Basic Electric Guitar Build

[mikeluke]

Folks

My son has to make a basic instrument for a school project and I was thinking about working with him to make a very basic electric guitar. Thoughts as follows:-

3 strings - tuned to open triad
Single pickup (got a spare)
Body - piece of wood

Questions:

Could I wire the pup directly to the jack socket? One wire to live and one to earth? Or should I wire it differently? I have a few old pots lying around so I could use those - I was going to make a simple bridge and nut to raise the strings above the pup and then get him to play with a slide. It just needs to make a noise rather than a tune!

Any advice or suggestions welcomed

Thanks

Mike

[Twinfan]

Straight to the output would work fine  :)

[mikeluke]

Thanks, Dave

[WezV]

make it a lapsteel/didleebo - some ideas:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVeTtI--wjw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xNYyQQIGUQ

[mikeluke]

Wez

Brilliant! I will have to substitute the beer bottle for something softer though... he's only 9!

[choucas09]

Good idea from Wez. Here's a no beer bottle version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5YFolCXn3w

[FELINEGUITARS]

Good idea from Wez. Here's a no beer bottle version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5YFolCXn3w

Excellant

I liked this one too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt2RgGPDow

[mikeluke]

Got to find me a nice low E string now... Seems to work best with lower strings - Great links, guys - many thanks

[WezV]

anything hollow will work, wooden boxes or tins. although really it doenst need it if its got a pickup.

stick a hole one end for the string to go through and i would put a tuner at the other rather than a nail to make it a diddlybow deluxe ;)

[Frank]

nooooo, make one of these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAmFNKb1L8g&feature=player_embedded

or a Bowafridgeaphone

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om06800.html

[gingataff]

Why mess with strings when with a bit of woodwork you can make a Daxophone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07qrTfgeYWo&NR=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daxophone  
http://www.daxo.de

(Hans Reichel has also made some amazing 'guitars' too, imagine an acoustic that lets you transpose the pitch of any/all strings whilst playing. Yowzer.)

[Frank]

Why mess with strings when with a bit of woodwork you can make a Daxophone?

Why mess with wood when you can do this?

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om32400.html

[shobet]

http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol21/?pg=80

[ToneMonkey]

Make a Cigar Box Guitar (although I'd use something else other than a cigar box if he's only 9)....... or rather than three strings, make an electric uke  :lol: