Do you guys think it can be done..

[guitargreenhorn]

First off I would like to say hello to everyone here, I look forward to getting to know you guys. What i would like is to get your input on my idea of building a warmoth guitar for the first time. The catch is that I've never played an electric guitar before  :toothy11: . I have played an acoustic, and in doing such developed a craving for an electric guitar. I've spent many an hour looking into electrics and in the process discovered warmoth. Right off the bat I fell in love with the idea of building my own electric, but I'm not sure if it could be done with my lack of experience. I've done alot of research into building and warmoth, but want to know if you guys think it's too much to pull off. Figured I'd seek input from the pros before diving headfirst into the project. Thanks in advice!
If things take off as planned I'll be sure to keep in touch. 

 

[greywolf]

It's pretty straight forward , and there are plenty of seasoned folks here to help  Enjoy the adventure , but know ..once you start  you may not stop!

 

[Eric Banjitar]

With careful planning and the help of others, including warmoth, it is easy to do.  You could make it slightly easier by letting a local luthier wire it and adjust/file/dress the neck and frets.  Mine needed very little work that I could not do myself with standard hand tools, a good router and a drill press.

GO FOR IT!

 

[drewfx]

IMHO, knowing what you want vs. what you think you want is a big question for someone new to an instrument. So keep that in mind and be prepared for making changes down the road.

 

[sully]

I am in much the same situation, except I picked up playing electric not long after acoustic, a little more than a year ago. I try to give both equal time, but honestly I like electric more  :icon_biggrin:

I have been gathering info here for a few months now. Lots of good advice shared. For myself, the journey has been all about education. What styles and materials I like, what different resources say about them, and most importantly what others real life experience has been. I have of course learned that there is nothing "for sure" in any of this lol.

But I enjoy the whole process, gaining the knowledge along the way that helps me decide what I need from a practical perspective. I don't know about you, but I hope, as a beginner, to make a good first purchase. I hate the thought of rushing to a conclusion and a year later find myself with an instrument that is not what I want or need.

For myself, it isn't a question of can I do it, but should I do it, and what exactly should I get since there are so many options. I decided that while I could do it myself, I am going to have someone with a lot of experience help me. I will learn the ropes piecemeal I guess as I go.

Good hunting

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I'd hit the music stores, start playing several and making notes on what you like and don't like, specifically nut width, fret size, scale length, and maybe fretboard radius.

 

[vox_rox]

I'd hit the music stores, start playing several and making notes on what you like and don't like, specifically nut width, fret size, scale length, and maybe fretboard radius.

This hits it right on the head. You can play guitar - that's great. But electrics are a whole different thing. Humbuckers vs. single coil, scale length, controls - they all make a difference. A Les Paul is a totally different animal from a Stratocaster.

So go and play a bunch of guitars, find what style and sound you like, then design a guitar around that. The rest is just labour, but a labour of love, hopefully.

Good luck!

Peace,
Pierre

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Or ... build one of each. You will eventually when you go down this road.



No seriously. I second the opinion that you'll have to have some electric guitar experience under the belt to at least guide you in some sort of direction. Else the shear numbers of alternatives to every little detail on the guitar will be a steep wall to climb.

And one more thing ... don't listen too much to people on this board because most of us lost our directions again after build #3,4,5 or more  :icon_biggrin: Now we just assemble guitars like there is no tomorrow. 

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

True.  We will try and push our preferences too, which is why I say make the rounds and figure out what you like and get specific with the details.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

If you're feeling uncertain as to whether or not you can do it well, I'd start with one of these.  They're simple in their options, have great step by step instructions, include everything to build it, are very tough to screw up, and are an EXCELLENT gateway drug to guitar building; the law of diminishing returns will kick in after that, as noted above.  :icon_jokercolor:

Plus, you could easily swap out the neck later for a Warmoth should you want a different neck profile (Carvin only has one rather slim option) or a certain exotic wood.

 

[Wyliee]

My standard recommendation for someone heading down the path of custom guitars is to go to find an inexpensive, used guitar in your area.  Take it completely apart and put it back together.  Do what you can to make it as playable as possible.  Feel free to ask questions here if you encounter stumbling blocks.  Take note of the problems you encountered and how you would resolve them next time.  Once you've got it back together and playing great, take it apart again and repeat the process.

This practical experience will help prepare you for building your own custom guitar.  Welcome to the school of hard knocks!

 

[Johnny]

I own several guitars, both electric and acoustic, but never did any work on any of them.  At the first of this year, I bought my first Warmoth.  I found building the Warmoth to be a pretty straight forward process, but you need to do the research as to what to do and how to do it.  There's plenty of information on this forum and elsewhere on the internet.  Just don't start assembling until you know what and how to do each piece.

Going to a local guitar store and trying out some different setups is a good idea.  This is particularly true if you're not sure about what general pickup configuration or what sound you'd like to try to get.  As far as stuff like nut width and scale length, I have guitars with different setups and personnally don't find that I have a preference on much of it.  I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned with it or that the differences aren't noticable, but you may not want to let those decisions drag you down.  Rather then worry about all the details, maybe a good approach is to just find a guitar you like - one that feels good and sounds good to you.  If you post on this forum what you found, I think you'll find plenty of help here with getting a good configuration.  Whether this is good advice or not all depends on you, so take it for what it's worth - zilch.  :icon_smile:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

If you're feeling uncertain as to whether or not you can do it well, I'd start with one of these.  They're simple in their options, have great step by step instructions, include everything to build it, are very tough to screw up, and are an EXCELLENT gateway drug to guitar building; the law of diminishing returns will kick in after that, as noted above.  :icon_jokercolor:

Plus, you could easily swap out the neck later for a Warmoth should you want a different neck profile (Carvin only has one rather slim option) or a certain exotic wood.

I'd agree.  Carvin stuff is awesome, and I'm pretty sure it's a MADE IN THE USA kit for under $500?  Can't be beat.

 

[swarfrat]

Jumping from 'I want an electric' to building - I think that in additional to the things others have said - you may have... incompletely formed opinions, for lack of a better way of saying it. My first decent guitar was a Gibson LP Studio. Within a couple years I learned that I hate Gibsons - not even the reputation so much  - that's somewhat recentish - but the ergonomics: Tune-o-matics, angled necks, angled headstocks. When I wanted that sound again after a couple decades off - I went with woods, scale length and pickups  to get the sound, but did it on a Stratocaster platform so it'd play like a real guitar is supposed to.

Taste and kidding aside - if you sink $1-1.5k into a custom guitar right now, even if you do it well, you might end up with a nicely built, fine example of a guitar you just do not like, and then there's the resale hit - ouch.

 

[JonatanOTG]

My standard recommendation for someone heading down the path of custom guitars is to go to find an inexpensive, used guitar in your area.  Take it completely apart and put it back together.  Do what you can to make it as playable as possible.  Feel free to ask questions here if you encounter stumbling blocks.  Take note of the problems you encountered and how you would resolve them next time.  Once you've got it back together and playing great, take it apart again and repeat the process.

+1 on that!  :icon_thumright:

 

[mayfly]

I'll echo others comments.

Buy a cheap used guitar.  Find out what you like and what you don't like about it.  Modify it to get close to what you like.  Become a proficient player on that guitar.  Join a band.  Play the heck out of that guitar, modifying and fixing it as you go.  Stick around the forum  and ask questions. We have opinions and are not shy  ccasion14:  Learn a bit more every day.

5 years in, you'll know exactly what you want.  Then give Rob a call at Warmoth and order it up.  :headbang:

 

[Dan025]

electrics are not too difficult. it's not like building an accoustic, and you are buying pre-fabbed parts here anyway. you might want to hold off for a bit though because the costs add up pretty quick and you might latter decide you want things different. warmoth is a great deal in comparison to a suhr or gibson but there are complete guitars out there that play well and sound good for very little money. agile stands out as a great gibson copy for a fraction of the cost.

the assembly is easy, what you want to do before you spend a big chunk of money is to develop setup skills. remember warmoth parts can use some finishing work. things like rounded over fret ends, leveled and dressed frets, and maybe some nut filing are all needed for a great playing guitar. infact that should all be done on an off the shelf guitar for the best experience.