TyrsFromAbove

Yes, you need to have made a donation of at least $10 to Project Guitar to gain access to the Advanced section. You can use the PayPal link on this page to do so. DJ Thanks, I'll look into it.

BTW, anyone know exactly how to get to the "advanced" section of the forum where member uploaded plans are stored? (I found some wood that's going to work out, and I want to get the preliminary template done before I leave on vacation for two weeks.....)

Thanks for the tips.

Agreed When you get around to selecting wood, you would do well to choose woods that are easy to work with as well as reasonably priced. African Mahogany(Khaya) is a good choice, and is not too difficult to obtain. You should look in the yellow pages or do a web search for hardwood or lumber dealers near you. You will be able to save yourself the cost of shipping, and hand select based on what you learn from your book. If you decide to go for a figured maple top, you can look locally and if you are able resaw a set. If you have no luck locally, 3D hardwoods, Gilmer wood, Gallery hardwoods are all pretty good places to look around. Rich I've actually got a piece of Honduran Mahogany lined up at a local shop for the body, guy said it would run about 35 bucks for 2 pieces of it (10"x12"x2") Ill be able to glue 'em together to make the necessary size for the body I want. And I'll probably pick up a nice looking piece of cheap maple for the top.

I TOTALLY agree. I was going off of what he said he was planing on using. For MY money, I'd alter it to something similar to this: 1. Karosa neck (eBay seller, decent necks) $50-$75 2. one-piece wilkinson tailpiece (eBay) $25 3. Gotoh tuning pegs (eBay) $25.00 4. 4BF of sapele $25 5. PRS plans $21 (w/shipping) 6. MDF or hardboard for templates <$10 at local yard 7. 2 GFS humbuckers $80-$90 8. misc parts & hardware $30 (again, eBay) 9. finishing supplies $20 (locally bought) Note that all prices include shipping. That has my total at $286-$$321, so figure $300 or so. You can bring it down probably $50 by getting some used pups on eBay that someone pulled out of their Ibanez or whatever when they upgraded. They might not be top line, but they'll be OK to start with. FWIW: When I replaced the EMGs in my '88 Steinberger, someone got a steal when they bought an 81 & 2 SAs, with all electronics, for just over $50. Honestly, and I know I'll get railed for this, I would encourage a beginner to buy a neck for the first build. There are already a LOT of things that can and will go wrong the first time out. It may be a LOT more expensive than building it yourself, but it also eliminates about 300 things that can go wrong. You can get away with a slip here and there on the body. One slip in the wrong place on the neck and you're screwed. Yeah, I figured that the neck was going to be the most expensive piece...I'm looking at 213 from Warmoth. And as far as pups, I was looking to get the SD HR set, so even if I somehow let this project get away from me, I can still use 'em in my other guitar.

It seems like you just stated everything that I wanted to hear...haha This is exactly the type of thing I've been thinking of in my head as far as costs go. And for all the critics, I never meant to have anything close to a real PRS, just a look a like that sounds halfway decent...

Unexpectedly naive How happy would you be if your first could hold its own for fit and finish with an import PRS? How would you say your current builds do against a PRS import(and be real, those guitars do not have much in the way of blemishes)? How many people can honestly pull off fit and finish as good as a PRS import by their 3rd full build? An import PRS is not a sloppy guitar, and getting to that level of accuracy and consistency in your fit and finish is not easy(certainly respectable). The parts list you have up there is dandy, but look at what you are listing. Neck- Built in a production shop(which is no better tooled up, or experienced than PRS's import factories), the neck is not assembled or adjusted for this guitar, you honestly have no control over material selection and care. What is it equal to? Why is it better than an import PRS neck? Wood selection, The wood selection for this build is going to be done by a person who understands wood for instruments as well as PRS? Will wood purchased from the lumber yard be seasoned prior to use? Where would the ten top be found(you missed it in your list), and how much will that run? Plans and templates from that source, Are those plans and the jigs and templates made from those plans going to be as accurate as the tooling and jigs used at the PRS import factory? Finishing supplies, Your not buying the finishing supplies that are equal to the finish on the import PRS for $20. Maybe you are thinking a few sheets of sandpaper and a couple rattle cans? or is this a hand wiped poly/oil finish? For what it is worth, a good , thin, professionally applied catalized poly could be outsourced for $300-$400 plus shipping, and I would conceed that would be comperable, but that is a natural clear. Special coloring and tinting could run a couple bucks more. The reality is, as you full well know. You can outsource much of the build. If great care is taken and research is done as well as some practice, the assembly can go pretty good(although the lack of experience or rushing could easily become costly and hurt the results). In the end, you can have a guitar that is on par with many low end models(and you can jazz it up with some features you can't get in the import lines), but the guitar will have less resale value than an import. The cost of the materials and outsourcing will bring the cost up to or higher than the import. You can't compair your first build to a high end guitar(the labor rate for experience, and production knowledge/ cost are not cheap). The differences between a PRS custom top 10 and a lower priced PRS line are subtle, and that holds true with $15,000 dollar customs also. The name on the guitar also helps with resale value, and that in the end changes the oportunity cost. Either way, I hope his motivations are not to try to save a buck, and instead to enjoy the process of building something with his hands. Beginners who start by focusing on saving money, cutting corners, or unrealistic value comparisons, or even worse selling their builds right off the bat. Are usually sadly disapointed. Peace,Rich For all, including Rich... I never said it was actually going to be anything near a real PRS...I just really dig the body style and the carved top. I understand that it's not going to come anywhere close, but I'm hoping that the satisfaction of having built it with my own two hands will help make up for that. And as far as the finish, I'm more in agreement with the above, thinking that I would just seal the guitar and not actually put a "finish" on it. I love that PRS look with the burst QM, but there's no way that I have the know-how or the cash to do something that complex.

If you want to build your neck, I think you should. I fretted everything I ever built (including the 3 or 4 fake guitars I threw together before building a "real" guitar). It isn't hard. You just need well-cut slots and a well-prepped fingerboard. Most of your questions will be answered in a good book, such as Melvyn Hyscock's "Build Your Own Electric Guitar". But... 1 wood: mahogany, ash, alder, etc. are the normal ones. Maple top if you want to spend more money. 2 depends on what you're building 3 based on your scale length and neck-to-body joint 4 based on your pickups and controls (how much space they need) 5 if you're buying a neck rather than building, get the neck first, then you'll know the size of the pocket. Basically, you need to read up on this stuff. Answering these questions in the depth that you need would take up the space of a book... and there are already good books out there. The fact that you asked those questions means you aren't ready to build a guitar but will be after you read a book. For example, are you aware that wood must be dried and stable before you can use it? Whatever you build, buy or draw a full-scale plan. Don't cut any wood before you do!!! Lastly... good luck, I'm sure you'll have a sweet axe when you're done. Thanks for the words of encouragement... I don't want to come off sounding like an ignorant and know-it-all kid, but I see a guitar (or at least the one I have in mind) as a piece of wood, with some electronics and metal parts...(The music is what really matters) So, I was hoping to get a few experienced people to point me in the right direction when it comes to dimensions for the body, etc. So, to sort of reiterate... I want a PRS-STYLE body, so the basic shape. Nothing too fancy. I think that I'm going to go with mahogany. It'd be nice to have a carved top, But if this adds too much complexity, then it's not that important. (I'm not adverse at all to sanding...And lots of it...) When I wanted body blank dimensions, I was just asking for what dimension of board I should buy so that I'll have ample room to draw out the (PRS) design. e.g. 18"x24"x2" ? As far as the scale length goes, I'm stuck. (And would like to know what exactly is the nature of the interaction of the body length and the neck length) If I get a neck from Warmoth, the body needs to conform to the 25.5" scale. If I make my own, I'd like the body to be 25" scale (as would be the neck). If I made my own, I need to know what size blank I should buy... I'm thinking Mahogany with Rosewood fingerboard. How far apart should I keep the pickups...I couldn't find a standard distance anywhere.... How far should the bridge be from the rear pup? ======================================= The full scale plan is a must, I know. (And yes I did know that the wood needs to be dried and preferably acclimatized to your area before working with it) I'll look into the book, but I was hoping I could get the gist of the info I need from people like you... ========================================================== If I still sound too inexperienced, I might just look into a complete package from Warmoth, but 300 bucks for just the body is a bit spendy!!!

Well, an off the rack PRS costs around 3.5g's (for the one I want), so I don't see how this guitar could even come close. And, I know used is cheaper, but I just can't stomach spending that much for something that isn't brand spanking new... I haven't taken a look for a book, but I will, thanks for the heads up.

Well, I've been browsing these forums quite intensely, and I can't seem to find everything I need spelled out for me, so I thought that I'd post it here instead (since everyone seems ever so helpful) I'm starting to really get into the guitar and I want to have the satisfaction of having an instrument in my hands that I myself built. However, it seems from the information that I've gathered already that it is a fairly difficult and involved process. So I came here for tips and tricks....So, onto what I need as far as information goes: I really like the PRS double cut carved body style, but not so much the price tag. I have the money, but with college coming up, it doesn't look feasible. I'm thinking that my parents will spring for the idea of me building my own, especially if it allows me and my dad to work on something together (time to bond...) But, I'm not sure if the carved top is something that I should attempt on my first build (though I am very technically minded and know my way around dimensions and such...) In light of the complexity of the carved top, I was thinking that I would just stick to a solid body and leave the top for another time. If anyone has any advice that may help me do otherwise, I'd appreciate hearing it. As far as what wood to use, I'm really looking for something that has a fair mid and low range that allows for the highs to come out real smooth. I haven't done too much research, but it looks as if mahogany is the way to go. I know that there are nicer woods out there that would probably help the tone out even more, but I am trying to keep costs to a minimum...With that being said, is there a better alternative that I might be able to get for even less? And I haven't been able to locate an actual schematic for the dimensions and such of a PRS double cut, so if anyone has actual dimensions that you'd be willing to offer up, it would be much appreciated. This would include info on how I should cut the carved top and the "tummy" bevel.... I would like to attempt to try and build the neck, but the fretting seems like a VERY daunting task, so I thought that it would best be left up to Warmoth...They are local, and it seems like they do a darn good job....So if anyone could possibly recommend dimensions of the neck joint and the pickup spacing that would allow for the "pro" neck from warmoth, I'd love to hear from you! And as far as the wiring goes...I have a relative that's handy with that kind of stuff, but I was wondering if it's really complex. We're talking regular h-h no coil tap...I'll probably end up getting some duncans... And to sum it up for anyone that's going to bother helping, I'm not going for any over the top paint job that would require nice wood or anything of the like, just a basic stain.... So, in short, I need: What type of wood I should get for the body (and possibly the top) What dimensions should the body blank be and how much should I expect to pay (lumberyard, not online dealer) How I should space the pickups and bridge (fixed - I'm thinking tonepros) Dimensions for the pickup cavities and control cavity and their position on the guitar Dimensions for the neck joint to fit a warmoth "pro" neck (and if I should even use this neck type?) Let me know if I need to elaborate on anything or if I'm all wet concerning some aspect of this project. ANY AND ALL HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!! -Ben