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For my last deathgrind band, I played out of a Line 6 Flextone II HD, and a Peavey 412 slant cab. It killed the Mesa of my other guitarist in terms of tone, volume, dynamics, power, all aspects. Flextone IIs are really Line 6's defining head.

Total crap. Plus, Underoath is not screamo. If you want to hear screamo, check out pg.99, Saetia, Hot Cross, City of Caterpillar, Yaphet Kotto, and tons of other actual screamo bands. Read up on genres before you start slapping incorrect labels on music. It's very misleading to others, and that's how this crap gets started. Screaming in music does not mean it is of the screamo genre.

I was seriously contemplating that right at the moment the thought "I'M GOING TO FINALLY BUILD A GUITAR" ran through my head. The next build I do is definitely going to be something like that, but for this one, it's a lot nicer to have all the measurements handy everywhere than to guess on them and get frustrated because I'm not sure how it's going to feel, play, sound, etc. I like the first design a lot. That lower horn's contour is the figurative mack daddy.

He won't stop sniffing it! Anyway, the purpleheart is way more resonant than I thought it would be. If I tap it, it sounds almost like tapping on metal. I think it's going to be great for the neck. I thought about P90s, but since this guitar is mainly for touring with my current band, they wouldn't work very well. Probably just going to go with zebra Burstbuckers (maybe a 500T in the bridge) and do a P90 SG for my next project. I worked on the full scale sketches last night and got one done, but am having a lot of trouble getting the measurements accurate because of a lack of metric rules, so I'm going out to get one or two at this very moment. Also, what is the difference in scale length between the treble side and the bass side on most Les Pauls? 24 3/4" and/or 24 9/16" don't match up with the guitar I'm taking measurements from (actually, not even close) so I'm a bit confused. Maybe it's just Gibson being sloppy with cheaper models. Maybe it's me being sloppy since it was around 2 AM. Either way, this is turning out to be surprisingly frustrating already. Oh yeah, and here's an pic of the sketch from last night. Sketch Edit #2! I got the metric rules and it's so much easier. Did another sketch and it's accurate to 1/100. I just did 24 3/4" for the bass side and 24 9/16" for the treble side. Compared it to the Les Paul and the differences are the same, so I'm not really worried about that anymore. Going to Kinko's right now to get some copies made for cutting, cavity/pickup guides.

Arg. How'd you like that pickup? In my SG it sounded like nothing short of awful.

Decided that I'm going to go with a standard Les Paul design. I got my woods today! Woods And I realized that I like my guitarist's Les Paul a whole lot after playing it for a few hours last night, so I'm going to use it for my model guitar. Model guitar So now begins the search for hardware that I like. I might cut the body shape today.

I've been reading up on neck angles and such, looks like I'll probably be going with a two degree angle + maybe a long tenon (might do a standard LP instead of the double cutaway). I'm going to get it all down on paper tomorrow and hopefully have everything exactly figured out. It's hard deciding what style guitar to do for my first. On the one hand, I love LPs and have wanted to own one for years and years. On the other hand, I really like the style and feel of PRS guitars but am not too crazy about their tone. And then of course there's the prospect of doing my own design. Freedom is frustrating!

There aren't any. I tested it with a Wizard neck and it was tighter than... well... something that's tight. When I get my real wood, I'm going to build jigs for all the parts. Practice wood, not a big deal if there are mistakes. This is more about experimentation with my router and shaping than anything since I have no real woodworking experience.

So, I successfully made my first body and routed the neck pocket free-hand. I routed a trem cavity, but then realized that the body is much too thin for the trem, so I'm filling it with more poplar tonight. Tomorrow begins the search for inexpensive maple which will serve as my neck. So far, it hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be (I've learned that taking it slow is the best way to go). What's a good method for figuring out if I need to angle the neck or not (I'm going to be putting on a tune-o-matic bridge)/how much?

Well, like I said, this is only a mockup. Cheap and convenient woods are all that I need. I just built the back and top of the body from poplar and tomorrow (today?) am going to start on the neck. So far the poplar is very easy to work with and seems to actually have a decent tone to it (weren't early Fenders built from poplar?). I should be getting my real woods early next week!

I'm doing a mockup on cheap wood before I get the real stuff just so I'll know what kind of stuff I'm bound to run into. Quick question: would it be alright to make a neck out of poplar or oak? These two woods are readily available for dirt cheap so I'm just wondering if they'd work, or if it'd be a waste of effort.

Nitefly: I am not going to do single coils. I've decided on plain ol' two humbuckers. Which ones is a different question. Duff: That looks really cool. I just don't know if it would look alright on the double cutaway body. I love the feel and sound of Les Pauls, but don't like that almost all of them are fixed bridge. On occasion I play some metal, so trems are really useful. Plus it'd be a one of a kind guitar! A tune-o-matic would be much easier to do, and I'd probably have to add a cap if I wanted to do the Floyd Rose to keep the thickness in check, so I'll likely go the easier/tried and true route this time around. Next build is going to be a Warlock, so I can get some trem experience with that. Thanks for that link!

I've been watching this for awhile. Awesome job. All I can see in the FedEx logo nowadays is the arrow between the E and the x. It's annoying. But yeah, great work.

This being my first project, I have re-evaluated the kind of guitar I want to build. At first it was a double cutaway LP with three humbuckers, a Floyd Rose, and other unnecessities. Now it is going to be a standard LP, plain and simple. The body is mahogany, the neck is purpleheart. The fingerboard will most likely be indian rosewood or ebony. It has a 24 3/4" scale on the bass side, 24 9/16" on the treble side. Two volume pots, two tone pots, one 3-way switch. I am using an LP Studio Lite as my model. It is, at this point, not going to have a maple top and will just be a flat top with some light contouring. I might do a headstock veneer, but probably not since the purpleheart is very beautiful. I will edit this post with updates from now on instead of adding useless posts to the thread. Wood selection (and confused cat) Model guitar A paper test fit Template rough cut Pickup cavity rough cut (freehand routed) Test fit, seems good Bridge holes drilled (the drill slipped a bit, so the post holes are about 2 mm farther apart than they should be. I'm going to find someone with a drill press Pointless test fit The project as it stands: Right here, too big to post I have to do the cavity/tenon template next. I'm still not sure about the tenon length, but right now I'm feeling pretty confident about 125mm. Advice?

Simo, thank you for those links. I'm going to pick up my Mahogany from a local supplier today and start on a test body from 2x4 scraps.

Thank you for that insight. So, what would be the correct forum to post this in (since I will be posting updates as I start and progress with this project)? How do you know that I haven't read 3/4 of the forum in preparation for starting this project? How do you know I haven't used the search feature? I mean, I didn't really ask a question that's asked all the time: just if anyone could offer me some advice on getting started with a Les Paul. I do plan on putting a bit of my own design into it, but Les Pauls have always been one of my favorite playing/feeling guitars and I think it would be the most satisfying first build possible to get it as close to an original as I can! When I said neck-through, I was thinking of a project I had just seen. Brain kind of malfunctions before 12 PM. Anyway, sorry if I posted in the wrong forum or asked a question that has been asked millions of times already and thanks for the input so far. I'm going to be starting on this within the next few days so I'll be posting pictures as progress is made (and will be donating to the site too!).

Alright, I'm about to begin on my first project and could really use some advice. I'm going to be attempting a 1950s-style Les Paul and plan on ordering the blueprints from Stewmac. Really, I just need some tips on what to avoid and be wary of, and tips on doing the neck-through. Any advice you could offer would be amazing. Thanks!

Hello everyone! I'm new to guitar modding in general, so this is a huge accomplishment for me! My Gibson SG was getting really boring (this one), so I decided to switch it to a natural finish! Here it is! And... I am really satisfied with it right now and don't think that I will be putting any finishing coats on it. I love the feel of the grain and the linseed oil. The only thing I've noticed that really stands out is where the wood is glued (I guess Gibson gets a lot lazier if the guitar's going to be painted. Tons of belt sander burns on the sides that were ever-so-fun to get out!). Next comes gold hardware! I know that this isn't really anything big but just thought I'd share it. I'll be building a guitar from scratch soon and it will likely be neat! Opinions on how it looks aren't necessary, but would be appreciated! Thanks, Tim

Hello everyone! I'm new here (obviously) and new to guitar building. I have been perusing this site for the past few days and must say that every single resource I've found has been invaluable for knowledge. All of this has inspired me to do what I have been wanting to do for years: build a unique guitar that plays and sounds great! I have basically no woodworking skill, so it will be a very tedious task, but I'm saving up so that if there are large mistakes made, it won't break the bank. I'm probably going to start in 2-3 months. Just wanted to say thanks for this awesome site and for being a collective inspiration to a 19 year old guitarist who was losing faith in the music scene. Tim