Build/Assemble Your Own Guitar?

[JereFuzz]

Hi folks,

Who has built/assembled their own guitar? Are there any kits you'd recommend? What was your experience like? Pics would be nice, of course.

Regards,

JK

[Benn Roe]

I'm working on my first, but for some reason I decided to start on hard mode and build my holy grail before trying a simple kit. It's slow-going. Right now I'm working out the wiring and finishing details, but all the major components have been bought. I've also been looking into kits for a friend, though, because he wants a cheap Les Paul in a colour Les Pauls never came in and it would be nice to have a friend building simultaneously so we can help each other out. Have you looked at byoguitar.com yet?

[JereFuzz]

I'm working on my first, but for some reason I decided to start on hard mode and build my holy grail before trying a simple kit. It's slow-going. Right now I'm working out the wiring and finishing details, but all the major components have been bought. I've also been looking into kits for a friend, though, because he wants a cheap Les Paul in a colour Les Pauls never came in and it would be nice to have a friend building simultaneously so we can help each other out. Have you looked at byoguitar.com yet?

I’ve been looking at a bunch options but I’m about to pull the trigger on a Kiesel due to features/quality/customization ... I want to basically make (assemble ) a super stat ... I just need to decide on a headstock decal ...

[fcknoise]

I have put together a parts telemaster and I got the body from warmoth and the rest was sourced pretty locally. Except pickups.

I really want to build a cool strat or tele or something using cheap second hand parts, but I realized however I spin it it is likely to end up at the cost of just buying a guitar new. You might get more for the money as you put in some labor yourself, but it still adds up pretty much

[JereFuzz]

I have put together a parts telemaster and I got the body from warmoth and the rest was sourced pretty locally. Except pickups.

I really want to build a cool strat or tele or something using cheap second hand parts, but I realized however I spin it it is likely to end up at the cost of just buying a guitar new. You might get more for the money as you put in some labor yourself, but it still adds up pretty much

True, but i think your Brain grows a bit when u engage in new activities such as assembling Guitars ...

[dubkitty]

i built three Fenders--two Strats and a Tele--from Fender bodies and necks in the 00s and it was easy as pie. all you really need is a Philips screwdriver and a soldering iron. if you want to do the SuperStrat thing you can probably find a body with the "bathtub"/"swimming pool" route which basically removes the wood between the pickups. for that matter, it's not uncommon for Strat bodies that are built up with stock single-coil pickups are routed for HB/SC/HB when the pickguard is off. the nice thing about working with Fender parts is that you don't have to worry about the neck and body fitting well.

i also have two oddball guitars i built from parts bought on eBay, which were rather more fraught because i mis-matched the scale length on both of them. that's what i get for screwing random parts together. they wound up working after a lot of fiddling, but i highly recommend that you stick to parts made to standardized neck heel and pocket dimensions.

[repoman]

I've assembled and painted a lot of partsasters, never built a neck or body though. Most involved stuff I've done is binding routing and installation, fret work. I do want to try making a Wandre style aluminum neck thing soon though.

[doommeow]

I've done a couple of partcasters and various other modjobs and will say this - fuck warmoth. Fuck them right in the ear. Every single experience I've had, whether ordering off the shelf parts or getting custom work done, has been hellish.

Spend your money elsewhere.

[JereFuzz]

I've done a couple of partcasters and various other modjobs and will say this - fuck warmoth. Fuck them right in the ear. Every single experience I've had, whether ordering off the shelf parts or getting custom work done, has been hellish.

Spend your money elsewhere.

Any brands you’d recommend instead? Alloy seems to have nice bodies ...

[Benn Roe]

I actually mostly had a really great experience with Warmoth, and their customer service team has largely been really responsive. However... I went with a 2TEK bridge (which they exclusively distribute) and I bought a bridge plate that's specifically intended to fit that bridge in conjunction with a bridge humbucker on a tele, which is exactly what I'm doing with it. Unfortunately, the bridge plate doesn't fit the bridge pickup routing, and forces that pickup to sit at a weird angle, and the result of a lot of back-and-forth measuring and picture-taking (after I complained about it) was them effectively saying "well, we routed your body to Fender's specs, so I guess it's a bummer that 2TEK's bridge plates just don't fit the very thing they were designed to fit". Nothing but a big shrug of the shoulders from the exclusive distributor of this product.

[kosta]

I've done a couple of partcasters and various other modjobs and will say this - fuck warmoth. Fuck them right in the ear. Every single experience I've had, whether ordering off the shelf parts or getting custom work done, has been hellish.

Spend your money elsewhere.

Any brands you’d recommend instead? Alloy seems to have nice bodies ...

Bummer man. I've built a few guitars from Warmoth parts and have always had pretty good luck with them. For other brands, I've used Guitar Mill stuff and USA Custom Guitars stuff, and they've both been high quality.

[Paul_C]

I built my main guitar on a course - from scratch, so no pre-made body or neck, and later built a few guitars for sale, but gave it up and stuck to repairs as it was very hard to make any money from it.

I've also got a couple of basses I built for myself, with a couple more half built in my workshop.

[JereFuzz]

I built my main guitar on a course - from scratch, so no pre-made body or neck, and later built a few guitars for sale, but gave it up and stuck to repairs as it was very hard to make any money from it.

I've also got a couple of basses I built for myself, with a couple more half built in my workshop.

Sweet that u have the skills to make a full guitar. I am a guitar script kiddy ... only assembly and sanding/dieing (or learning how to do those things)

[JereFuzz]

I actually mostly had a really great experience with Warmoth, and their customer service team has largely been really responsive. However... I went with a 2TEK bridge (which they exclusively distribute) and I bought a bridge plate that's specifically intended to fit that bridge in conjunction with a bridge humbucker on a tele, which is exactly what I'm doing with it. Unfortunately, the bridge plate doesn't fit the bridge pickup routing, and forces that pickup to sit at a weird angle, and the result of a lot of back-and-forth measuring and picture-taking (after I complained about it) was them effectively saying "well, we routed your body to Fender's specs, so I guess it's a bummer that 2TEK's bridge plates just don't fit the very thing they were designed to fit". Nothing but a big shrug of the shoulders from the exclusive distributor of this product.

One bad experience shouldn’t define the company for u ... but I understand your frustration ...

[drolo]

I used to monitor ebay for parts to put guitars together, never really saw any kits that inspired any confidence regarding their quality. They may exist though. Since the hardware and especially the pickups are usually crap on these kits you will have to buy them separately anyway. I've had good luck with Squier necks which you can find for cheap. For bodies, the quality is less important. I tend to buy unfinished ones as I like to just stain and oil them. It's really fun to assemble guitars. I wish there were more oddball parts available easily (and cheaply)