Make Your Own Electric Guitar

If you have decided to build your own guitar you must be very clear in your mind that building a guitar costs money. If you're not a hobbyist who is used to working with wood, using templates is the way to go. Also do you have all the tools like a decent drill and good quality drill bits and a jigsaw and bandsaw. A router will probably also be necessary, and once the guitar is built how do you finish it? If you don't have anything yet you will be needing to look for an airbrush and a spraygun.

Alfred's Teach Yourself Guitar Repair & Maintenance
 By John Carruthers. For Guitar. Guitar Method or Supplement. 0. Book & DVD (Hard Case). 80 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

DVD format: Region 0 for use in all regions. John Carruthers, legendary guitar builder and repair guru to the stars, has teamed up with Alfred to produce this ultimate beginner's guide to guitar repair and maintenance. Comprehensive, step-by-step instructions and close-up shots clarify how to set the action for ultimate playability, adjust for bulletproof intonation, and keep any guitar in top condition for a lifetime. This book & DVD also includes steps on setting up and adjusting Floyd Rose tremolo systems, soldering and maintaining electronics, the proper way to remove and install strings on both standard guitars and Floyd Rose systems, and exact specs for the action, nut action, and truss rod adjustments of electric guitars, acoustics, and 4- and 5-string basses. 80 pages.

Body: The biggest section of the guitar where the bridge and the pickups are. It holds the guitar neck.

Bridge: Where the strings are anchored on the body of the guitar.

Frets: The wires that are located on the guitar's neck.

Headstock: The part of the guitar at the top of the neck where you tune the strings.

Neck: The long, narrow part where you fret the notes.

Nut: Where the strings fit into the neck so they can join the headstock.

Pickup Switch: A switch on the body of the guitar which selects the various pickups to deliver your tones.

Pickup: A magnet which is wrapped in wires sitting on the face of an electric guitar, located under the strings. When the strings vibrate, the vibration disturbs the magnetic field of the pickup, and the resulting impulse goes to the amplifier.

Whammy Bar/Tremelo Arm : The bar connected to the bridge. By moving the tremolo bar up or down, the guitarist moves the bridge, thus changing the pitch of the strings.

Tuning Pegs: The pegs on the headstock, that you turn to tune the guitar.

Volume and Tone Control: Control knobs on the body of the guitar that alter guitar volume and tone.

You'll probably be putting on about six coats of paint, the first one or two will look weird because of the color of the primer but keep applying coats till you get the color you want. There will be some hours drying time between coats. Finish with a coat of clear lacquer and hang your guitar body out to dry for thirty days . . . more on guitar painting at How To Paint A Guitar Body

Many have thought of how to make their own guitar and never realized that there are kits and books on this topic. These will show how the person can create not just an acoustic guitar, but also an electric one as well. There are also resources that will show how to customize the guitar to make it unique to you as the construction of this musical instrument comes into being. There have been many that have tried to follow this route and have found it too hard to accomplish. This is because the person that tries to build a quality guitar should also know how to do all the duties that are involved in woodworking.

Some people have thought that they can get around the wood working aspect, but this is the criterion that is paramount in the construction of any wooden instrument. The guitar is no different to any other project that requires the use of wood in the construction. Many of the kits and books will assume that you have a basic understanding of how to use wood in the construction of things and this is where a book in wood crafts may be a good investment as well. The book at the very least will be a good resource during the construction of the guitar.

Many people have tried to follow the path of making a guitar and have seen the challenges that come in the unique names of the pieces and also the layout of the pieces. There is also the consideration that the guitar should be built to specs and the strings are under stress and the frame needs to be solid or it will buckle during the tuning process or during the attaching of the strings.

Like with any construction project, the person should determine what kind of guitar they are after. One of the more common projects is the electric guitar, although it is more difficult and also requires the person to have an amp available as well. The easier is the acoustic and is one that can be the best to attempt as a first time guitar construction.

The next question is how many strings you would like it to have. Most starter guitars have only four strings and many of the advanced guitars will typically have up to six strings. Some of the electric guitars will have up to twelve strings, although these are very difficult to use. The safest bet is to make a starter guitar and go with the four string layout.

The next question is if the person would like to make a generic guitar or one that is customized. It is recommended that for the first time to make a generic guitar so that you may get a feel as to how it should be constructed. The custom ones can be made for the first time, although there is a greater chance of ruining the construction of the guitar in the process. That is why this is called a learning experience. The choice is yours as to what design you would like to have with the guitar that you are about to make.

There have been a number of places that will offer to teach someone to construct with the kits or in rare cases, to construct a guitar from scratch. The best way to find out about these places is to contact a musical instrument store and ask them if they know of such places. They would be the best resource a person can have in gaining the wisdom that a person has and many books lack.

Gen Mason is a guitar player from Florida. Discover free how to improve your guitar skills at Jamorama

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gen_Mason

There are many different methods of designing and building an instrument. In this book, I am going to describe my personal approach and experiences. If work is carried out with great care and precision, everybody will in the end have a good-quality and nice-looking instrument to call their own. I would even go so far as to claim that a home-made electric guitar can well compete with expensive, industrially-manufactured makes; after all you can afford to select the best wood available and to buy highquality hardware as well as to tailor the instrument to fit your personal requirements. And, what's more, you can afford to invest a lot of time. I should also like to mention the special relationship with "your" guitar that you are going to enjoy, a feeling which you will hardly ever experience with a bought instrument.
Building Electric Guitars