DIY Woodworking, Home Improvement, and Art Projects

Howdy neighbors – I wanted to share some of the initial color test pictures from 2008 when I was trying different aniline dyes on maple and walnut and oak woods.  This is just a taste of what I’ll be adding more of later as I detail out all the steps in my guiar building project…

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Warmoth Custom Guitar Parts – Guitar Home Page

This is one great company here, folks.  I have only made one purchase with Warmoth so far, and that purchase is still not fully realized, but I would buy again from this class outfit any day.

Not only do they have an amazing selection of all the stuff you need to get creative and make your own guitars, they have an up-to-date forum and a tasty customer gallery that is full of inspiration.  I found a lot of great ideas going through their customer guitar gallery.

I did a lot of the work on my guitar build last year, and I have been playing more often again lately so I am in the mood to finish the project this summer.  It got me thinking of where I started in the process, and one of the first places I went was Warmoth.  Check ‘em out.

Cheers!

Bodies, necks, electronics – oh my!

Background

I am an obsessive researcher. Once I get an idea in my head, especially if it’s something I am going to invest a lot of money in, or something I am going to be making, then I seek out as much information as I can on the subject…really anything I am interested in is an excuse to spend hours and hours learning about every possible aspect of it.

I started playing guitar again at the end of ’07 after a couple of years off. I was in school full time and working 50+ hours a week so I wasn’t able to devote enough time to my guitar. So now that I’ve graduated I have many of those hours back. Right now I am playing a vintage sunburst ’95 Epiphone Casino through an Epiphone Blues Custom all-tube amp. I also play a Grand Symphony Taylor acoustic with a Rosewood back and sides, and a Red-Cedar top. Both guitars sound gorgeous and I literally enjoy playing so much more now that I have quality instruments.

I like a variety of music but mostly I tend to find myself listening to singer-songwriters and late ‘60s and early ‘70s music. I like some heavier stuff like old Black Sabbath, and some Indie rock like Weezer, too. I have always loved instrumental music as well; particularly surf rock from the likes of The Ventures, The Shadows, The Challengers, Man or Astro-Man, and Satan’s Pilgrims. The guitar that I needed to complete my triangle of sound was one capable of jangly, tremolicious surf pop sounds, with the ability to turn it up and make it growl when necessary.

So with a particular sound in mind I went searching for the right instrument to produce it. The thing that I noticed right off the bat was that most of the surf rockers used Fenders…typically a Stratocaster or Jazzmaster. I absolutely love the original Jazzmasters. The shape, the tone, the finishes available – all of it – but they are quite expensive and the stock tremolo bridge is suspect. The Strat is an American icon and comes in so many flavors it’s quite a confusing choice.

So after looking at hundreds of Strats of all styles and finishes with an almost infinite combination of pickups, neck contours, and body woods, I realized something. Since I am so damn particular and really wanted this axe to be something special, I decided to not decide, and just make my own.

This is a list of some of the posts to come chronicling my custom build:

• Research:
  • materials and finishes
  • wiring and pickup options
  • hardware options (bridges, tuners, etc.)
  • places to buy it all
• Buying the parts:
  • Where I bought the stuff
  • Why I bought what I did
  • Other purchases along the way…
• Building the guitar:
  • Part 1 – testing finishes
  • Part 2 – preparing the body
  • Part 3 – applying the dye finish
  • Part 4 – applying the lacquer top coats
  • Part 5 – finishing the neck
  • Part 6 – assembling the final guitar and testing