avengers63

Wow, Mickguard! Who peed in your Wheeties? Have you been taking Simon Cowel lessons? Your opinion is what it is, and that's fine, but there's no need to be rude about it. FWIW: I kinda agree with mickguard, but not entirely. I really enjoy the shape in general. I can see where you tried to combine the strat & LP with a flame twist. That part I like a LOT. But... the bottom end looks a little too big. Maybe it's better in person, and if it works for you, that's great, but it does look a bit too hefty. I agree also with the pup switch looking too close to the tailpiece. Again, if it works for you, more power to ya. In any event, the build looks pretty decent so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what type of finish you'll be using.

Like orgmorg and others have said, enough is enough. Can we please declare this myth 'busted' and leave him what dignity he has left? Seriously - let it go. He wanted to impress the veterans and got busted. I'm sure he's more than a little embarassed and is REALLY tired of getting ripped on mercilessly. Let... it... go. Zeb: FWIW, I don't plan on EVER making my own necks. There are just too many things that can seriously go wrong unless you're extremely meticulous with detail & measurement, which I'm not. I'll be happy as a lark buying them and doing my own inlay work and maybe shaping the headstock.

That bridge looks HUGE!!!!! The ax looks pretty good so far. I'm not such a fan of the big upper horn, but I REALLY dig the grain on it. The grain alone would make me want to leave it big.

You're right. Reading through some of your posts, folks DO tend to jump to a conclusion with you. It happens quite a bit. Maybe you're not fully explaining your thoughts.

Gimick infringement?

No incompatibility at all. I cross-stitch when I'm watching a movie or TV. I find it very relaxing. It focuses my mind compeltely, thus forcing me NOT to think about whatever troubles the day has brought.

I don't get it. What wiring is there to figure out? 1 vol, 1 tone, jack, 3-position, battery box. IIRC, you've done EMGs before, so actives aren't new for you. Even if they were, there are plenty of diagrams available.

T.V. Jones!

I agree with Xanthus 100%. $200-$300 would buy you a better guitar from a shop than you'd ever be able to build with a kit. A pawnshop I was in yesterday had an Ibanez Iceman for $199 and an Epiphone SG for $350. IIRC, the Carvin kit goes for +/- $350, then add shipping to be around $400. That would actually make you a really nice strat for the money. In all honesty - without being an experienced builder or spending probably 6 months in research, you wouldn't even be able to make an ax from scratch for under what you're wanting to spend. (That's without taking tools into consideration.) If you're only in a position to make a kit right now, or if that's what you have your mind set on, or whatever other reason you have for making another kit, my advice is save your money and buy a better kit. If a quality LP kit a completely unavailable, buy the parts individually and assemble it. Just do your research. Regardless of which path you choose, investigate the avenue thoroughly. Be an informed hobbyist and consumer.

+1 You can have two identical pieces of the same type of wood and get two different tones. They're going to be similar, but could have subtle but noticable differences.

Amen to that! An ounce of paranoia and a healthy dose of respect combined with a fear of losing body parts goes a loooooooong way.

One neck-maker I know of swears by torch tip cleaners. They're a set of fine, round files of various guages used to clean welding torch tips. They go for under $5.00 in Lowes & Home Depot. For $5, they're certainly worth a look!

I've had this problem in the past - certainly a little bevel to the finish edge helps a bit, but I've had the best luck pressing them in with my drill press. Of course, depending on the build, and the drill press, reaching this far in can be difficult. I've also used a piece of wood wrapped in leather on each side, (one to protect the back of the guitar, and one to protect the front and the chrome on the studs) and pressed them in with clamps. This can be a little more difficult, takes some jiggery. (notching the blocks to accept the clamp faces helps, or using two clamps.) I don't know why, but pressing rather than pounding seems to make bushings go in with a lot less chance of finish damage, at least in my experience. I'll make mental note of this for any future TOMs I use. Thanks for the input!

There's a terriffig painting tutorial in the "Inlays & Finishing" section. Start there. After that, use the search function available here. There are a LOT of threads with tons of useful info. Check out the ReRanch & Stewart MacDonald websites as well. They have great advice.

After getting a chance to inspect the neck personally, the builder identified the problem. The wood has more natural bow than the truss rod can handle. Also, he missed a washer on the TR, so that didn't help things either. He's making me a totally new neck. I'm currently estimating about 5 more weeks until it can be "finished" again. Maybe my tax refund will be back by then and I'll have some tools.

That would have been me. I've since made up for it, though. +1 to all of Xanthus' comments. That looks better than anything I'll be coming up with on my first real go.

1. +1 2. +862 Don't get the wrong idea. Nearly everyone here is eager to help and has great advice. Most folks are pretty friendly, too. All John is saying is that a LOT of topics have been discussed in freat detail, and that the book is very good. The combination of the two is an invaluable resource to beginning builders like you & I. That being said, don't be afraid to ask whatever you like. Be sure to share your progress as well. Good luck!

I would be TOTALLY willing to take over the project. More than willing - eager is more like it. I think it'd be a great learning experience for me.

If you can't get an answer here, have it looked at by an electrician or a guitar tech. Make sure he has the wiring diagram. If that isn't an option for you, sometimes it's better to blow up & start over. If there's a huge wiring mess that you can't figure out, it might be easier to un-solder ALL the wires and just start over.

Whatever you do, keep the first one as simple as possible. I highly advise using a one-piece fixed bridge/tailpiece that screws directly onto the body. This basically eliminates any neck angle calculations. If you get a kit, +1 for the Carvin kit. VERY high quality. This was what I built my first one with about 9 years ago. I wouldn't say there was much learning involved, though, because all you're really doing is finishing the wood & screwing it together. The telecaster I'm currently trying to finish is very similar to a kit, but not quite. I bought all the pieces, then did all the drilling, finishing, and assembly. A LOT more thought went into this than buying a kit, where all teh thinking has been done for you. This has been a lot more satisfying than building the kit was. Honestly, I didn't learn anything from the kit other than wiring. Another suggestion would be to buy cheap parts for your first one. Seriously - get a cheap body, neck, and all the hardware on eBay. You are going to make mistakes through this learning process. It's much beter to learn on something inexpensive. After that, upgrade to better parts. Good luck, keep us posted, and memorize Hyssock's book.

+1 This es EXACTLY what I was thinking. +1 again. Walk away from it for a little while. One of the best tips I read on this board is if you're getting frustrated, leave it alone for a while. If you don't you'll compound your mistakes, making things worse. This was in reference to a specific task, but it's just as true on a larger scale. Step away until the fire rekindles itself. Another thought: Get $20-$30 and buy some basic wood like alder, maple, poplar, etc. Make a few bodies & sell them on eBay or where-ever. Just focus on this for a bit instead of the entire building process. This will keep you involved, build some income, hone some skills, and allow for some experimentation. It's still walking away somewhat, but not completely. Whatever you decide, don't do it in frustration, anger, depression, etc. Do it with a clear head.

That was the first thing I thought as well. It looks impractacle.

How hard is it to pull the frets? If that can be done without damaging the FB, the only loss of materials would be the frets.

Agreed. Note, however, that I did not say the others were inferior. I said they were copies. I'm not being snippy, but please don't put words into my mouth, then chide me for what I did not say. Consider this: Fender pups are frequently replaced with aftermarket pups. Fender's noiseless pups are the exact same design as Bill Lawrence's. He licenses the design to Fender. Kinman copied the design. BL is known throughout the industry as producing pups of unparalleled quality. Price wise, BL is approximately 2/3 the cost of Fender, an less than 1/2 of Kinman. It would seem to me that given these facts, BL's pups would be an extremely safe choice. IIRC, our original poster was concerned with cost. I'm not suggesting he get cheap pups from an unproven no-name. I'm suggesting he get pups from an extremely reputable manufacturer that are cheaper than the big companies.

Noiseless single-coil pups: Bill Lawrence designed the noiseless pups that Fender uses and everyone else copied. If this is the route you take, go for the original, not an imitation. For a tele, you can get a brand new set for just under $100 shipped. Also, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone say anything bad about Bill's pups. That says a lot right there.