Building a guitar in the UK

[spleenharvester]

I'd love to be able to build my next guitar but I'm struggling to see how it would be better than the equivalent used fully-built guitar. Used strat bodies etc are quite hard to come by in the UK. Many cheap Squier bodies and not a whole lot else.

The problem with buying new parts is that parts dealers are far less abundant, more expensive, and those we do have seem to have very very few reviews.

I've been looking at Northwest guitars for example:

This (rather fantastic) looking body: http://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/fiesta-red-stratocaster-body-2-piece-american-alder/
With this neck: http://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/1-piece-neck-for-stratocaster-maple-fretboard-satin-finish/
Machine heads: http://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/button-shpaed-machine-heads/
Black scratchplate: http://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/s...te-pickguard-will-fit-genuine-fender-guitars/

etc etc by the time all the hardware is added in it will probably come close to £300. An RG550 can be had for £350. And the problem with that is we really have no idea how it will compare to a similarly priced branded guitar, whether the hardware will be any good and such?

The few reviews I can find on the website are promising, but some of them also look very suspicious. Very similar situation for other websites.

Tl;dr - fellow UK'ers, have you had any luck building guitars from scratch, using new or used parts?

 

[dominus]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

You could buy used Fender MIM parts from the USA and put together a real Strat for about the same amount. Most eBay sellers will try to help you out by sending parts as a gift at a lower value if you ask.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

An article I read some time back
Said if you buy the.parts separately
A car costs almost 4x as much

Buy the branded item you want
As close.to you ideal
Then tweak it to what you wanted

*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

 

[Kais]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-Fend...761?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2590b39b51

take a look on ebay.com (not ebay.co.uk) and look for sellers that are shipping worldwide. you can get a genuine fender american body for the same price as the link you posted, or better yet a mim body for half the price

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

There are a few UK retailers of genuine famous name American parts and several businesses making licensed replica bodies and necks. If you understand how a Fender-inspired electric guitar is assembled and set up, you should be able to construct your own. The only tricky part could be finishing.

 

[Jeremiah]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

I built a guitar around a Strat style body that I found lying in a field!

Still, after I bought all the parts, it came to nearly £300. Could I have bought a guitar for less? Sure - but I got a combination of parts that would have been very difficult if not impossible to find on a production guitar (Firebird pickups on a Strat body with a Tele headstock)


Edit: added picture

 

[daan]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

^^^ Now THAT'S a cool looking guitar! HOw does it sound with the F-bird pups? I really like the pick guard shape, too. Did you modify it, or did you find one like that somewhere?

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Building a guitar in the UK

There's always Warmoth and a few other "disign/build your own" on-line alternatives. Probably a little more expensive but also likely the most choices available to someone wanting to design his own guitar. There are though relatively inexpensive choices available with Warmoth and they carry and offer genuine fender parts. Good luck!