Homebuilt guitar, almost finished

metalhead28

metalhead28

Hates Raymond
I started working on this guitar a few years ago, and I'm just getting around to finishing it up. (haven't been working on it that long - I just put it aside :D)

I want to take it to a real luthier to have the frets levelled and crowned, and possibly slot the nut for me. (those are just a couple things I don't want to ruin) but otherwise it will have been built 100% by hand in my garage.

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Wow...nice job. Something I've always wanted to do, but haven't tried yet. Did you buy the neck or build that from the ground up as well?

Beautiful wood, BTW. Keep posting as you finish it up. I'd love to follow this one.
 
WhiteStrat said:
Wow...nice job. Something I've always wanted to do, but haven't tried yet. Did you buy the neck or build that from the ground up as well?

Beautiful wood, BTW. Keep posting as you finish it up. I'd love to follow this one.
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Thanks. I built the neck too. It's a deep set neck, you can see the tenon extending on up through the pickup holes. It actually extends on up past the bridge.

It was very rewarding. I'll be building some another sometime soon I'm sure.
 
She's a beauty!!!!! Leveling and crowning frets isn't too difficult. There are a multiude of articles online. Dan Erlewine wrote a real good one for Bass Player using no special tools.
 
Looks like it'll be a great one really soon! That maple cap is beautiful, fine looking curl, and I like the design of the headstock. What are the laminates in the body itself, though?
 
Anfontan said:
Looks like it'll be a great one really soon! That maple cap is beautiful, fine looking curl, and I like the design of the headstock. What are the laminates in the body itself, though?
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I bought all the wood locally, dirt cheap actually. I couldn't get any mahogony big enough for the body so I laminated 2 large pieces with the 3 thin pieces down the center.
 
That is one great looking guitar. I have put together a couple guitar kits, but you have done it all from scratch. Good job!!

Charlie
 
OK, so mostly I keep my mouth shut on these things, but I have a question for you. Do you want me to give you the treatment I give when people bring guitars into the shop (i.e., brutal honesty)? I'll tell you what I see that is good, and what I see that isn't so much, but I won't pull any punches. If you just want congratulations, I'll keep my mouth shut, but if you want to get better next time, let me know.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
OK, so mostly I keep my mouth shut on these things, but I have a question for you. Do you want me to give you the treatment I give when people bring guitars into the shop (i.e., brutal honesty)? I'll tell you what I see that is good, and what I see that isn't so much, but I won't pull any punches. If you just want congratulations, I'll keep my mouth shut, but if you want to get better next time, let me know.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
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What kind of post is this????? This guy has obviously worked his ass off to make this great looking guitar - and it looks like his efforts paid off. No one else on this planet will have a guitar exactly like his... and that alone rocks!

Metalhead - I do a lot of woodworking and guitar mods and I think you've got something to be extremely proud of. You've got a beautiful baby there - I hope it turns out to be something that plays as good as it looks! I think you idea about the nut work, etc. is a good idea. But I bet you could probably pull that off as well if you do some practice pieces before you hit the your project.

Light, go ahead and slam the guy. This isn't something he does for a living, but it has his heart and soul. That's something money can't buy.
 
cnix said:
That is one great looking guitar. I have put together a couple guitar kits, but you have done it all from scratch. Good job!!

Charlie
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second that...
I haven't even done a guitar kit!....its mind boggling to see some of these guitars come to life like this. amazing work.
 
If the ungood can be addressed at this stage I'd want to know.
There's little point having a pretty guitar if it doesn't do the job.
Metalhead28, on what I see & from someone who knows NOTHING I say nice woodworking mate.
 
Fusioninspace said:
What kind of post is this????? This guy has obviously worked his ass off to make this great looking guitar - and it looks like his efforts paid off. No one else on this planet will have a guitar exactly like his... and that alone rocks!

Metalhead - I do a lot of woodworking and guitar mods and I think you've got something to be extremely proud of. You've got a beautiful baby there - I hope it turns out to be something that plays as good as it looks! I think you idea about the nut work, etc. is a good idea. But I bet you could probably pull that off as well if you do some practice pieces before you hit the your project.

Light, go ahead and slam the guy. This isn't something he does for a living, but it has his heart and soul. That's something money can't buy.
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And THIS is why I usually keep my mouth shut on these things. Frankly, go blow it out your ass.

The only reason I made the offer is because from what I can see he did a appears to have done a better job than most first time builders, so I wanted to offer him some constructive criticism. If he wants to hear it, I'll tell him. If he doesn't, I wont. I'm not slamming him in any way, and I'm not saying he didn't do a good job. If you can't understand the difference between critique and insult, you can go fuck yourself. Just because it isn't his job doesn't mean he doesn't want to do a better job next time (and once you start down THIS path, there will almost always be a next time - lutherie isn't a choice, it's a disease).

Sorry to be so pissy about it, but I'm offing him advice, not insult, and as I just spent about 6 hours resawing a shit load of mahogany, I'm fucking tired as shit. More to the point, if anyone is going to bitch about it, it is Metalhead. But it is idiots like you who can't understand basic concepts (being helpful vs. being an asshole) that make the internet so fucking annoying.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Fusioninspace said:
What kind of post is this????? etcetc
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I think Light is the first person I would go to for brutally honest criticism because I know he knows his stuff and will neither sugar coat it nor be unecessarily brutal. I don't think he was trying to be mean, just helpful. It's obvious that metalhead did a damn good job, but the first time you do anything there are going to be things that a more seasoned professional might pick up on.
 
I hope metalhead takes Light up on the offer for a critique. That is one gorgeous looking guitar, and I'd be extremely curious to hear what could be wrong with it. Never built a guitar myself, and frankly I'm interested in hearing about it.

Cause damn, that thing is so pretty!
 
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