Checklist please...!

[JonatanOTG]

Hello!

I'm sure I've mentioned this in some older thread but anyway, I'm going to build a Warmoth guitar as a school project!  :hello2: It will be my first build and I'll do a lot of reading and planning before I start the actual build process - which will probably be around february next year...  :icon_jokercolor:

I really need a simple checklist of the things you're supposed to do when you put the guitar together. I'm doing the planning right now and since I'm doing this mainly during school time, I need to have at least somewhat of an idea of what I'm getting into.

If anyone could write down a short checklist with just the most important things that'd be really helpful! It's probably gonna be about a rear-routed strat with fixed bridge if that makes any sense.

Just something like this...

1. Body
a. bridge
b. mount the pickups
c. do the wiring
2. Neck
a. put on the tuners
b. do the fret level
c. fix the fret edges
etc.

(Ok that's pretty random but you get the point...  :toothy11

Thanks!

 

[Danuda]

Assuming you buy everything prefinished and ready to go this is pretty much it.  As a side note not all of these things needs to be done in this order.

Dry fit tuners and align them.
Mark and drill holes for tuner screws.
Install tuners.
Install string ferules (if you have them)
Install pots
Install switches
Install pickups
Install pickup rings (if you are not direct mounting)
Run ground wire
Run jack and jack wire
Wire up the guitar
Test wiring to make sure it works (plug guitar in and tap each pickup with the pickup selector in each position to make sure you hear sound out of the one you are supposed to and not out of the ones you are not, check to make sure volume is working and tone is working)
Install jack into jackplate
Install control cavity cover
Install the bridge (ground needs to be connected somehow)
Put on knobs and switch tops
Install strap locks
Attach neck
String guitar
Setup the guitar (Lots of steps go here and I am too lazy to type them)

 

[mayfly]

you forgot "install B-Bender"  :icon_jokercolor:

Kidding aside, a checklist for something as personal as a custom guitar will never really be accurate. 

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I'm with Mayfly here.

But here's what I do:

Make a sketch of the guitar front and back.

Then start at the top and front and work your way to the bottom (Like ... tuning machines, string trees, nut and so on - for every item remember to check if you need additional screws - or sometimes you want a different colour theme for those - so you may need all black screws ... )

Then do the same with the backside.

Write all down - then double check - order - and wait until packages arrive.

Then - when you get your packages and discover that you missed something anyway - order the missing parts plus something for the next project you inevitably have in mind. And stock up on all those things you always have to have extras of lying in your guitar stuff drawers.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Between each step there is an implied "post pics on unofficialwarmoth.com" step.

 

[Cagey]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned how much beer this takes. It's not trivial. You need a garage or some kind of outbuilding or basement for storage.

 

[bagman67]

I dunno, Cagey, I'm a non-drinker and I get by all right.  Beer?  Bleah.  Never learned to like the taste.

 

[NQbass7]

I dunno, Cagey, I'm a non-drinker and I get by all right.  Beer?  Bleah.  Never learned to like the taste.

If you live in the states and only drank what most restaurants/bars offer, you probably never drank beer. What most people qualify as "beer" is something I've never learned to like the taste of either. But real beer on the other hand... that stuff is nectar from the gods.

 

[bagman67]

I've tried to meet you halfway, NQBass, but even when I sample the "good" stuff, it's just not for me.  My wife's a big fan of all kinds of beers, but I'm not there.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Fair enough. To be honest I'm still surprised that I got to like beer.

In the UK we have proper cask ale, though, and that's a whole other ball game. And yes, we drink it warm. (Actually a little bit cooler than room temperature). You only need to chill beer if it tastes bad.

I'm into a lot of the "craft beer" that's been appearing recently too. Some of the Brooklyn Brewery stuff is fantastic - shame we have to pay import prices though (we're not used to that).

 

[AutoBat]

I made the recent discovery that I do not like hoppy beers, which is quite useful to know when trying new unknown beers. IPA, no thanks. Belgian ale, yes please!

 

[swarfrat]

You also left about 17 iterations of 'redo wiring to find that stupid <insert problem here>'

I also only recently learned that there are a few beers that don't taste like turpentine. I like Red Oak / Fat Tire, but mostly I look and say - man I could have a whole 2 liter of Mt Dew for the price of that beer. And productivity goes up with more Mt Dew rather than down.

 

[bagman67]

You also left about 17 iterations of 'redo wiring to find that stupid <insert problem here>'

I also only recently learned that there are a few beers that don't taste like turpentine. I like Red Oak / Fat Tire, but mostly I look and say - man I could have a whole 2 liter of Mt Dew for the price of that beer. And productivity goes up with more Mt Dew rather than down.

What, THIS Mountain Dew?  Talk about your epic fails:


http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/08/14/mountain-dews-dub-the-dew-online-poll-goes-horribly-wrong/?hpt=hp_t2#ixzz23e5ApQ1M

 

[swarfrat]

Uh yeah that was epic fail by pepsico/yum brands. Mt Dew is _A_ product offering, not a sub-brand within Pepsi. IOW, "DON'T FREAKING MESS WITH THE DEW!!!!!"

 

[GearBoxTy]

After figuring out and aquiring EVERY part and tool you'll need, Jason's build series on YouTube is very helpful.  That's what I used, but I skipped over the fretwork sections and paid a local luthier to do that work.

Here is the like to the entire playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82F87E351853722B

 

[Pelagaard]

Don't forget the mojo and/or juju depending on the type of music you play...

 

[JonatanOTG]

Wow, 15 replies already...? I love this forum... Thanks guys!  :icon_biggrin:

(I dunno about the beer thing though... Think I'll skip that part!  :icon_thumright

 

[JonatanOTG]

Assuming you buy everything prefinished and ready to go this is pretty much it.  As a side note not all of these things needs to be done in this order.

Dry fit tuners and align them.
Mark and drill holes for tuner screws.
Install tuners.
Install string ferules (if you have them)
Install pots
Install switches
Install pickups
Install pickup rings (if you are not direct mounting)
Run ground wire
Run jack and jack wire
Wire up the guitar
Test wiring to make sure it works (plug guitar in and tap each pickup with the pickup selector in each position to make sure you hear sound out of the one you are supposed to and not out of the ones you are not, check to make sure volume is working and tone is working)
Install jack into jackplate
Install control cavity cover
Install the bridge (ground needs to be connected somehow)
Put on knobs and switch tops
Install strap locks
Attach neck
String guitar
Setup the guitar (Lots of steps go here and I am too lazy to type them)

Thank you so much, that pretty much saved my day!

 

[JonatanOTG]

After figuring out and aquiring EVERY part and tool you'll need, Jason's build series on YouTube is very helpful.  That's what I used, but I skipped over the fretwork sections and paid a local luthier to do that work.

Here is the like to the entire playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82F87E351853722B

Thanks for the tip, those vids will be watched... Over and over again!  :laughing7:

 

[JonatanOTG]

I was thinking of the fret job...
As far as I understand, you could skip the whole fret part and still have a playable, though very uncomfortable guitar, right? One could also pay a luthier to get it done properly, but then I won't learn anything myself of course.
I think I'll at least try to do it myself. If I mess it up totally I could always pay the luthier instead I guess...

So, is this the stuff you need to do with the frets? In the correct order?

1. Fret level. Put markers on and file them down until there's no marker left. (Kind of.)
2. Fret end dressing. File the fret ends down so they won't cut my hands when I play. Kind of.
3. Fret top recrowning. Rounding off the fret tops to get a smooth fret that intonates well. Well, kind of.

Just to make sure, did I get this right? I keep on mix up these things all the time...  :icon_scratch: