Project Guitar

[Synester1990]

As the holidays are approaching, I might be interested in making my own project guitar. However, I have a few questions in mind. What are the items i need to buy for a project guitar? Which is the most expensive part of a guitar? And which diagram can i use to solder the electronics of the guitar parts

 

[rimuel]

most important question,what model are you gonna make 1st?

 

[Synester1990]

That's fast reply, haha, I was thinking of a Floyd Rose Bridge guitar. No specific model in mind. Hmm, I'm thinking of having the tone that is able to play punk rock and metal, somewhere around these 2 genres. Which pickups would you guys recommend? My budget for the whole guitar is around $500.

 

[Synester1990]

Also, what are the pros and cons of the various woods used to manufacture the necks of the guitar?

 

[Dime]

try doing something like an EVH replica.not entirely the same.

since its a strat with a floyd and a single humbucker.strats are generally easier to assemble and tear apart.the first problem you may face doing this is to find a floyd routed strat and a neck that has the locking nuts.

 

[Synester1990]

Thats a nice guitar, hmm, what's the difference between humbucker and pickups?

 

[RyanZ]

$500 may not be enough. Pickups alone cost about $200 or more for 2 humbuckers. The Floating tremolo cost $100 and above. You still have to get the body and neck which cost about $350 and above, depending on the wood type. You still have to get the machine heads, potentiometers, pickup selector, knobs, pickguard etc which will easily cost $100 and above. Unless you are planning to get lower quality parts, your budget of $500 will not be enough

You also have to set aside money for the tools like soldering iron, etc...

 

[Gr3y]

try doing something like an EVH replica.not entirely the same.

since its a strat with a floyd and a single humbucker.strats are generally easier to assemble and tear apart.the first problem you may face doing this is to find a floyd routed strat and a neck that has the locking nuts.

This is a good choice! after when you are done with this you can consider move on to the full version of the evh frankenstrat~! For this.. watch out for the masking bleeds. It's quite tricky as you'll need to use your hand to tear it,else it will not be able to produce the bleed effect. Also, the 2 layer of colour will result in uneven surface. If you are going for the posh version, it'll be a big problem for inexperience painters. If you are going for what evh did, ignore the uneven paint

This is painted using almost the same technique. The levelling of the diff layers (3 in this case) is a killer!

 

[Synester1990]

Hmm, i would probably increase my budget when i can get enough money, any suggestions on the pickups/humbuckers(i dunno whats the difference) i can use for playing punk rock/metal songs?

 

[theunknown]

hehe bro not to discourage u, but i guess u really need to learn more about guitar before making one of ur own. since u dont know the difference in humbuckers and pickups for example.

 

[obzervr]

Congrats on setting your mission!

There are several different ways where you can work on a project guitar.

1) Revive an old dead guitar
2) Upgrade and make over an off the shelf guitar
3) Retrofit an off the shelf guitar - rerouting, changing necks etc..
4) Customise assembly of guitar parts
5) design and build one from raw materials

Yes, wood type matters. But the difference is significant only when it is well assembled and setup.

Assuming playability will not be compromised, What are you after?

1) Looks?
2) Function?
3) Replica of an Artist Model?
4) Artistic Expression?
5) Unique tone?
6) One of a Kind model?
7) Some of the Above?
8) None of the Above?

A good first project would be to bring a dead guitar back to life. It is a challenge because you'll be torn between keeping the original specs and setting on a trial and error adventure.

If you're looking at custom assembly of a new guitar and willing to start from unfinished parts, $500 may be enough. I've personally put together some project guitars which cost me much less than that (minus labour cost, electric bill, tools, oils & finishes that is). Brands are not everything. It is very easy to be swayed to buy parts only from Big name manufacturers but it doesn't really mean that you'll get a better guitar afterwards.

Visit www.projectguitar.com for a start... you may get more ideas there...

God Luck!

 

[Synester1990]

haha, i have much to learn. So what is the difference between humbucker and pickups? And thanks to all for your suggestions and advice.

 

[RyanZ]

Here you go:

Single coil:
Bright, chunky, lots of character, conveys the natural sound of the guitar well, can sound thin clean, and a little "weedy" when overdriven hard. Picks up a lot of interference etc hum.

Humbucker:
Full, smooth, thick sounds. Can sound a little plain when used clean, but gives a really fat and creamy overdrive sound. Almost no interference. Good for rock and heavy sounds.

 

[Synester1990]

Hmm, thanks, what is the best config of the pickups for the kind of tone im going? HSH or HH or just single pickups?

 

[RyanZ]

To have the best of both worlds, coil split the humbuckers to get a single coil sound. If you are building a strat type guitar, you can get the rails type pickups and do a coil split. You will also need install a push/pull pot.

 

[RyanZ]

For metal, I would recommend a H-H config. If you want versatility, use a H-S-H config. If you are not sure of the tones you want, you can always visit the website of your desired pickups brand,. They have some sample sounds which you can listen to.

 

[fgl]

http://www.guitarattack.com/build.htm -for beginers

or if you wanna get artsy .. http://www.carverdoug.com/guitars.html

 

[Dime]

or if you wanna get artsy .. [URL]http://www.carverdoug.com/guitars.html

you must be a master craftsman to do this kinda projects bro.

but this one is cool
http://www.carverdoug.com/guitars/wangcaster.htm

chose not to post the pic here due to discretion.

 

[fgl]

yep Dime that axe is already featured at KKN site :mrgreen: