Custom Made Guitar

[570ex Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 570ex]

Just as i was about to go and buy a new guitar i stubled across a few people that make custom guitars for not unreasonable prices. i was wondering has anyone here had one custom made? any good/bad experiences? and (if your UK or maybe USA if i could get it shipped) do any of you have recomended guitars builders?

[Skullkrusher The T-Files-ologist Find all posts View Profile Close Skullkrusher]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

Take a look at this guys work.

http://www.driskillguitars.com./

[Blueline Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Blueline]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

I am one of the custom builders on the forum. I think my prices are pretty reasonable. for a completely hand made guitar - its often less than the cost of a Name Brand high end guitar
I am building currently for some forum members

feel free to PM me

if you give me your email, i'd be happy to shoot you some pics of my latest work

Cheers

[o-ridge Registered User Find all posts View Profile Close o-ridge]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

how long does it usealy take to make a custom guitar?

[Blueline Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Blueline]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

for me, my turnaround time is about 5 months

[Norman_T Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Norman_T]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

I am one of the custom builders on the forum. I think my prices are pretty reasonable. for a completely hand made guitar - its often less than the cost of a Name Brand high end guitar
I am building currently for some forum members

feel free to PM me

if you give me your email, i'd be happy to shoot you some pics of my latest work

Cheers

Could you host some pics on here for all? If you have difficulty in hosting go to www.photobucket.com and you can then host pics there it's free as well!!

[Zerberus Baron Von Shred Find all posts View Profile Close Zerberus]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

6-9 months here, but currently without a decent workspace, sorry (that´s why the sig says "reopening soon").

Although price wise I´m up in the range of a Jackson USA or Gibson Custom, depending on the options. But I can do literally anything for a price. Neck-thru, crazy inlays, wacko airbrushing, you name it. But you pay for it as well...

I would have posted Pics a long time ago, but my "former PC" was lost in a "small fire" and that took all of my "album" with it

[Blueline Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Blueline]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

will post pics for all to see when i get home from work
thanks for the heads up on the place to post - i keep losing my free spaces

As for my building style
I have quite a few designs to choose from ranging from flat tops to aggresively carved figured maples
I use an extended neck pocket that increases sustain and tuning stability, but I could go on and on...

I use only the best woods (solid mahogany or korina backs, one piece necks, etc)
and I can do inlays as well.

Zerb is a great guy and would go a great job too.

Cheers

[Zerberus Baron Von Shred Find all posts View Profile Close Zerberus]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

will post pics for all to see when i get home from work
thanks for the heads up on the place to post - i keep losing my free spaces

As for my building style
I have quite a few designs to choose from ranging from flat tops to aggresively carved figured maples
I use an extended neck pocket that increases sustain and tuning stability, but I could go on and on...

As far as "own designs" go, Blue probably has the one upü on me, as I´ve only built to order as far as custom axes go. The 15 "Zerbe Customs" that are out there were all of that type. The 35 or so "standars" were all strat knockoffs or Dinkys, nothing special IMO. But as far as general construction goes, from what I´ve read/ heard we seem to be from the same general "school"

I use only the best woods (solid mahogany or korina backs, one piece necks, etc)

Here we "see the same", I prefer high quality tonewoods as well, but for the most part hgave gotten "stuck" with exotic woods like Zebrawood, Bubinga, Coccobolo (which I currently refuse for health reasons, BTW) and such..

and I can do inlays as well.

Anything up to and including a "tree of life" (see Jem-series) I can do myself, anything else I have a wonderful old Lady in Waldkirch for. God bless her soul, her work is the best I´ve ever seen.

Zerb is a great guy and would go a great job too.

Cheers

Thanks, Blu. But the same goes for you

It just kind of boils down to "How long are you willing to wait, and how much are you willing to pay" (I´m in Europe, so Customs and Shipping cost become a decisive factor). I admit to being higher priced, but that´s because I´m the only luthier in a 100km+ radius, likely larger (I have/had customers coming all the way from Italy and Switzerland). If I were any cheaper, I´d never be able to save myself from setups and refrets long enough to actually build anything.

I really do need to see what I can get going as far as "recovery of old photos" goes, I really miss looking at that quad-neck I once built....

I´d say if it´s "immediate", go to Blue or JohnJohn (who also IIRC bilds custom axes, but I may have a "wrong impression"). I´ve seen Blueline´s work on a few pics, and it really looks great, definitely worth considering

[Bludave Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close Bludave]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

I have had a Custom guitar built, and am currently working with a Luthier in building a custom acoustic also. My electric is essentially a Tele thinline made from Mahgony with a Flame maple cap. It has 25½" scale, ebony board and the neck shape and fingerboard are modeled after a '61 335. It has 2 Humbuckers that are coil tapped. A jazz in the neck, and '59 in the bridge. It is a great guitar. I have had absolutley no problems with getting what I wanted from the Luthier who built it. The whole experience was painless. I did drop it recently, and it is being repaired(a minor crack in the back). So I miss it... it is one of my favorite guitars. The Company that made it is no longer in business. As far as my acoustic goes, it will be modeled on a OM size. The back and sides are quilted mahogony, the top is german spruce. Rosewood board, and bridge. I left the inlay designs up to the luthier who is building it, with one minor suggestion, I did not want a busy fingerboard. It will more than likley be finished in sunburst. What shade is still being decided. The builder is Cris Mirabella www.mirabellaguitars.com. He specializes in restoration, but is a Master craftsmen/ Artist. I love his work, and have worked with him on many other projects. What it really comes down to is you have to feel confident that the builder and you are communicating on what you want. Any good builder should be able to build what you want, and should be able to advise you on what you can and cannot do. I am sure that the other builders here do fine work. I would prefer to work with a Luthier who is local, so I can check on the progress as the project is moving along!!! LOL D.S.

[Fatty Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fatty]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

I'm currently in the process of building with Blueline.. chambered (mahog/maple) tele with rosewood neck. Experience has been nothing short of excellent. Would (and have ) recommend him to anyone.

It's currently being finished (natural back, translucent red top), and should be done within the month.

here's a pic http://www.uwm.edu/~ascrowe/guitar_prepaint1.jpg (Pic is 192k, may take a while to load depending on your connection)

-alex

[Norman_T Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Norman_T]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

I'm currently in the process of building with Blueline.. chambered (mahog/maple) tele with rosewood neck. Experience has been nothing short of excellent. Would (and have ) recommend him to anyone.

It's currently being finished (natural back, translucent red top), and should be done within the month.

here's a pic http://www.uwm.edu/~ascrowe/guitar_prepaint1.jpg (Pic is 192k, may take a while to load depending on your connection)

-alex

Thanks for sharing - looks good even in its natural state. It's going to be a killer when done, please show the guitar again when done.

[Blueline Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Blueline]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

Thanks for the endorsement Fatty and Zerb - I really appreciate it

Here are my uploaded pics of my last completed guitar



http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/...nal_guitar.jpg

http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/..._of_guitar.jpg

http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/...nal_guitar.jpg

[Norman_T Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Norman_T]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

Thanks for the endorsement Fatty and Zerb - I really appreciate it

Here are my uploaded pics of my last completed guitar



http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/...nal_guitar.jpg

http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/..._of_guitar.jpg

http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/...nal_guitar.jpg

Gorgeous looking top on that one - blue matteo colour? Are they SD pups on them and are they coil tapped aka a well known P*S MC model?

Good to see your work and also others I am very supportive of guys who do this as I believe that if you want good guitars then there is no better way than having one custom built.

[Blueline Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Blueline]

Re: Custom Made Guitar

Thanks
Those are SD pickups - I will use whatever a customer wants as long as I think it will sound good in the end, but I prefer SD pickups because its a great product and I'm very familiar with their diverse line

the top is what I call Blue Raspberry
there is a coil tap push/push
and the little switch is a kill switch for shutting hte guitar off between sets and/or a stutter effect as it isue used by the guitar's owner

the neck is hand rubbed oil and the body is nitro
the tuners are grover self-locking

hope you enjoy guys

Cheers