making your own guitar

[Wideboy]

always fancied doing it so i decided to have a go today , finished the body today, i had a old SG body kicking about so this is sort of based on a SG/strat/jag stang, made from wenge as i have sheep loads of the stuff, not sure about the neck or anything else, some one recommend me some pick-ups ect?





im not sure about the top hook bit (the clawy type bit on the top right), looks out of proportion to me so might cut that down, needs to be left a few days to mature so the timber goes jet black then see what it looks like

I've got some spare B.C Rich BDSM pickups kicking around here..

[Wideboy]

what are they like? im after a bluesy type sound, B.C is heavy metal? i not sure

also anyone made a neck before, would like an insight into it, can see roughly what to do

Originally Posted by speedplay

BDSM pickups

Wrong forum, mate

Didn't Brian May's dad make his guitar out a bog seat?

Originally Posted by Jabba

Didn't Brian May's dad make his guitar out a bog seat?

The pickups are pretty versatile I've got them fitted in my warlock and have still played blues on it.


And wasnt red made from an old mantlepiece?

i made a fretless bass a few years ago. in terms of making the neck by far the easiest method is a "neck thru" design where the neck is integral to the body, i.e. pickups and bridge are mounted on same piece of wood as fretboard and the rest of the body is made from 2 bits of wood glued on either side.

getting an even radius on the fretboard can be tricky, you can make a sanding jig using a router fixed at a set radius but you can buy a jig for about a tenner which might be better.

the hardest part of making a neck is cutting fret slots. if youre out by the tiniest amount in measurement or cutting then the intonation will be off. again you can buy a jig but ive not tried this way.

good luck

[Wideboy]

think i'll do it by hand, route a bit of it but finish it with a spoke shave, trying to think of a design for the head

Looks good so far. Is that wood a hard or soft wood and would it be suitable for a work bench?

[Wideboy]

Originally Posted by phil24_7

Looks good so far. Is that wood a hard or soft wood and would it be suitable for a work bench?

very hard and yes......... if you have ALOT of money lol

[ophic]

Originally Posted by mjc

i made a fretless bass a few years ago. in terms of making the neck by far the easiest method is a "neck thru" design where the neck is integral to the body, i.e. pickups and bridge are mounted on same piece of wood as fretboard and the rest of the body is made from 2 bits of wood glued on either side.

getting an even radius on the fretboard can be tricky, you can make a sanding jig using a router fixed at a set radius but you can buy a jig for about a tenner which might be better.

the hardest part of making a neck is cutting fret slots. if youre out by the tiniest amount in measurement or cutting then the intonation will be off. again you can buy a jig but ive not tried this way.

good luck

You don't have to be that accurate. As long as you calculate and measure each fret cut from the same point, ie the nut, then the errors don't accumulate. Small errors will make small changes in pitch, which are barely noticeable, especially on an even tempered scale, which is a compromise anyway.

Fretboard radius can be a problem. Truss rods aren't easy to install either. Fret files are a specialised tool and can be expensive. Also, a decent set of tuning heads aint cheap.

Cutting the nut also need special fine saws. You can compromise on all these things, but then you end up with something that isn't all that good.