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build a custom electric guitar

by slimguy379 on April 28, 2008

Table of Contents

intro: build a custom electric guitar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1: design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 2: gadgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3: componet resting spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 4: Knobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 5: whats next?!?! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
intro: build a custom electric guitar
This is a picture of my "not so complete guitar" but it is a start... I always loved old school rock and also most modern rock and recently am learning I just thought my old
used guitar could use a "makeover"

Image Notes
1. neck of the guitar got mine off of an old guitar
2. humbucks and panel
3. wood puddy, I need to re drill holes

step 1: design
Find a design. I used a Paul Stanley aka Star Child design, but you can Google different designs. find one you like next sketch the design on to a poster board. make
sure you like the look, feel, and make sure that it will be comfortable!!! next get some MDF from home depot. I used 1/2" and another piece of 3/4" (shown in picture). but
trace the design you drew onto both pieces wood. now the power tools!!! cut the designs out w/ either a 1. a ban saw 2. a saber saw or 3. scroll saw. both of the pieces
don't have to be perfect just similar. (I'll explain later)

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
step 2: gadgets
I used old switches and gadgets but I'm pretty sure they can be bought at Radioshack (I love Radioshack) but I have 1 switch 4 knobs and one female / output jack. to put
it together you will need some wiring diagrams (below) these are the wiring diagrams I used not to hard to understand. after your drive to Radioshack stop over at Lowes
or home depot and pick up some heavy duty plexi glass. this is where the hum bucks and knobs etc are going to go.

step 3: componet resting spots

the componets need to be IN the guitar so you need to cut a place for them I used the 3/4" piece to cut into (more space see picture) the plexi glass pieces will rest on top
of the holes. after cutting the plexi glass to the shape desired place them where you want them to go now take a drill bit and drill holes in both the plexi glass and the the
wood ( these holes are for the screws to hold the plexi to the wood) during this step you should also dremel a pathway from the hum bucks to the componets to do this I
used my dremel tool along with a drill bit. I made a line / cut with the dremel and a straight edge. then I placed the needed wires in the cut then glued the 1/2" piece on
top. (also w/ the 3/4" you need to cut a place for the Neck of the guitar!!!!)

Image Notes
1. 1 humbuck
2. 2nd humbuck

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
step 4: Knobs
for the knobs I needed 4 of the same thing and keep it cheap you can buy knobs at Radioshack or else ware but instead I used 4 plain white dice cool, cheap and I have
a few extra (if I screw up or something) all I did was take my drill press and dill a hole the size of the top of the knobs. later when every things good and settled I'll put a
dab of hot glue to keep it more secure. I use hot gleu because it will be easy to rip off if necessary.

Image Notes
1. dial for either volume or tone
2. regular dice found 6 for a $1
3. wire hell

step 5: whats next?!?!

well from the pic you can see that, thats about as far as I've gotten (considering I started this in the winter and I hate working in the cold!!!) but next I have to drill holes for
the string / chord holder and adjuster then cut the piece so both top and the bottom are the same shape, sand it smooth paint it's base coat, airbrush my design on it, and
then clear coat it. shouldn't be to far down the road till this project is done. I'll update it later on. I know there are going to be millions of question so bring them on, I'll try to
answer asap!! also I have no idea what design I should airbrush on, any ideas? send me a comment or message!!!! please, I really would like peoples input on that
subject

Image Notes
1. screwed up paint!! will have to fix
2. will replace the plexy with another designed piece
3. new plexy piece will attach to this piece
4. the blue and white remind me of a 50s diner etc.

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
 Image Notes
1. I sanded parts I couldn't get to with a pad sander I used a dremel

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Comments
42 comments Add Comment

IPlayGuitar says: Nov 25, 2008. 6:15 PM REPLY

almost looks like the BC Rick Son of A Beast, which is much more hardcore, lol

sosexyiloveit says: Oct 29, 2008. 7:53 PM REPLY

Hey, can you send the design for that to Gbuilder? he's a guy on this site. Tell him it's sosexyiloveit

slimguy379 says: Oct 30, 2008. 1:45 PM REPLY

i have no true pdf file etc... i sketched my design out

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
 slimguy379 says: Oct 30, 2008. 1:48 PM REPLY
send him the link and tell him to sketch it out

drum=forarmmuscle says: Oct 14, 2008. 4:03 PM REPLY

did it actually work?

johnanderton says: Oct 12, 2008. 6:24 AM REPLY

do you know about the scale length and that if you don't have the bridge in the right position the guitar is never gonna be in tune and the intonation will be
out on the higher frets?

slimguy379 says: Oct 12, 2008. 8:56 AM REPLY

yes, i didn't build the neck (good job reading) and everything else was perfectly measured from the original guitar so im not worried....

johnanderton says: Oct 12, 2008. 2:43 PM REPLY

i hope the good job reading bit isn't sarcasm because i never mentioned the neck, i did read you got it off another guitar what i was talking about is
the scale length which means the length of the vibrating string from the nut to the saddle which is supposed to be twice the distance from the nut to
the 12th fret.. if you measured it from the other guitar it is most probably going to be alright, or at least as good as the guitar you got the neck from,
however the intonation will probably still need adjusting anyway but the tune o matic bridges are easy to do so that shouldn't be a problem, i wasn't
having a go about it just trying to help, i wasn't assuming anything either way hence the question mark at the end :o)

slimguy379 says: Oct 12, 2008. 3:25 PM REPLY

all in all i don't care,... im buying a Gibson soon anyways.... i just thought i would show every body a few guide lines, if they wanted to do it...
thanks for your concern but it truly isn't needed

johnanderton says: Oct 12, 2008. 11:56 PM REPLY

hopefully gibson dont start making them out of mdf oh and have fun with the g string going out of tune all the time

slimguy379 says: Oct 13, 2008. 7:49 AM REPLY

wow guy did you just become an instructable member JUST to hustle me? who the hell cares, i'll buy whatever guitar i want, and Ive work
with gibsons and have had no problem, that's 5 years of playing..... and no problems

future3003 says: Sep 8, 2008. 12:45 AM REPLY

What the hell? DId you just make your guitar out of MDF???

slimguy379 says: Sep 8, 2008. 3:55 AM REPLY

%100

mr.dr.prof.joel says: Jul 26, 2008. 2:41 AM REPLY

who would I go to if I was going to sell body designs for guitars.

slimguy379 says: Jul 27, 2008. 2:39 PM REPLY

Idk if people would BUY them, but you could sketch them and people could use them for "concepts"

mr.dr.prof.joel says: Aug 11, 2008. 4:03 PM REPLY

and is that good?

birdmankustomz says: Aug 14, 2008. 6:37 AM REPLY

Well, you get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing your designs are being used but I don't think youll get much money, if any.

finnster says: Jun 7, 2008. 3:40 PM REPLY

I've been thinking about making my own guitar for a whhile now and you have convinced me I should. Could you do this and make a semi-hollow body with
your own design?

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
 bustedit says: Aug 12, 2008. 10:21 AM REPLY
you dont want to make a home-made hollow body. a lot of guitars that are made cheaply have hollow bodies, but its for cost saving and not acoustics.
some older strats are like that, under the pick guard they are hollow, and those are to be avoided or if purchasing one, haggled down to a lower price.
...bur correct me if I'm wrong, I just got my 1st gtar, but have done my homework.

slimguy379 says: Jun 8, 2008. 11:37 AM REPLY

yes, before you glue the 2 pieces of mdf together router out the middle part the glue them together

jackillac92 says: Jul 25, 2008. 3:10 PM REPLY

first off I think you should have sanded the body a lot more on the sides, second off I think that you should have used a good quality wood for your " guitar "
and last off I think that you should have bought a SAGA guitar kit instead of jumping the gun and building a guitar straight up.
my 2 cents?

TheMadTinker says: Jul 24, 2008. 1:23 PM REPLY

Those are actually single-coil pickups, not humbuckers. A humbucker is a pickup that (most often) looks like two single-coil pickups stuck together. The
reason they are called humbuckers is that they cancel (or buck) the 60Hz hum that a single-coil pickup will produce when plugged in to an amplifier by
adding together two signals that are out of phase with each other.

Also, with single-coil pickups, 500K pots (those are the "knobs") are way overkill; for single-coil pickups 250K pots are preferred. If those were actual
humbuckers (which a Les Paul-style schematic assumes) then 500K is the way to go. I'm sure that if you're using all the hardware that came with your guitar
you should be fine, but if you're putting things together yourself, then you should be aware of these sorts of things.

slimguy379 says: Jul 25, 2008. 4:12 AM REPLY

dude read the comments on the FIRST page, god damn!!

Luki101 says: Jul 9, 2008. 3:22 PM REPLY

How much did this project end up costing?

slimguy379 says: Jul 9, 2008. 6:26 PM REPLY

my original guitar (aka crap) I bought from my friend for 20 bucks (all the dials, switches, etc.) mdf runs a bout 8 bucks a sheet so 2 of them and plexi
glass is 8 bucks so about 44 bucks maybe 50!!! for the end result (well near complete) I think its well worth, also the brag rights are awesome. only thing
is is to talk to chicks about guitars, you can only really talk about how well you can play the guitar, not about building one, cause the look at you and start
to loose interest and start to drool..... I find this happens when ever you talk about anything to do with instructables. Or maybe I hang around to many
stupid girls or maybe too many blonds. *AAAAAAAAHHHH it felt so good to say that*

Luki101 says: Jul 10, 2008. 7:50 PM REPLY

heh, i know what you mean about talking to girls about building stuff. Most give you that zoned out ' im gonna pretend i get it...' type look eh? my
friends whom are girls dont lose interest but most of them definitely don't get what im talking about =P . 50 bucks is a way cheaper cost than
gbuilders instructable. But probably because he used solid hardwood and stuff. What turned me away from his was the outcome of 200 dollars! this is
alot more affordable, great instructable by the way.

Leperello Mikesiah says: Jul 17, 2008. 10:17 AM REPLY

haha, not all girls are like that though! I'm a girl and this is my instructable. :) But really everyone should have GSL- guitar as a second language.
I'll be trying to talk to the non-guitarists of my family about a really cool piece of gear or new picking technique and *deer in headlights*. sigh.

abadfart says: Jul 13, 2008. 12:01 AM REPLY

i have that problem with most people they just don't speak guitar

slimguy379 says: Jul 11, 2008. 11:26 AM REPLY

personally I hate this instructable it is very vague with not to many pictures, (compared to my others) but yes alot cheaper and even if you want
you can go toyour local music shop, (we have a place called Big Apple Music) that carries parts such as necks, dials, etc. OOOh yeah I
understand the "im gonna pretend i get it...' type look". thanks a lot!! keep on rock'n!!!

Noodle93 says: Jul 2, 2008. 5:01 AM REPLY

MDF isn't a good wood to use.

Try maple, alder, ash or even mahogany. Expensive yes, but the denser the wood, the longer sustain and richer tone.

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/
 slimguy379 says: Jul 2, 2008. 7:23 AM REPLY
YES i have heard this multiple times, and since I'm about 9/10th done I hold on doing the other wood the second time around. But thanks for the help!!

Noodle93 says: Jul 3, 2008. 4:49 AM REPLY

Make sure you post a video showing the guitar and a sound clip ;).

abadfart says: Jun 25, 2008. 5:37 PM REPLY

nice

u_r_teh_svck says: Jun 22, 2008. 4:15 PM REPLY

those pickups arent "humbucks" they are single coils, you might wanna change that

speeddemon93 says: Jun 9, 2008. 6:00 PM REPLY

Nice project, I might try it sometime, but did you know that those are single coil pickups, not 'humbucks'. Single coil pickups are prone to get interference
from outside sources--thus the humbucker was invented. Humbuckers are pretty much two single coils wired against each other and somehow beyond my
current knowledge, they cancel out each other's noise.
Humbuckers have a fat, crunchy sound, and are used for metal and hard rock styles. Single coils have a brighter, often quieter sound.
Here's a wiki page written by people a lot smarter than me
http

slimguy379 says: Jun 10, 2008. 7:18 AM REPLY

thanks, and you right if you look in the idea picture of the guitar (paul stanley) you will see that it has the type of "humbuck" as you spoke of

gamer says: May 7, 2008. 3:32 PM REPLY

Would I be better off starting from scratch or buying a random old guitar from a pawn shop? Nice Instructable by the way!

-gamer

slimguy379 says: May 10, 2008. 2:43 PM REPLY

well I started with a old one not being used but yes you can star from scratch, I just saw a tutorial on how to make a humbuck / pickup out of recycling
products (search it up!) the only thing is, is the neck I have no idea how to do this, you search electric guitar and will come up w/ another tutorial that
shows how (his is much better than mine!!) but thanks for checking me out!!!

PineapplebobTheGreat says: Apr 28, 2008. 4:39 PM REPLY

I like this guitar, but you didn't do as good a job in the instructable as Gbuilder...

dchall8 says: Apr 29, 2008. 3:02 PM REPLY

Well Duh! Gbuilder's guitar how-to stands out as a star example of how to do an Instructable. I hope nobody compares anything I do to Gbuilder.

But seriously slimbuilder379, don't be intimidated by Gbuilder's guitar Instructable. Do your own because you have some different ideas from that one.
But do check out his Instructable to see if you might want to add a few things even to the part you have already done. For example your guitar has a
neck but you forgot to mention how it got there. Also when the Instructable gets to be at all complicated, I really like to see a parts list with photos of all
the parts and tools to be used.

I think this has excellent potential to be one of the great Instructables.

slimguy379 says: Apr 29, 2008. 5:17 PM REPLY

well I really appreciate your input, I didn't even realize that there was a tutorial on how to build a guitar until afterwards ( when pineapplebobthegreat
mentioned the other tutorial) but yeah I hope to finish it this summer, because I'm 16 and school waste most of my time :) I live in NY and weather
always sucks raining or cold (not to much to choose from) right now I'm actually trying to start a band (I play both the guitar and the keyboard/organ)
hope to start a Doorsy sounding band- long live Morisson but I appreciate you checking out my post thanks again

reddeth says: Apr 28, 2008. 3:46 PM REPLY

Awesome instructable, I've always wanted to make my own guitar. One thing I wanted to point out though, even on an electric guitar, the type of wood used
makes up a large portion of how good the guitar sounds. MDF should work ok, especially for a first guitar, but if you really want a good sounding guitar find a
high quality wood (WHAT type of wood is up to you, I recommend research into what types of woods other guitars are made out of) and carve the guitar out
of a solid peice.

tl;dr: MDF isn't the greatest material to use in making a guitar.

http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-custom-electric-guitar/