty good and have a certain degree of natural apptitude for it. my taste in music is broad to the extent of being downright wierd. everything from techno trance through to blues rock and right the way to the noisecore end of things.

in reality im an 18 year old student who is currentlly only 2 months away from leaving school and taking a year off before going to do electrical engineering at university (man im an interesting person lol). i play guitar, fiddle with all things electronic and skateboard. thats probablly aboutall you wanna know really :D

JG

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thanks to all who have posted so far,i hope there will be more of you...iwant to clarify though...a couple of people seem to take this the wrong way...

this is not a "prove your worth listening to" thread...it is just a tool for newbies who don't know anyone here to see who builds in the style they want...there very well may be those who would rather listen to a home hobbyist rather than a pro,because that is what they want to be.more power to them.

and yes...most of us have seen all this work before and some of us even know this info already about some of the long timers...again,this is not for us...it is for the newbie just walking in off the street so to speak.

so please post your work even if we all have seen it...this topic is pinned so that it will stay here and be seen long after all the other topics have moved into the 10th page

take it like it is meant...as a chance to introduce yourselves and your work to the new guys

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Hi, there are some who call me.... Mike!

Well myself im 17, at school and hoping to do a BMus music degree and a post grad Music degree. i play guitar, started playing when i was 11 years old (ish) starting to get good now. New band formed, playing new material, and gonna record and gig asap! Musical influences would be classical/baroque music, metal, rock etc.... Favourite guitarist is Yngwie Malmsteen, and favourite composer is JS Bach. I also like modes and scales, arpeggios etc...

On to the building:

I have built 1 kit gibson LP style guitar, which i am pleased with, it is blue with Alnico 5 pups. I like my electronics, and so i built a treble booster into it.

I have fully built a custom guitar with dad, in the links below. I designed this spending months over each stage, it has turned out spectacularly. The intonation is totally spot on, and it sings!!! See the links below.

Neck Tutorial for my 31 fret geetar.

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=7441

31 fret Geetar finished!

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=7524

I have been interested in building guitars for about 4 years, and after building the kit i thought and researched more and more about it i built the 31 fret B1 "June". I would consider myself a serious hobbiest, tho i have had some orders for guitars now, since people have played my guitar, because of this i am thinking of trying to make a living, or at least some of, building guitars. The orders are as follows: An explorer type, a randy rhodes V, and a super strat. I also plan to build myself a bass and a randy rhodes V. All guitars having my Pre-amp buffer i designed, and various tone control circuitry, as in "June".

Long winded perhaps!!! Aww well, you did ask!

Mike

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Hey, dudes.. I'm Shaun from Singapore and I'm currently doing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering specialising in aeronautical engineering.. Oh, yeah, and I'm 21 coming on 22 this year..

First thing you should know is that I have not built any guitar from scratch.. I'm a lot more comfortable tinkering around with the guitar's electronics.. Got the stuff I learn at school to thank for that.. See the date I joined the forum?? That's about the time I realised that guitars could be 'engineered'.. As such, I'm still pretty new to building guitars, having actually only put together only 1 second hand parts guitar to date but guitar innards and circuitry have always been my forte.. Not on Ansil's level, though.. Nowhere near!! B)

I've been playing guitar since 1998, electric since 2000.. In addition to that, I've been playing the piano for about 17 to 18 years now (started early :D ) and the drums since '96 (I'm not a drummer.. Really.. Well, not right now, anyway..).. Musically, I'm an ex-punk turned blues, blues-rock guitarist.. I'm currently playing in a 3 piece band and we try to play blues, rock and (badly) funk, though our music usually comes across as a mix of everything.. Including punk, unfortunately, but we're working on that.. :D

You can see my guitars and stuff on my website, The Fishtank..

And I think that Strats rule the world!! :D

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19-year-old kid working on my instrument repair degree, at the same time a diploma in bass performance, emphasis on jazz.

i am currently in the process of building my first "from scratch" guitar, but in the past, i have worked on, constructed, repaired, or tweaked every aspect of a guitar, so i think i've "built" a guitar, just not all in one. i began working w/ guitars "agressively" about two years ago, but i've been playing with them since i first got one just over 3 and a half years ago. nothing but cheap custom finishes for my friends at first, but shortly graduated to more advanced techniques of finishing, as well as electronic tweaks and body shaping (small scale, bevels, small carvings, etc.)

i've spent many years as "band techies" or as a roadie for countless bands, ranging from basement-pop-punk-garbage to the highest of the high when it comes to local bands. i currently sound design at Starlight Theater in Rockford, IL, and roadie for my little brother's band Leash & Scoop when i get a chance to. i mostly appreciate my repair knowledge to roadying, due to the fact that you're not working at whatever pace you want. most of the time, it has to be done and ready for a show by the next night, and that's on a good day.

i worked on a kit guitar for my friend over the summer, not a full-fledged "kit," rather just parts and pieces he wanted put into a guitar. my current SG project can be seen at this thread. i always have some sort of strat project in the works, as well.

i'm definately still learning, but at the same time, i have a lot of "rough and tough" experience in knowing how to a: jimmy-rig things and b: how to make things show ready and stay that way.

my forte's are in finishes and things involving bridges, trems, and tuning machines. i'm learning about fretwork and just about anything related to the neck quite a bit, still. when it comes to electronics, i know enough to be able to take care of minor things, but sometimes, i get horribly confused and just bail and come to someone here for help.

and i like long walks on the beach and candle-lit dinners.

Edited by StratDudeDan
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I'm Jeremy, don't have much to say except that I make a living building and customizing guitars, airbrushing, and inlay on just about anything.

Call me a pro, call me amature, call me hobbiest, call me whatever you want, I don't really care :D

My work I hope speaks for itself, and I don't feel that I should have to post a resume to be taken seriously. I've built and customized guitars for customers who just wanted a cool guitar, right up to customers with recording contracts who just loved my work.

I consider myself a professional, others might just consider me an asshole LOL, either way, if you want to see my work, check out

LGM Guitars

ALL the pictures on the site are work I've done, I would never rip off somebody else's work, and would hope nobody would steal my pics either.

Jeremy

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My name is Tobin, and I have also never built an entire guitar from scratch. EDIT: THIS HAS NOW CHANGED, SEE BELOW. I have assembled two from aftermarket parts and I have built one from scratch SEE IT HERE. Building has been just an outgrowth of my playing. I could never find the "perfect" guitar that could handle my favorite styles in one package. (style-wise I love shred, fusion, "hot" country, flatpicking bluegrass, progressive metal, thrash) I always thought the strat or super strats came closest, but still no cigar. Plus, I grew up in Fullerton, CA, the city where Fender was founded, so I'm a little biased toward the strat.

Although I am a newbie builder at best, my playing in pretty solid. I took my first lesson in '88, and continued to take them ever since. I passed the AP Music Theory exam (with a "4"; for those that didn't need to take these, I'm jealous, and the scale is 1-5 with "3" considered passing) my senior year in high school, having taken only guitar lessons of a non-classical sort. Needless to say, my first teacher was incredible. I have studied composition, but guitar has been my only instrument, so maybe that "hampered" me from doing ochestral compositions. I think it just makes my playing/writing of guitar that much better, and I don't care that I really never bothered with anything else. I welcome any "theory type" questions (weird scales, chords, what to play with what, etc.) and try and answer the ones I do see in the Player's Corner and elsewhere. I don't get a chance to record my music near as much as I might like (work gets in the way), I am however, trying to finish off some stuff in the digital world and get it posted. I'll link it here once I do.

Personal Background: I'm 30, live in DFW, TX and work as a quality guy in food manufacturing (we make the seasoning you eat on the Nacho and Cool Ranch Doritos, among other things). I have a B.S. in Physics w/minor in Civil Eng. from West Point and an M.S. in Engineering Management from U of Missouri.

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Ok, im Perry, and i own "Ormsby Guitars and Repairs", located in Perth, W. Australia.

I specialise in custom made electric guitars, and repairs to all stringed instruments. Handwound pickups are also a specialty.

My client base for guitars so far includes the USA, Japan, Singapore, UK and Australia. As of Oct 09, we have a 6-18 month wait depending on the guitar being built, and approximately 60 guitars on order.

I operate out of a dedicated workshop (not my back shed) for most of the time, and my staff and I do a LOT of repair work for local music stores like setups, wiring jobs, cracks and broken necks, fretjobs etc etc. Without a doubt, we are the biggest repairer in our state. Also do all the warranty work for the majority of brands.

My favorite features of my guitars are the shell inlay logos, carved tops, and headstock shape. Ive attempted to be unique, whilst also conforming to "standards".

My website is located here: Ormsby Guitars

We have a diary section, so people can track my work via photos, on a weekly basis.

CARD-FRONT.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
My work has been seen here, but here's some info. I own a business called "Litchfield Enterprises & Custom Guitars", but there is more enterprises going on that guitars. I have sold one guitar, and built 4 others. Having said that, I am not up to a pro level yet. I am trying very hard to get to a pro level, and as long as my pride stays out of the way, I'll be able to progress. Thats the best advice I can give. Keep your pride and ego in check, otherwise you will regress rather that progress.

And yes, I have a website. It's a Tripod site, because I am too broke to actually have a server. Just goes to show ya dont it?

Should also note that I have done many repairs and such. I am quite good at repairs, but building needs a bit of work.

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Guess I'll give it a go. My Name is Darrell and I have done one poor quality Zakk Wylde refin. I am currently in the midst of two projects (modding an RG to a jem how cliche, and I have a neck that I hope will go on a from scratch wolfgang like original). So in other words I can give no advice on building or painting except for stylistic opinions! As fars playing goes I have been playing since 96' I put in two years towards a Jazz performance degree at NCCU but left to get married. I'm not a great guitarist but I aspire to be and my main influences range from randy rhoads and zakk wylde (obviously) all the way to Kenny Burell. I guess my only real contribution to the forum would be in the players forum but I hope to learn from the builders around me and become experienced enough to be a contributer allover the site.

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My name is Curtis, I am just completing my first project, built the neck, body and everything and asked lots of questions, so i know very little still, but enough to build anyother one and help some others out.

I have been playing for 3 years now, and still am not the greatest but I am striving for greatness and in, ironicly 2 bands :blink My main influences are Randy Rhoads, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Slayer, Steve Vai, SRV, and cant forget Pink floyd and Neil Young too.

My real contrubutions are in the Rant section of the site, but I feel I can help out in a few other sections.

Curtis

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I'm Jon, I'm 21 and live in the UK :D

I work as a Metal Polisher and I also run a small mail order company supplying metal polishing kits mainly to the motorbike trade. I've been playing guitar for about 9 years and I've has lessons for most of that time, I've spent the last 3 years studying classical guitar until I finally quit my lessons a few weeks ago. I play guitar in a (as yet un-named!) metal band.

I'm new to guitar building and I have zero woodworking experience. I've just started building my first project and I've learnt endless abouts of info from this site in the short time I've been here. My bank account is being emptied very quickly as my shed fills up with more tools :D but I'm really loving the work, it beats the s**t out of getting covered in polishing compound! :D

B)

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I'm Anthony (Setch) Setchell, a 26 year old amateur builder from London, UK.

I've been building guitars since late 2001, when I built a new neck for a nlyon strung accoustic my Grandpa built. Since then I've produced 4 guitars from scratch, all set-neck electrics, built necks for other DIYers, and done a number of simple repair jobs, setups and modification. My last 2 guitars are the first I rate objectively as being of professional standard (ie: Better than the equivalent produced by the big US names), and as such I am now taking commisions, though for the time being I plan to stick to friends and family, at least till I've got a few more builds under my belt.

I build in my garage at home, in a small area, with minimal equipment and no large power tools, though I am slowly aquiring a few as money permits. Given the choice, I like to use handtools, and rely on as few specialised luthiery tools as possible, making custom tools myself if I need them to keep costs down. As well as building guitars and guitar making tools I enjoy making small wooden things as gifts for friends, using my off-cut guitar woods.

I studied illustration at Uni, and since graduating I've been channeling most of my creative urges into guitar building and woodwork, so I look forward to using my artistic abilities to produce some original designs. I play in an informal band with some friends, but I'm a dedicated hack, so I'd take anything I post about playing with a *big* pinch of salt. :D

Some photos of my work can be seen on my blog - here. Also on the site are a detailed photo diary of the construction of a LP-style guitar, and the construction of a laminated maple neck.

thumb-panorama.jpg thumb-gotm_entry01.jpg

Updated November 2nd 2005

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well i guess i will jump on here also although i am still new to this forum most people seem to appreciate what i have to say.

I have done many ajobs and too numerous to list so a few

Prison Officer/Riot Squad, Grillcook, General Handy man.

currently i am trying to get my own shop up and running and have filed medical disability.

I am 28 years old, i have been tearing apart stuff and fixing it since i was able to walk and hold a screwdriver. I have been electrocuted too many times to count before i reached teen years. i spend most of my posts in the electronics section as i build my own effects and went to EE school after high school and worked on things from toy hovercrafts to hoverounds and golf carts to the schools electrical and computer systems.

I am not the person to ask in this crowd about buildign guitars. i have built quite a few little things. I did my first guitar body at 15 and it was a disaster. the second one was a modified bc rich bich that someone made a neck thru that i finished up. {ten dollar deal can't beat it} an alder gibson m3 and a few little other project stuff like the ibanez clones.

personally i am more at home with fiberglass or metal or any thing i can pour into a mold and melt down. FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE>>

i had a custom guitar that never got finished, and when i decided to make another fiberglass guitar i found this site and started talking to brian and i talked a few times. and sent him a couple things for the tutorial section. but i never new that there was a chat section till i had a email from him

sorry for rambling on. i will post some links shorlty i had to contact everyone to send me some more pics of my work.

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