So the other day my dad came home with a big peice of oak which was roughly shaped like some sort of a guitar body and told me that his brother had been making it many years ago. I thought hey thats a neat idea, I could make my own guitar, no problem.
I was only really going to make the body though. I have a neck which was a leftover from when my dad and his buddy replaced my telecaster's neck with a longer tenor neck.
I figure making the mounting hardware for the strings shouldnt be entirely too difficult, but I'll plan on buying pickups nobs and the jack for now.
Anyone made their own guitar before? Any tips?
I "searched" the forum, but didnt see anything in the oh so weak 23 threads here.
I was thinking MDF wouldnt be too bad to use for the wood. I think I will finish it auto style with bondo and auto paint(for a glossy and durable finish).
I'll keep you all posted.... Any comments are welcome
P.S. this will be a solid body electric(if you couldnt tell)
I was only really going to make the body though. I have a neck which was a leftover from when my dad and his buddy replaced my telecaster's neck with a longer tenor neck.
I figure making the mounting hardware for the strings shouldnt be entirely too difficult, but I'll plan on buying pickups nobs and the jack for now.
Anyone made their own guitar before? Any tips?
I "searched" the forum, but didnt see anything in the oh so weak 23 threads here.
I was thinking MDF wouldnt be too bad to use for the wood. I think I will finish it auto style with bondo and auto paint(for a glossy and durable finish).
I'll keep you all posted.... Any comments are welcome
P.S. this will be a solid body electric(if you couldnt tell)
http://www.stewmac.com/ is your friend. They have all the parts tools and finishing supplies you need. Also look at warmoth and Carvin for parts.
Also see Grizzly.com for some other finishing ideas and equipment.
I built a Carvin kit bass, and enjoy it a lot.
Enjoy your project
Also see Grizzly.com for some other finishing ideas and equipment.
I built a Carvin kit bass, and enjoy it a lot.
Enjoy your project
I've built my own electric guitar, go for it!
I went for a nech through body style so the neck is one piece from the headstock right down through the body.
I used Canadian Rock Maple for the neck, sawn into 3 strips then the middle one turned over and the 3 glued back together with mahogany veneer between them giving me 2 funky pinstripes down the length of the guitar and making sure if the maple warps with age the centre strip should warp the other way to the other 2 reducing any over all neck warping.
the fingeboard was ebony and bought as a pre cut item, I then fitted the biggest damn frts I could find.
the guitar body was made from rock maple again to match the neck as it goes through the body, even hollowing this out to some degre it still weighs noticable more than a les paul!
finally the body top and headsock were capped in cocobolo (3/4' thick on the body) and the top sanded into a slight arch top, the body is roughly based on a rickenbacker 4001 bass. hardware is all gold plated gotoh stuff because it was cheap at the time. floyd style trem (it was a good few years ago) and locking nut.
its a great guitar to play if you don't mind something with a very fat neck, the electrics were ultrasonics single coil sized humbuckers and it works a treat.
I still have a Hofner tele neck to make a guitar for my Mrs, been meaning to do that for years, it will need a lighter body for her though, I quite fancy Zebrano for that one.
Go for it and it should turn out great, I made some real **** ups on mine, I thinned the neck too much and had to cut the whole guitar down the length throug the pinstripes and fit thicker pinstripes before gluing the top on to widen out the neck a it, turned out ok though.
I went for a nech through body style so the neck is one piece from the headstock right down through the body.
I used Canadian Rock Maple for the neck, sawn into 3 strips then the middle one turned over and the 3 glued back together with mahogany veneer between them giving me 2 funky pinstripes down the length of the guitar and making sure if the maple warps with age the centre strip should warp the other way to the other 2 reducing any over all neck warping.
the fingeboard was ebony and bought as a pre cut item, I then fitted the biggest damn frts I could find.
the guitar body was made from rock maple again to match the neck as it goes through the body, even hollowing this out to some degre it still weighs noticable more than a les paul!
finally the body top and headsock were capped in cocobolo (3/4' thick on the body) and the top sanded into a slight arch top, the body is roughly based on a rickenbacker 4001 bass. hardware is all gold plated gotoh stuff because it was cheap at the time. floyd style trem (it was a good few years ago) and locking nut.
its a great guitar to play if you don't mind something with a very fat neck, the electrics were ultrasonics single coil sized humbuckers and it works a treat.
I still have a Hofner tele neck to make a guitar for my Mrs, been meaning to do that for years, it will need a lighter body for her though, I quite fancy Zebrano for that one.
Go for it and it should turn out great, I made some real **** ups on mine, I thinned the neck too much and had to cut the whole guitar down the length throug the pinstripes and fit thicker pinstripes before gluing the top on to widen out the neck a it, turned out ok though.
BassAwdyO said:
No it would be appalling! Guitars, even solid bodies, are exactly opposite to speaker boxes. You need resonances! Hardwood all the way!
What's wrong with the oak your brother had? If you have to do it on the cheap, then think about laying up any hardwood you can get. I don't know what it's like where you are, but over here, there are plenty of mahogany type hardwoods available in four by two planks, cheap as chips...
Pinkmouse is right, stay faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away from MDF if you want a responsive guitar.
There are lots of different woods to choose from, they all sound different. Even a piece of maple can be a lot different(not nessecerely better or worse) from another piece of the same species. It all depends on how you want the guitar to sound and feel :Just as an example: Maple often makes a very clear sounding instrument, but not as responsive or rich-sounding as Mahogany(often a little less clear). A jazz guitarist might prefer the maple guitar, a blues guitarist would probably prefer the mahogany guitar.
A great place for more info:
www.mimf.com
Regards,
Peter
There are lots of different woods to choose from, they all sound different. Even a piece of maple can be a lot different(not nessecerely better or worse) from another piece of the same species. It all depends on how you want the guitar to sound and feel :Just as an example: Maple often makes a very clear sounding instrument, but not as responsive or rich-sounding as Mahogany(often a little less clear). A jazz guitarist might prefer the maple guitar, a blues guitarist would probably prefer the mahogany guitar.
A great place for more info:
www.mimf.com
Regards,
Peter
The strings will not vibrate for very long if you attach them to some dead material, the string energy is quickly absorbed, you get a dull sound and much less sustain than you get with solid wood.
...Of course, if that is what you want....
Metal can be used, a little impractical in a solidbody i think. It has been used in several acoustic/semi-acoustic instruments.
You can get materials way better(and cheaper) than MDF allmost anywhere they sell lumber.
Just to name a few:
Spruce
Maple
Mahogany
Douglas Fir
Poplar
Western red Cedar
Walnut
Alder
Ash
Hemlock
Myrtle
Aspen
...Of course, if that is what you want....
Metal can be used, a little impractical in a solidbody i think. It has been used in several acoustic/semi-acoustic instruments.
You can get materials way better(and cheaper) than MDF allmost anywhere they sell lumber.
Just to name a few:
Spruce
Maple
Mahogany
Douglas Fir
Poplar
Western red Cedar
Walnut
Alder
Ash
Hemlock
Myrtle
Aspen
As a (very) general rule, the harder/denser the wood, the more sustain you will get, but the less woody tone it will have.
Maple is damn heavy and my guitar has great sustain despite having a floating trem, but it sounds very clinical in a way, not much life and soul to it
Mahogany dives a slightly darker sound, not as sharp and more of a blusey deep tone (think les paul Vs telecaster if you like)
something like boxwood or even spruce, you will find lacks the sustain but will have a much more woody tone to it
for gods sake though if you are going to stand up and play the thing for any length of time do not use a very dense wood, it will be very heavy and tiring
Maple is damn heavy and my guitar has great sustain despite having a floating trem, but it sounds very clinical in a way, not much life and soul to it
Mahogany dives a slightly darker sound, not as sharp and more of a blusey deep tone (think les paul Vs telecaster if you like)
something like boxwood or even spruce, you will find lacks the sustain but will have a much more woody tone to it
for gods sake though if you are going to stand up and play the thing for any length of time do not use a very dense wood, it will be very heavy and tiring
Attachments
I might like the way it sounds, who knows.
I think I might just TRY out MDF. Even though it is not recommended it might turn out better than anticipated. It might just be a flop too, in which case the golden rule of DIY will surely apply(see my signiture if you dont know what I'm talking about)
I got time to waste, money to burn, and things to learn.
P.S. the main reason I want to try MDF is because... well I have a TON of it lying around. Plus it's FAR easier than hardwood to cut and sand(I'm thinking I'm going to make a very crazy looking guitar)
I hope it all goes well, but there could be some possible problems down the road:
MDF has a tendency to bend under constant static tension.
And on the surface MDF is harder than in the center, the neck pocket might compress between the neck and the neck plate.
It also dont hold screws very well.
Peter
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