Ideas for first guitar build

[Window-Licker]

Hi, im looking to build my first ever guitar pretty soon, been looking at parts and im pretty sure i have some good ideas, just some things bugging me and no matter how hard i look i cant find answers.

Firstly, with the neck i dont want to mess around with truss rods as it looks quite complicated and time consuming, im looking at getting some carbon fibre truss rod pieces and simply layering them with resin into a truss rod type groove under the fingerboard... just wondering if that will hold fairly heavy strings with low tuning drop-c/b..... will be a maple neck with ebony fingerboard, the alternative would be a steel truss rod, but the word "steel" just makes it sound heavy :-s

Next, the wiring, im thinking of simplicity, 1 humbucker and no controls... can you simply hook the pickup to the jack or do you have to have a volume pot in there? id prefer to have no visible controls but if a volume pot is necessary then so be it.

Lastly, the finish... im going for a flame maple top and peghead vaneer, will most likely be transparent black... but im not sure on how to handle it... im going to buy a compressor and spray gun but what paints/laquer are recommended? or does the vaneer need to be stained to get the transparent effect? and are there any tips on getting an even finish, i dont want a lumpy bumpy awful finished product.

AS per usual i appologise about the questions, and dont worry guitar builders out there, im just looking to build a nice piece for my personal use.

[Antag]

There's no reason why you MUST have a volume pot, it's techinically viable to wire the humbucker straight to the jack.  Not sure I'd want a guitar like that though.  I consider a least one Volume to be a bare minimum requirement.

Flame maple looks best stained - really makes it "shimmer".  Can't help with how to finish as I've never done it, I understand that it requires a lot of buffing...

Finally, good luck -  you're a braver man than me.  I just stuck to ready finished Warmoth parts :)

[Window-Licker]

Ty for the response antag, i never really touch my tone or volume controls so im just thinking, why bother with the extra work for something i personally wont use lol

And thankyou for the stain tip, i did read some of the things on the warmoth website but im still unsure and yeah i hear its alot of layered laquer and alot of buffing not sure what stuff to get though, maybe its a trade secret. I seem to recall on a tv show (on discovery of course) that the guitars they were building had around 13 layers of paint/laquer on them eek.

And as for brave.... stupid would be a better word hehe, im bad at maths but i think i can get pretty much all the parts i need for £200 or there abouts, which to me sounds like a good saving on an off the shelf guitar, spose itll be alot of work though, then theres getting the right tools...

[noodleplugerine]

£200 including Bridge/Machine Heads/BKPs?!

[Window-Licker]

Lol not including bkps, but most of the main parts yeah, ive only taken rough prices down, but it doesnt look like being much at all

[Dennis]

First of all, you will not be cheaper when you build a guitar yourself...the only advantage is that you can buy the parts at different times so you won't notice the cost so much, and you can buy whatever you like...But those "aftermarket" parts are pretty expensive, compared to buying a production guitar.

About the volume control...when you don't use it, maybe it would be a good idea to use a kill switch or something, so you can mute the guitar in pauses between songs?

Here's a link you might find interesting: http://www.projectguitar.com/

[ToneMonkey]

I've been a member over at project guitar for some time.  You'll find loads of info over there, the forums and tutorials are very handy.

I would geta neck with a truss rod (you can go for carbon fibre too), but the neck really needs to be adjustable so you can set the guitar up  properly.

Make sure when buying the neck and body that they are compatable, I've heard stories of people buying them from different places and them not fitting.

www.axesrus.com is a good source for cheap parts.

[WezV]

If you can install CF bars you can install a modern truss rod like this:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Truss_rods/Hot_Rod_Truss_Rod/Hot_Rod_Truss_Rods.html

I prefer to do both and have a neck i know i will be able to use in a few years time.  

like this:



All you need is a router with an edge guide and the right sized bit, you route the slot whilst your neck is still rectangular, before you cut the shape.

Also.. dont build a guitar to save money - it never works that way


edit... is hould point out the truss rod is upside down in the picture - if i left it like that the adjustment would be backwards

[Window-Licker]

Nice replies guys, and im not aiming to save money, just want something that will be exactly what i want, for as little money as possible ie shopping around for the parts at bargain prices.

im actually looking at neck and body blanks to make my own neck through, il have to look deeper into truss rods as im really uneasy about them lol, i never touch the ones in my current guitars through fear of breaking something, so i just figured, make the neck as stiff as possible and hopefully itll be okay.

[WezV]

so i just figured, make the neck as stiff as possible and hopefully itll be okay.

Thats fine and works to a point, but if the neck ever does need adjusting its toast - and there is more chance of it needing adjustment since its the first one you have made.

Honestly - dont do it without a truss-rod.  Ones like the hot-rod or alumium box style work great and only need a straight square channel that can be cut with basic router bits and no jigs.  It is no more difficult than what you said you were going to do with carbon fibre anyway

The traditional single action curved rod is a different animal altogether - they are scary for a beginner!

Every new builder gets scared by the concept of making necks - its doesnt have to be that difficult

Have you got yourself a good book, such as Melvyn Hisc--k's 'Make your own electric guitar'.  It's my bible!

[WezV]

Heres a little story:

I recently made a bass neck laminated from 3 pieces of hard maple and a ziracote fretboard.  It had two CF bars and a two-way truss rod like i showed in the picture above.  This neck should have been very stiff, certainly more than stiff enough for the average 4 string bass

When i strung the bass up it played fine and i was very happy . . . the next day the neck had bowed forward quite significantly.

If i didnt have the truss rod in that neck it would have been useless!  as it was all it took was 5 minutes with an allen key to sort out.

I hadnt done anything wrong, the neck was well made and built from top quality wood and components. . . but wood is unpredictable and sometimes its more flexible.  There isnt really a definitive way to know this till its carved to shape.

The truss rod is your insurance policy and well worth the extra hassle.

[FELINEGUITARS]

+1 to what Wez said!!

[Antag]

+2

I don't have the skill of Feline or Wez, but you've gotta be out of your mind to put steel strings on any neck without a trussrod.

I'd put money on it looking like the deck of the Ark Royal inside a week if you did, regardless what wood it was made of or how thick you carved it...

[froglord]

Why not buy a ready-made neck? Although I've never built my own guitar, this seems to me the most difficult and critical part - the neck profile, the truss rod, and especially the accuracy of the fretting.

If the whole project goes horribly wrong, at least you can un-bolt the neck and re-use it.

+1 on the Hisc--k book. It's a very interesting read.

[apmaman]

For the Finnish I'll throw in some ideas incase


http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/mat.htm
http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/holoflash.htm