Build or Buy?

[AlexR]

Re: Build or Buy?

It all depends on where you are, and what level of parts you will accept. Cheap bodies and necks are aplenty, but after a few times round the block, you get sick of having to do more setup than the buying/assembling/painting etc combined.

Luthier wood is becoming more and more expensive too. Mind you, I have never really had any build of mine sound anything else but stellar - that certainly is not true of the guitars I have had either from big manufacturers, or their parted out sections........I won't get another guitar that I haven't built myself unless I win the lottery.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Build or Buy?

I don't know if it is cheaper, but it sure is fun! The stuff I like, though, either rarely comes up used, or, if it does, is not much of a price difference from new. Some people like the treasure hunt (I really don't). I am super particular when it comes to neck shape, for instance, and that keeps me from buying a lot of replacement necks.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Build or Buy?

$1200? ,sheesh I could build 2 or 3 guitars for that

Mine use Warmoth or Musikraft Necks and bodies, German OFR, gotoh or Grover tuners.. Brass big blocks, Duncan or EMG pickups, and an and on- the parts keep adding up, plus 170 for the final fret level and setup.

Not saying they're any better than yours, a tool is a tool, it's all about preferences

 

[Taz Rules]

Re: Build or Buy?

I'm building (assembling) my first from a kit, and I LOVE IT!
I got a kit cheap, and thought I'd give it a try. I do a lot of custom artwork, and wanted to try woodburning instead of paint. Since you can't wood burn a guitar with any finish or stain on it (the smoke is toxic), I needed bare wood. The kit was a great starter and I'm really enjoying the process.

I reshaped the neck to my own preference, so it is now thinned down with a Jackson-esque flattened back, but goes increasingly assymetrical from the 7th fret to the nut. I've got a JB Jr. for the bridge, which I'm wiring in to a DPDT for single/parallel/series, and have SD Five-Twos on order for the neck and middle. I get to choose the wiring setup, so instead of Vol/Tone/Tone, I'm going Vol/Tone with a blend pot.

I could never buy that guitar, or at least would really struggle to find it. Building gets what I want. Cost? Canadian $90 for the kit on my doorstep, about $110 CAN for each of the Five Twos, $50 on ebay for the JB, and about $50 for a woodburning kit and another $50 for nitrocellulose for the body and Tru Oil for the neck. So about $510 Canadian (plus the woodburning kit, which I will use for other things as well), which equals about $375 US. Granted, I still have the cheap pots and tuners from the kit, but I can change those out easily in the future.

For sure, building from scratch with exotic tonewoods will cost more. Maybe someday I'll make it to that level. For now, I've found a hobby that I really enjoy, and can take a lot of pride in.

I'd build again in a heartbeat.

 

[theAeronought]

Re: Build or Buy?

Well, here's the thing: you can save money by building, for sure. What you will not save is time. I've been trying to build this damn thing for two years now, and in between moves, missing tools, finding wood and breaking a neck, I've accomplished this: I have the wood, and some of the tools. No guitar.

Since then, I've inherited two guitars, one from my brother and one from my Dad. Put the Teisco pickups I was going to use on the Epiphone Les Paul and made some wiring changes to the Squier Strat, called it good. And that's another thing - what you save in money by buying a guitar, you generally lose in quality. These are not great guitars! But, if you build it right and hunt for bargains, you can make a really neat guitar with a little extra time.

I'd still rather buy a Strat than waste any more time on this thing though...

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Build or Buy?

Another rasoine de' etire for builds , in may case is that I wanted different flavours of vintage Strats. I wanted a 57 Alder/ Maple, a 61/62 Alder Rosewood, a 55 aSH/ Maple , AND A 69 mAPLE/aLDER.All with period corerct pickups.
I already have the 69 , but it was done with Poplar body and Padouk/Ebonyneck, which meet or exceed the tone parameters of those particular era guitars, and of course equpiied with 1969 spec pickups.

I also have the 57, but it was done with Alder and a Maple/ pau Ferro neck , with 57 spec pickups.This combinatipon also meets or exceeds the tonal paraneters for this particular vintage Start replica.

The '55 Strat build is still in the draing board. hard t find a good Ash body.


Face it, I'll never have the money to blow on the real old Strats, so assembling period specific replicas is as close as I'll get, so thats why I build.

 

[leevc5]

Re: Build or Buy?

I want to build an SG. Been looking for body and neck for months. I would really like a maple body but mahogany would be OK as that is more common for SGs. Any suggestions on where I might find reasonably priced SG parts would be appreciated.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Build or Buy?

I built a Tele with parts from USACG. Very impressed with their finishes. I opened up my wallet and bought the best parts I could. I'm quite happy.

 

[YeRedHouseOverYonder]

Re: Build or Buy?

^^ Nice tele and amp. Sorry went squirrel haha.

It honestly just depends on the guitar you want and if it's available on the market or not.

If you want to feel, hear, and experience exotic woods, building from parts might be the better option with companies like warmoth. Guitars that aren't offered by companies is another example where I'd advocate building. Of course, this all goes to sh!t if you can don't a setup properly or if the parts themselves aren't made correctly. Warmoth can be hit or miss with necks sometimes.

If I want a set neck guitar, I usually just end up buying. I don't carry the proper expertise and tools needed for the job.



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