Official Luthiers Forum!

alright my name is jimmie and im new to working with wood and i love to play guitar but as any real player knows to find a guitar thats perfect for you, you have to make it yourself. i have been palying guitar as far back as i can remember but ive been looking to finally make my own guitar. ive done minor repairs on my alvarez (acoustic) and my ibanez (electric) but ive never tried anything this advanced. i want to make a tele style electric but so far i havent been able to even choose a wood and wouldnt know how to begin building a guitar from scratch but ive been putting away money for a year now so that i may build exactly the guitar i want without having to sacrafice anything to cost. i want a guitar with a blues tone i play alot of stevie ray vaughan and clapton and i want my guitar to have a tone that fits my playing style. so if anyone has any suggestions for me or maybe could tell me where i might be able to find more info to achieve this.   thnx.


P.S. great website like the layout and the atmosphere

There are plenty of places to get info on electric guitar construction. Books being one of them. I can get quite a few from the city public library where I live. You could check your local library for such wonderful treasures. Or you could buy them from a supply house such as LMII        ( Luthiers Mercantile International Inc.) or Stewart-Mcdonald. For some book names here is an address to check .

Electric guitar books

Without sounding like a wisea$$ let me say this.... do a little soul searching before you step on this road. If you are doing it for the intellectual challenge, great. If you think you would like to begin to build instruments, even better. If you want to begin a life long pursuit and need a new obsession you have come to the right place!!!

but...

If you are looking for 1) the perfect guitar 2) A cheaper alternative than what you could buy at Guitar Center or even buy a custom tele from a luthier made to your exact specs. Then forget it -- seriously. The tool costs and "tuition" you will have to pay in mistakes while you come up to speed will far outpace any savings potential. And rarely (it does happen, but it is rare) does your first instrument turn out exactly as you hope. You are proud of all of them... for sure. But the early ones are usually far short of perfect.


.... Have I disuaded you yet?


If not. Get the book - "Make your own electric guitar" by Melvyn Hiscock. It is a great book and is pretty easy to follow for a first time wood worker.

One not of caution though. If you build the tele project in the book. I find that it is easier to build the neck as a 2 piece neck with a commercial truss rod, rather than build the 1 piece neck he shows in the book. I think that would be a lot easier for your first guitar.

Brock Poling38687.9831134259

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

thanks buddy its much appreciated!!
i woul like your opinion on the type of wood i should use if its not too much trouble. the only tone wood ive ever worked with is maple and it doesnt have the sound i want.

Another site you will want to look at is http://www.guitarfrenzy.com it has a really good tutorial for building a strat. A tele is a variation on a theme.


As to wood.... I would give Mahogany a try. I REALLY like the sound of the all mahogany teles and you just can't walk into your local big box retailer and find something like that. I think the sound is a little warmer than the traditional tele....   

We have a lot of wood dealers here on the forum who could probably help you get what you need. You might reach out to one of them. I am sure they can hook you up.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

thanks brock!!! ill look it up. and since you asked no you have not disuaded me at all, im no stranger to work and i love a challenge but me making my own guitar is something very personal for me, because my grandfather (rest his soul) built his own guitars. i still have one of his and its beautiful but its just one more thing that makes me want to get into making guitars. that and, my biggest passion in life is music.

thanks ron alomost didnt see your reply up there
you guys are great i never thought that yall would respond, but thanks for the wisdom and for the advice.

why couldnt i have found this site earlier!

I just finished a Tele where I bought the unfinished body (ash) and finished neck from StewMac. It's a good starter project (not cheap) and allows a lot of creative options as to PUPs and electronics. It also gets you into the finishing learning curve.

In addition to Hiscock's book, I also recommend Dan Erlewine's book, "How to Make Your Electric Guitar Sound Great". It has a lot of good info on setups as well as all the basic stuff.

Good luck and remember...you were warned!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I have a 1980 Strat made from Alder, and a 1994 Strat made from Ash. (I think I got the woods listed right) When I play a gig with the 1980 model, the next day my back feels like it's broken. Not so with the '94. But I'm pretty old, and my back can't take as much as it used to.
As far as the bluesy sound of SRV, tune down to Eb, grab yourself some older Fender pickups (1950's) and crank your amp. That's what I do.

Also, you could try to assemble one of the Warmoth guitars. They have every conceivable type of body style, neck style and hardware/pickup combination, and they can handle different custom appointments. I know a guy who built one, and it's awesome.

Also, I don't know where you live, but find someone in your area with some expertise in this kind of endeavor. They exist, trust me. You sound like an energetic person, so ask him/her if you can spend a few minutes looking over their shoulder, asking a few questions, etc. You'll get all kinds of personal exposure that few of the books will provide.

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

[QUOTE=BlueSpirit] grab yourself some older Fender pickups (1950's) and crank your amp. That's what I do.[/QUOTE]

I think those old single coils are pretty noisy. But maybe that is just me.

I prefer the modern hand wound pups. As an alternative to the vintage ones you might check out Fralin's ... and I have been hearing good things about the Van Zandt's too... but I have not personally used them.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I agree with Brock’s advice. A lot of money goes into rigging up for just one build. If all you want is a tele built specific to your requirements, have it built by a luthier or maybe you can find pre built components that will fit your need from someone like Warmoth.com. They specialize in bodies necks and hardware for custom electrics that you assemble and finish. Really pro line stuff.

I am not trying to discourage you from building your own, but the truth is that tooling will run you many times more than the cost of the guitar, and the likelihood of your first instrument meeting your anticipations is not very high.

Simple tasks like fretting go wrong for even experienced luthiers from time to time. So If intent on building I suggest you study every thing you can get your hands on. Completely plan out the instrument before acquiring the wood. And stick around here for great advice.
MichaelP38688.4504861111

Brock,

The advice & wisdom you just imparted to jimmie in your two posts is absolutely perfect in my opinion. Yes, mahogany for softer, less obnoxious tone, excellent workability, and beautiful too! You said exactly what I was thinking when I read our new friend's post. You didn't quash his enthusiasm one bit but also didn't shy from telling him the real pros & cons of his approaching this obsession-inducing avocation. Just a note to say "well done"

Skip

PUPs...I just completed a Strat and used their vintage, noiseless pups. They're actually stacked "humbuckers". Remarkable sound and absolutely no noise...I also lined all of the cavities with copper and made sure everything was properly grounded.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

[QUOTE=Skip Beach] Brock,

The advice & wisdom you just imparted to jimmie in your two posts is absolutely perfect in my opinion. Yes, mahogany for softer, less obnoxious tone, excellent workability, and beautiful too! You said exactly what I was thinking when I read our new friend's post. You didn't quash his enthusiasm one bit but also didn't shy from telling him the real pros & cons of his approaching this obsession-inducing avocation. Just a note to say "well done"

Skip

[/QUOTE]

Thanks.   

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Swamp Ash body..Van Zandt pickups (blues model in neck position and vintage plus in the bridge / all cavities painted with shielding paint from Stew Mac and properly grounded wiring. The perfect blues combination. No hums, no drips, no errors. IMOBrazilwood38689.5980902778

Could I make a suggestion. Pine, Yep Pine.

The very first guitar I made was out of 2 X 8 pine. It gave me a chance to get use to the tools & techniques without destroying some nice wood (which I do now regularly anyway) . It'll also give you an idea if it's something you would want to attempt with the real stuff. But let me worn ya, It's the most addictive hobby I've ever had, and almost the most expensive.