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Thread: Custom Guitar Build

  1. #1
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    Default Custom Guitar Build

    i dunno if this will get deleted or not, but this is the only forum i belong to, so i figured i would try to show a build thats a bit different. i know there are plenty of craftsman on here who would appreciate this.
    The plan is for a neck thru one off electric solidbody, built for mainly metal guitar playing. ive done a few, including a guitar for tony from JFAC.
    Ill start with building the neck, which i will do a 5 piece laminate of hardrock/purpleheart/curly maple. the hardrock maple is salvaged from a local school that was torn down. they were handrails, which are extremely straight, and just need to be planed a bit. the center section is some nicely figured maple i found at home depot. believe it or not, sometimes if you dig, you can find a piece or two like this.
    the body will be mahogany and maple. here is what i have to start with.
    IMG_2825.jpgIMG_2827.jpgIMG_2829.jpg

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    I'm a Guitarist and Bassist, got a pretty sweet collection myself................and those are VERY nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    NEED PARALLEL CONNECTORS?? QUALITY 5.5MM, 8MM, 8 AND 10 AWG, GET THEM HERE: https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...est!&highlight=

  5. #5
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    thanks! wish i had some better pics of the older ones… but at the time my camera was terrible, and theyve gone to new homes since. whatcha got?

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    To name some classics, a 1976 Alvarez acoustic and a 1984 Gretsch Solidbody "Commitee" Bass...............and then an assortment of acoustics(Bass too) and a couple electrics. Made a few myself too out of bits and pieces, I'll post pics later.
    NEED PARALLEL CONNECTORS?? QUALITY 5.5MM, 8MM, 8 AND 10 AWG, GET THEM HERE: https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...est!&highlight=

  7. #7
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    I've been playing guitar for 34 years and have always thought making one would be a cool project. I must admit, making a neck is way beyond my skill level though. Lately, I have been considering one of the Grizzly tele kits with an upgrade to a genuine Fender neck. Thanks for showing your build, looking forward to following your progress.

  8. #8
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    Absolutely beautiful work! From someone that has worked with wood for about 20 years that is stunning work! Wish I could play guitar. I am a huge fan of it, just never had the time to go and learn to play.

  9. #9
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    Thanks jr -)
    Chief, look at some of the warmoth stuff,their necks are extremely nice quality.

  10. #10
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    subscribing...nice work!!!!!! makes assembling boats look really elementary in a sense
    "FE" STANDS FOR FRUSTRATING EXPLOSIONS

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    Thanks rip...metal for life!

  12. #12
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    I have a friend that just built a cigar box guitar. It has 3 strings, fretless, and smoke detector pickup (Radio Shack). Lots of video on youtube about these simple, but verynice sounding homemade guitars.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9m7T...eature=related

  13. #13
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    That's kinda cool... A friend of my sons, father made one, but I've never actually played it. It actually sounds decent....
    Looks pretty easy too

  14. #14
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    You can hear the green strat pictured above here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1TkS...e_gdata_player
    Solo at 2:20

  15. #15
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    That sounded nice, chaotic, and complicated. Did you make that guitar?

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    Ya dood. It's the green one with red knob in the pic above.

  17. #17
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    I don' t like so much BCRich, Dean, .... style guitars. I have 3 guitars, 1957 French jazz guitar, an €piphone with P90 pickups and my favorite is my Gibson SG Standard Ltd Edition full stock year 2000
    2000 Limited Edition.jpgIMG_2643 small.jpg

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alfa Spirit View Post
    I don' t like so much BCRich, Dean, .... style guitars. I have 3 guitars, 1957 French jazz guitar, an €piphone with P90 pickups and my favorite is my Gibson SG Standard Ltd Edition full stock year 2000
    2000 Limited Edition.jpgIMG_2643 small.jpg
    Well then my guitars wouldn't suit you, but they play and sound awesome. Different strokes for different folks man. I am not a fan of Gibson or epiphone really. Theyre machined pieces, mine are hand carved necks and bodies, and the routing and machining is done by hand too... They have their own personalities.

  19. #19
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    Nice build! Currently rebuilding a Neopolitain Bent top mandolin from the late 1800's. Quite the piece, real tortoise shell pickguard, mother of pearl butterfly inlay..
    I'm with you on the Gibsons, unless it's a pre '72 acoustic, my studio acoustic is an old J-45. Inherited a early 70's SG that just a dust collecting decoration.
    Current main electric is an 83 american standard strat body with a custom Birdseye/spalted maple neck loaded with a set of real 1963 pickups, not the reissues, real ones!
    The neck for that one was a barter deal with a guy who has worked for Furlinetto for about 20 years. Pre CBS headstock, brazillian rosewood board.
    On stage I generally play about 700$ guitars, lol playing in bars it makes no difference to sound, as long as it plays nice and has good sustain I don't care what the headstock says. Too many guitars get stolen for me to risk it anymore, had a really nice strat swiped in Whistler about 20 years ago!
    LOL you should hear our hillbilly cover of Number of the Beast, Upright bass, guitar and I play lead on Mandolin! Actually most of our stuff has some pretty strange arrangements, washboard percussion for jazz standards?
    Going back into the studio this weekend, after I get some stuff back I'll post a couple tunes.
    http://www.baertracs.ca/bio.html
    This is who is doing our recording, LOL also our bass player. Great guy!
    LOL kinda hard to miss when you have somebody in your band with that history and the number of contacts he has.
    Plus he also has 3 huskies! Actually it was the huskies that did the introduction! I had mine at a pub and he showed up with his at the same pub! The rest was history.
    Kind of place I live in, you find out the drunk guy wanting to get on stage and do a tune is Ron Sexsmith, Neil Young shows up after hours at your favorite guitar shop, you run into Ronnie Hawkins at the beer store. You find out the place next to where you're working is owned by Alana Miles. You meet Shania Twain visiting her horse at the leahey farm.........
    Small sh*t hole town that is loaded full of musical talent!
    If my boats upside down then who owns the one I thought I was driving the last two laps?

  20. #20
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    Your 70's SG was build during Norlin area, not the best Gibson....

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    I've played a real flying v owned by a buddy of mine (not a reissue, was in his shop one day when he turned down 100k US for it!), a pile of ES's, real gold top les pauls, les paul Jr's, customs, standards and studio and don't like any of them for electric guitars!
    The newer they are the worse they are! At least the old ones were hand built, not like the CAM based crap the have been turning out for about 20 years. Some might claim some hand assembly but 95% of the guitar is a basic off the line machine made guitar that might have a nice top and hand rubbed paint job. Still just a parts bin guitar. Same as Fender, even their "custom shop" stuff is just selected parts bin stuff. Nobody is hand carving the necks and bodies. Both companies are relying on the name to sell mid grade guitars at inflated prices. At least you can get an American strat for well under a grand.
    http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.c...music-to-close
    This is the guy who owned the V, that day in august I was in there when Neil bought the martin!
    he has closed his shop but still deals vintage stuff, he has a world class Gretsch collection you wouldn't believe!
    The V might still be in Capsule Music in Toronto, he loaned it to them for a while.
    I've played a lot of high end very rare stuff I could never afford in a million years, Never met a Gibson electric I liked enough to buy. They are nowhere near what the old acoustics and mandolins are.
    The only reason I play a Strat is they are cheap, play well and I can play everything from metal to country on the same guitar. And I can repair anything that breaks including a neck in about half an hour. Built for the stage and road!
    Every Gibson I've played is a one trick pony, you get that Les Paul sound (or whatever) and nothing else. Not going to spend that kind of money to sound like Slash or Angus young! The whole reason I never play that SG (Aside from the fact it is uncomfortable, heavy and the knobs have a *!***!***!***!**ty layout)
    Want a real guitar check out these http://duesenberg.de Good chance one of the hollow bodies will be my next guitar.
    If my boats upside down then who owns the one I thought I was driving the last two laps?

  22. #22
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    Siberian, I agree with you 100%. You've nailed it. Although there are still some luthiers out there who are still carving necks by hand like myself, and more notably Neil Moser,who has his own line of guitars now, but designed and built for bc rich and some others over his years. He still carves every neck by hand. Very cool. They just feel better. Gibsons don't stay in tune well due to their inferior, yet unchanged, abr-1 bridge. You would think they would have made a change, but no. Just silly if you ask me.

  23. #23
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    Siberian, feel free to post pics of you axes man.guitar and Rc boats are my two favorite pastimes

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    siberianhusky. you are a Strat guy. Dues' are great guitars and they have very good sounding pickups. I played a vintage Gretsch, if I remamber it was a Duo Jet, awesome guitar
    What' s wrong with this one? http://www.gretschguitars.org/gretsc...y-not-reissue/

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    Like the old gretsches, not big on the double cut away models but I wouldn't turn one down. A buddy of mine Yves has a nice old Country Gentleman.
    I'm not a strat guy, just a guitar player who demands versatilty and quite a few styles of guitar don't offer that. I think both Gibson and Fender have gone downhill badly since the early 70's or before that.
    Gretsch since the were bought by Fender are not the guitars they once were. I'm not a fan of anything post CBS. With the exception of the original tele deluxe. The reissue custom shop ones blow!
    Basically for me it has to pretty much be pre 1970 or built by a luthier. Pre 70 is mostly a collector thing as they will appreciate in value.
    I'm even worse when it comes to amps, I must have dragged 15 home before I found one I liked, that doesn't include the number I played in store and didn't bother with.
    I didn't even buy the first Traynor GuitarMate I brought home. For about a week I had a Mesa Boogie that almost made the cut, then got a call about another Traynor, ended up with that one then retubed it with about a grand worth of vintage Mullards.
    Can't describe it, kinda sounds like fender and marshall had a baby that got the best of both sounds.
    Tons of good old amps out there, some made by some odd companies. If you ever get a chance try playing through a mid 50's supro, hopefully with a better speaker. 5 watts of pure tone! SOme of them were sold under the SIlvertone label through Simpson Sears in the 50's and 60's.
    If my boats upside down then who owns the one I thought I was driving the last two laps?

  26. #26
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    I like the Gibson SG, SG Standard and SG Custom, this guitar is light, sound incredible, easy neck for me and what a beauty!! Very good vibrations. I played some SG Custom different feeling with ebony fretboard, Classic '57 HB s sound is magic! I' m very satisfied with my Gibson SG Standard Ltd Edition (2000), if I have to buy a new solid body it will be an Ivory SG Custom

    SG Standard 164.jpg

  27. #27
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    Les paul hated the SG.

  28. #28
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    Yes, Sg was a Les Paul during 2 years 1961 and 1962

  29. #29
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    indeed. again, different stroke for different folks. its funny, alot of people think just because a guitar is custom, that everyone is gonna like it. couldnt be further from the truth… i know what i like, and share that with many others. then there are plenty of guys who dont like my stuff, and opt for guitars i dont care for. all a matter of taste )

  30. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by dana View Post
    Les paul hated the SG.
    Dont tell Angus young and Tony Iommi that.......................... they made that guitar scream............and it made them alot of $$

    Some guy named Clapton used one in Cream starting in 1967
    NEED PARALLEL CONNECTORS?? QUALITY 5.5MM, 8MM, 8 AND 10 AWG, GET THEM HERE: https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...est!&highlight=

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