Building from scratch as opposed to ordering...

[Blues_Breaker]

Which is better for building a guitar. I am not looking to build lots and lots of guitars...I just want one very good guitar I can keep for a very long time. Would Warmoth or WD Music be a better choice, or should I go ahead and attempt building? This is a very stupid question, but I had to ask it, sorry.

[guitar_ed]

Hi BB,

You have posed a good question. Unfortunately, there is no really good answer. Part of the answer lies in what you are attempting to build.

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that you want to build a pure Telecaster. Ash or Alder body. The dimensions of the body & neck perfect. How are you going to get those measurements? If you do it yourself, do you have the tools and do you know how to use them? Continuing the assumption of a pure Tele, would it be cheaper to buy one from Fender? (The answer is probably yes.)

The real answer lies in your goals, your skills, and your desires. And only you know the answer.

Guitar Ed

After inflation, my $0.14 worth.

[Blues_Breaker]

Thanks for replying. I am not sure exactly what i want yet. I want something with an H-S-H set up so I can have a more versitile guitar...meaning I can coil tap the humbuckers so I could get single or humbucker sound. I was thinking along the lines of a Strat or an LP. I would buy one from Fender, but I want to have the guitar exactly how I want it when I build it. Also, the quality of Fender and Gibsons has been a bit lacking as of late. I read an article on the quality of Gibson and the author had been playing guitars for 30 odd years and worked in a guitar shop, so he played several Les Pauls and he stated that 1 LP out of ever 100 was worth the price. So I want somethign worth the price that I will pay.

[Black Mariah]

FOR THE LOVE OF GLOD, BUILD A PARTS GUITAR FIRST!

Reason being, it's much harder to screw up. Putting together a guitar from Warmoth parts is essentially a "Tab A into Slot B" process. You buy all the parts, you screw them together and set it up, and you have a guitar. When you screw up a body that you only have a monetary interest in, there's much less aggravation than there is when you accidentally put a hole through your nearly completed neck while drilling the screw holes in the heel. Finishing, assembly, and setup are very important parts of building a guitar and it's best to learn how to do that before you jump into building your own components.

In my opinion, at least.

[dcamp67]

FOR THE LOVE OF GLOD, BUILD A PARTS GUITAR FIRST!

Reason being, it's much harder to screw up. Putting together a guitar from Warmoth parts is essentially a "Tab A into Slot B" process. You buy all the parts, you screw them together and set it up, and you have a guitar. When you screw up a body that you only have a monetary interest in, there's much less aggravation than there is when you accidentally put a hole through your nearly completed neck while drilling the screw holes in the heel. Finishing, assembly, and setup are very important parts of building a guitar and it's best to learn how to do that before you jump into building your own components.

In my opinion, at least.

You might as well buy a mexican strat or tele and tear it apart to put it back together!!!

Really, order a kit from universal jems (go to the supply section and link over). The experience will be invaluble before you start hand crafting that " one perfect" guitar.

[GregP]

I'm of two minds about this issue--

On one hand, I wish I had build from parts for my first one. Mostly just so that I could go through a 'build' very quickly and end up with an end product quickly, as well. That way I could have a guitar that was 'mine' and the urge to rush a 'from scratch' build wouldn't be as pressing.

However, as long as the kit's manufactured right, I can imagine it's no more of a challenge than putting together a piece of Ikea furniture. I took apart a Mexi strat once , refinished the body (poorly) and put it back together. The putting it back together part was a no-brainer.

The moral of the story? It depends on how much you're concerned with the process, and how much you just want to have a decent guitar that fits your specs. There's little doubt in my mind that the necks and bodies you get from WD or Warmoth are top-shelf in quality, and will LIKELY (hey, miracles can happen) be superior to anything you could make from scratch as a first build.

Greg

[Drak]

I would not attempt to build your own custom guitar...rather...find a good luthier and have them build it for you. End of story.

[Black Mariah]

Buying components from Warmoth is basically the same as buying a kit guitar, the only difference is you know everything is good quality. While that quality comes at a price, it's worth it if you're going to be playing this as your main guitar.

[Devon Headen]

I'm gonna have to go with Drak here. If you want an extremely high quality guitar that you can decide all of the options on, find a well respected local luthier and get him to build it. You can't get the quality you want on your first build.

[GuitarMaestro]

I would recommend getting the parts of Warmoth or USA Custom Guitars. Putting them together is not difficult and the quality of the parts is at least as good as what a respected luthier can do, in my opinion even better. They use great source material and use high precision machines, etc. their finishing is excellent as well. The only drawback is that you have to choose from their options and cannot go completely custom, BUT they have loads of options.

Getting a guitar with the same quality from a luthier will be much more difficult and way more expensive. Doing a build from scratch that meets their level of quality is close to impossible if it is the first ever build for you. In my opinion a respected luthier can only top the warmoth quality at a very high price.

[MurphC]

Personally, I want a guitar that I can be proud of and say, "hey, I built that".

Also the custom guitar shop here has crap for teles (and molasses necks)

[Drak]

Personally, I want a guitar that I can be proud of and say, "hey, I built that".

Also the custom guitar shop here has crap for teles (and molasses necks)

Well, most of us here probably can agree with that, but you might find yourself out a few thousand in tools and a few years in time before you reach the level of being able to knock out something of really high quality.

So for what he was asking, for a once-off shot, a luthier (a good one with credentials and references BTW) would be the way to go, and I'll have to disagree with GM.

A good luthier will take those same parts and build a very high-quality, well-playing, valuable, beautiful INSTRUMENT out of those parts.

An amateur could take those same parts and build a pile of unplayable poop with them.

A seasoned luthier who's been at it for years and years will know things that some amateur just buying the raw parts would be -completely- clueless of, and if all you want is -one- incredibly good guitar, it's those intangibles that a seasoned luthier brings to the table that make it very worthwhile to hire one and do your 'one' for you.

That's why I stated it so matter-of-factly, there's no contest really.

[frankie]

Personally, I want a guitar that I can be proud of and say, "hey, I built that".

Also the custom guitar shop here has crap for teles (and molasses necks)

Well, most of us here probably can agree with that, but you might find yourself out a few thousand in tools and a few years in time before you reach the level of being able to knock out something of really high quality.

So for what he was asking, for a once-off shot, a luthier (a good one with credentials and references BTW) would be the way to go, and I'll have to disagree with GM.

A good luthier will take those same parts and build a very high-quality, well-playing, valuable, beautiful INSTRUMENT out of those parts.

An amateur could take those same parts and build a pile of unplayable poop with them.

A seasoned luthier who's been at it for years and years will know things that some amateur just buying the raw parts would be -completely- clueless of, and if all you want is -one- incredibly good guitar, it's those intangibles that a seasoned luthier brings to the table that make it very worthwhile to hire one and do your 'one' for you.

That's why I stated it so matter-of-factly, there's no contest really.

i noticed you said "poop"

save that for the poop forum

[Ultimate Garage Band]

For an HSH set up, I'd suggest a Carvin Bolt Plus kit. You won't find it on their web site, only the regular Bolt kit, but if you call them and ask for Sean or Charles, they'll set you up. Every option that is available for the factory guitar is available for a kit, so, for body woods, if you don't want the stock Alder, you could choose:

Swamp Ash

Mahogany

Walnut

Koa

Maple

and you could also mix woods like a Mahogany body w/a Maple cap. You could even vary the Maple cap by just getting Maple, 'figured' Maple, AAA Flame Maple, or AAA Quilt Maple. Or you could put a Flame Koa top on a Swamp Ash body; all kinds of options. For necks, you could get the standard Maple neck w/an Ebony fingerboard, or get a Birdseye Maple fingerboard, or Rosewood. You could get a neck from:

Mahogany

Alder

Koa

Walnut

and you could do various laminations of those woods like a 5 piece Maple/Koa/Maple/Koa/Maple, etc..

On that neck, you'll have a choice of about 5 or 6 different fret sizes including a stainless steel fret option. You can go w/the standard pearl dot inlays, or abalone, or no inlays, or pearl block, or abalone block.

You have 2 different kinds of tuning keys to choose from (I'd get the Sperzels), 3 or 4 different bridges, several wiring schemes/switches/pots, and I think 11 pickups to choose from. 3 colors of hardware and straplocks if you want them. They'll even finish the body and neck for you if you want from a solid color to a 3 color step stained burst.

Go w/a stock set up and you're probably at around $450 or so and doing the finishing of the body and tung oiling the neck yourself. Option it to the hilt and have them finish it w/the most expensive finish and you're probably around $900. I'm guessing. When you're done, you'll have one of the best playing guitars you'll ever own. Here's my Bolt-T kit:

[Drak]

1) I would agree on Carvin being a viable option.

2) That is a DEE-LISH lookin' guitar there!

[Ultimate Garage Band]

thanks!

[frankie]

I'm gonna build a guitar from scratch, and it's gonna be awesome dangit

[Dr. Jabsco]

good enthusiasm!

[PaulNeeds]

Some interesting stuff here.

I've done countless mods, refrets, refinishes (ok ish but I lack patience), and assembled several guitars from combinations of new and old parts, but am just about to start on a complete build.

I think part of the answer really depends on how long you expect to wait before you can play your creation. If you want it in a month or two, get a kit or someone to build it for you.

If you're prepared to put months in and progress slowly and patiently, I don't think it's impossible that you can build something you're really proud of (at least that's my personal gamble).

But I think I can guarantee that if you do build one, kit or full custom job, it won't be your last.

[frankie]

thanks

[Alexander]

I've gone with the Warmoth parts, just put it all together option for my first one. Mainly because as Dirty Harry said "A man's gotta know his limitations" - I have zero woodworking skills. My main reason for building my own guitar is that I've been playing for many years and I kind of know what I want out of a guitar, and finding it is very difficult. Closest I've got to my perfect guitar is my Gordon Smith - quite simply the nicest playing and sounding guitar I've ever had. But I want something a little hotter (EMG 81), simpler (one pup, one vol knob) with a trem (wilkinson). That's all - nice graphite nut, light body, sperzels, and I'm done.