Building An Electric Guitar

Has anyone ever built their own electric guitar either through a kit or from scratch? Just wondering how hard it is to make a quality product if one has reasonable skills and experience in working with their hands. I imagine the pride of ownership would be quite satisfying if it turned out well.

I built a tele with P90 pickups. Sounds awesome. I got all my parts from www.guitarfetish.com and all my tools from www.stewmac.com.
The neck was pretty nice for the price and I stained and clear coated the body. I did a full fret leveling job and it plays really nice. With the tools and skills I learned I ended up doing a couple fret jobs on some other guitars with some fret buzz. Stewmac has some good books for doing this. I'm a believer in tools as an investment because you have them for life and can do many projects with them.
If I were to do it again I would probably get a body with a finished paint job.
I didn't get one of the kits they offer because they didn't have the configuration I wanted with the P90 pickups, so I bought all my parts separate. I'm really happy with it, well, except that I wish I would have contoured the guitar body kind of like a strat where it fits your arm and stomach nicer. I like this kind of stuff so it was fun for me.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi- I've built 3 solid body electrics from scratch. While there is a LOT of satisfaction in making a guitar 100% from scratch it is quite difficult/challenging to make a truly premium playing guitar. There's a LOT of science going on and very little margin for error. All things considered, mine came out pretty nice. I get a lot of nice comments when I show them. They are completely playable but they can't be compared to high-end factory instruments. To make a truly premium, amazing guitar a sizable investment in specialty tools and jigs is necessary. You'll have fun, you'll learn a LOT, and you will become an authority on the subject of sandpaper. To make a guitar that is worth more than the sum value of it's parts will require superior skill/patience/research. I've also done a couple of kits: Not nearly as satisfying and almost all of the parts supplied are "bottom of the barrel" quality. If you are getting the urge to get into the mechanics and workings of guitar my (personal) recommendation is to shop out old, cheap guitars and restore them. You will learn how to spot old guitars that have "good bones". Start with ones that just need a good rub-out/cleaning, tarnish removal, electronics clean-up, and set-up. After you're good at that move on to ones that need fret work ... then try a complete re-fret. You'll find these guitars cheap ( craigslist, garage sales, pawn shops, etc ) so even after throwing $20-$30 at them for pots, knobs, etc. you're only into them for $75-$100. Provided you've mastered the art of set-up and get them playing/looking really nice you'll be in a position to re-coup your investment easily. And it's fun. How to spot the right guitars would be another whole sermon, let me know if you're interested in that. Good luck buddy, hope you have fun whichever way you go.

Originally Posted by: ToddstHas anyone ever built their own electric guitar either through a kit or from scratch?

From scratch is serious business! :)

I assembled quite a few over the years in guitar stores, a factory & a dozen for my own use. I detailed the process in this tutorial.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1121

Have fun with it!

Originally Posted by: fretsmith How to spot the right guitars would be another whole sermon, let me know if you're interested in that.

By all means, please continue....

Originally Posted by: CSchlegelFrom scratch is serious business! :)

I assembled quite a few over the years in guitar stores, a factory & a dozen for my own use. I detailed the process in this tutorial.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1121

Have fun with it!

Is this the same guitar used in this tutorial?:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1251

Originally Posted by: ToddstIs this the same guitar used in this tutorial?:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1251

The same! But without the vibrato bar in that one. :)

Originally Posted by: Slipin LizardBy all means, please continue....

Alright- Thanks... If we were bellied up at the bar this would be an hour long chat but I'm gonna shorten it up the bare bones. A) Do NOT buy strat copies. Easy to work on - tough to sell. B) Look for off-brand "Sears era" guitars. They have a lot of personality. (Kay, Tiesco, Kona, Crestwood, etc). Solid bodies seem to sell a little faster than the hollows. C) The NECK is EVERYTHING. Walk away from twisted or significantly bowed necks. Make sure there is enough fret material left for a level/re-crown. Broken/missing tuners are not a deal breaker - just know you'll be throwing another $25 at the project. Cracked/Hacked-up nuts are manageable - add $5 and an hour or so. D) Body: It is better to have a body that is beat up "evenly" - a body that is pristine "except for this one spot" is less desirable than one that has random bumps/scratches all around. (in the case of the former it is easier to add more scratches than do a laquer repair on "that one spot"). Moderate finish checking is no issue at all. Check neck pocket integrity.E) Try to make sure the pick-ups work especially if they are of an unusual design because, of course, there's no replacing them. F) Don't be distracted by dirt, dust, yellowing, pitted chrome, noisy pots, missing knobs,ground issues, jack issues, or intermittent switches ... you're going to be fixing all that. It's not hard and it's not expensive.
Now that I've got my "good bones" guitar I go after it as 3 projects: The Neck; Frets may need NO attention or maybe it needs partial/complete re-fret. Either way, don't rush the neck part of the project, it has to be right. The body; remove only as much hardware as necc to be able to go after the body with a good 3-step finishing system. (I use Mohawk brand, made for the furniture industry: Rubbing compound level 1 and 2 and then a polishing compound). Hardware/electronics: Use cotton wadding polish to minimize pitting on chrome parts. Examine/repair/replace each individual component in the wiring scheme. Finally (and most importantly) get the guitar set-up to play like butter. There are a lot of resources out there on this topic so I'll suffice it to say keep at it and don't stop till you get there. It HAS to play easy. Each project will have it's own peculiar needs and just be prepared to deal with whatever comes up.
I once bought a First Act "Volkswagen" guitar that had an interesting active distortion circuit built-in ($50). I put the elec into an old off-brand flying V ( also $50) and it came out amazing. Played/sounded really, really cool. I was in to it for about $110. I wasn't really anxious to sell it but when I was offered $400 ... I let it go. I find bringing old guitars back to life pretty enjoyable, and it's made me pretty proficient at setting up my own guitars, maybe try it sometime?

Thanks to Mblaide, Fretsmith and Chris for your thoughtful replies.

I'm leaning towards a kit for my first project just to get my feet wet with clean, working parts. Then I'll know a little more to tackle a rehab job like Fretsmith details. For $109 you can get the full unfinished kit here http://www.guitarfetish.com/High-Quality-Solid-Poplar-Body-Strat-Style-Kit-Maple-OR-Rosewood_p_1197.html# (thanks Mblaide). Not a bad deal if it plays anywhere decent. The electronics wont be very good but can be upgraded if the "bones" are ok.

The only thing that remains to be seen is whether this guitar will play and sound at least as good as a Fender Squire, because when all is said and done (with tools, finish materials and labor) they will cost nearly the same. The resale values wont be the same, but that's not a big deal given the cost. The experience gained may well be worth it.

Todd

Just arrived. GuitarFetish.com Strat style. All parts appear to be present and accounted for. Neck and Body in good shape. Maple on maple neck with poplar body. Also got his book to help with assembly: How To Build Electric Guitars.

Should be fun!

Originally Posted by: fretsmithI find bringing old guitars back to life pretty enjoyable, and it's made me pretty proficient at setting up my own guitars, maybe try it sometime?

Thanks for the excellent info, I may just try it myself if I come across the right candidate. My very first guitar was a Strat style that I didn't know how to tune properly, or even had an amp for (I some how was able to plug it in to our stereo). I bought it for $10 at a flea market, had no idea how to play it, and ended up selling it shortly thereafter for $25. I wonder sometimes what the guitar actually was, and if I'd held onto it and got it sorted out, if it might have actually been a decent player.

Hi Toddst.
I have built two guitars so far from kits. One based on the Fender telecaster,
the other was a bass also based on a Fender.
Both bought from Thomann musikhaus in Treppendorf, Germany. Very good kits, well constructed. The spaces for the controls & pickups required a little
smoothing off with a very light sand paper as did the main body to prep for staining. There are quiet a few items on youtube regarding the painting of guitars, however some can be a little confusing with regards to prepping & painting & what paint to use.
The instructions were in german, but was lucky enough to have a work colleague who speaks german & could get the English version of the internet.
Once one had been completed the other was a lot easier. The screws for the machine heads are quiet small, compared to those for the scratch plate, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the other way around. All parts needed to be checked off from the list provided.
I did find that the strings were not that good as I snapped one when tuning the Tele, therefore it would be better to have a good quality set to hand.