What guitar building category do you fit into?

[Butch Snyder]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I chose accessory changes. I can rewire, change out pickups and such. I can do some light routing; provided a pickguard will cover the cavity...

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

Doing necks well, are at an entirely different level than the rest of the guitar, including finishing. I no longer have the first several trys. They were that bad! Really it's probably much less trouble (and money) to just buy a Warmoth or eqivilent neck, and to be brutally honest I will still do this at times (especially when it's got to be absolutely perfect), but then there's the challenge of mastering the next step. It's nice to say: "I did the whole thing."

When doing necks it's best to get a pre-cut finger board, such as by Warmoth. A Special machine does this. This will save a lot of problems with frets, because the cuts are exact as to location, depth, and curvature.

 

[MikeS]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I’ll assemble a guitar from parts, but that’s about it. I’d much rather pay someone who knows what they are doing to do the rest than for me to attempt it and screw it up. I will struggle through finishing for solid or transparent colors, but I haven’t tried to dye anything yet.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

Dyeing isn't too bad. For best results use a water based dye on bare wood, such as maple, then simply clear coat. You can control the grain contrast by sanding after dyeing and re-dyeing. The problems comes when working with a wood that needs to be filled or will absorb a lot of finish. The water based dye will not work if the wood has been exposed to any kind of oil based finishing substance or a grain filler. You then must use an alcohol based dye, and it can be difficult to gain consistant results. Ofton the clear coat will smear the dye.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I voted none of the above. I haven't built yet. But, wish to do so. I'll probably adopt the frankenstein approach at first. A Kramer/Jackson style single hum is what I would want to do.

 

[mnbaseball91]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

Dyeing isn't too bad. For best results use a water based dye on bare wood, such as maple, then simply clear coat. You can control the grain contrast by sanding after dyeing and re-dyeing. The problems comes when working with a wood that needs to be filled or will absorb a lot of finish. The water based dye will not work if the wood has been exposed to any kind of oil based finishing substance or a grain filler. You then must use an alcohol based dye, and it can be difficult to gain consistant results. Ofton the clear coat will smear the dye.

Intersting you should say that. I use Stewmac dyes that can be reduced in either water or alcohol, and I find that they both go on very easily. The main difference that I found was that using an alcohol base gives a much more vibrant color, where water based looked a bit washed out.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I have built a few handbuilt guitars... I took a night course in guitar making.... I'm no pro and my guitars will not put any companies to shame yet but i love making them!

My interest in Guitar making comes from 2 players... one being EVH and his early guitars.... I liked the fact that behind those weird stripped guitars was some quality mostly handmade bodies and necks by some great builders... Ya they looked like cr*p most of the time but they were handmade quality guitar parts...

The other player was Pete Townshend... It is not well known but Pete is really handy at guitar repairs and building... In the early days of the Who/Detours, John, Roger, and Pete all made guitars and speaker cabs.. Later when Pete started to smash guitars he had to repair them so they could play the next show.... Imagine the Who in New York for the first time in 1967 doing 5 shows a day at The Murray The K package show... They'd do 3 songs and smash their gear.. Pete only had 1 guitar per day..... Repairing smashed gear went on thru-out Petes life to date... His number 1 studio guitar is Grestch that he smashed to pieces in 1973 on Top of The Pops... Many Les Pauls Pete smashed in the 70's were repaired to smash again... The mods Pete has done to his guitars over the years like his 3 pick up Les Paul Deluxes and his current Eric Clapton Strats were team effort by Pete and his tech....

WhoFan

 

[PRG]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I've built one guitar, using the Carvin neck thru blank and building the body, routing, finishing, wiring, setup, etc on it. It's the one in my avatar.
I've also refretted my first guitar using a pair of wire cutters, my swiss army knife, a hammer, and a file. Pretty crude, but it worked. I also scallopped the neck with rasps and sandpaper.
My next goal is to build another neck-thru from scratch.

 

[Amateur]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I like to do things from scretch. It's real easy for electrics, especially if you can get you hands on design workstations and NC machines or turning centers. However, acoustics are different. You have to make all kinds of fixtures, bracings, tuning the sound board and gluing them all together. I probably will building an acoustic some day. I was taught how to do it, but I enjoy playing guitar more than making one. Yap, one of those days.

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

Accessories. I change pickups, pots, caps and various hardware quite happily but I never mess with woodwork, finishing etc.

+1 here

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

Hmmm I dont know where I would fall. I would defintly get mine made from Parts. But not a kit! I dont have acces for the necssary tools to build one from scratch. so I would give my body design to my Luthier ( based on the strat-soloist), the type of neck I want . Get it home and assmble it, with my choice of neck and tuners pups ext. I gues that sort of puts me in The kit guitar category... but not Kit at the same time.. between design to kit

I chosse none of the above

 

[diggamark]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I'll say "attempting" to build from scratch.... having fun doing it though..

 

[jeremy]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

ive probably built 12 guitars from design to spraying lacquer over the years, there might be one or two im forgetting. i hate finishing so i dont really take on that type of work, except for my friends '55 p bass in seafoam green which i just did (whoever did the last paint job messed with the contours so there was lots of extra sanding to get it back), but i do almost anything else.
ive never had any training per se, when i was 16 i wanted a prs and couldnt afford one, my dad worked summers as a carpenter and carved wood as a hobby so had tools and knew something about wood. first one was cool, but i sold it. i still have the 2nd guitar i built a few years later and its one of my main players and as good or better than everything else i own, and i have some nice toys. it takes me forever to actually complete one but when its done ive never been disappointed.
i do other work for friends and people that ask but dont seek any business so they have to find me, cause i aint looking for them.
i have a few friends that are full time luthiers and repairmen so i get calls when they are bogged down or stuck.

 

[briand]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

LOL!!!!! Ya cant master it in 2 months bro!!! Be patinet, it takes time to be as good as myself young grasshopper!! LOL!

...Said the older grasshopper while the Ancient Cricket watched calmly from the sideline, nodding in agreement

I could see where your statements would be true. If you are assuming that my learning ability is as slow as yours is! LOL! NOT!

The moral of the story is, shut up and get back to work!

 

[theodie]

Re: What guitar building category do you fit into?

I could see where your statements would be true. If you are assuming that my learning ability is as slow as yours is! LOL! NOT!

The moral of the story is, shut up and get back to work!

LOL!!!!!!!!

Brian, the only builder category you fit into is the gay one! If anyone wants a gay guitar builder, talk to Brian!!!! ROTFLMAO!!!