get better results by visualization of final look before you order

[Hendrix]

to build a custom guitar , we don't just want it sound good , we also want it look gorgeous .

all the guitar body , necks and other hardwares you plan to use , it may sound right , but may not look right when put together .

as I in the design and engineering business , we always need to do many concept drawing on projects , for the client to select and final approve before build it .

Here is what I have done in Photoshop before I order , it not only help me visualized it to made the selection , but it also help the shop to understand what you want.

I put many lays of necks and other hardwares on the body I want , by turn on/off the lays to compare.

 

[line6man]

Most people do that, whether they are ordering or just fantasizing.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I have no experience with Photoshop, so I do my mockups in Powerpoint of all things, just because I have a degree of familiarity with it.

So I'm in no position to give advice Hendrix, but one thing I found really helpful was simply to draw some guitar strings in place. For some reason it really helps me visualise it as it'll actually be.

Here are some of my clumsy efforts:

Without strings:



With strings:



I think the strings really help.

Here's the guitar I'm actually building at present:



In this case I just wanted to see how black screws would look! So I agree, it really helps visualize things.

 

[Hendrix]

yes , draw some guitar strings and tuner help too , I just lazy to do that as I got same  tuner on other guitar so I can  visualized it .

I use photoshop as it can knock out background of the real neck photo from Warmoth , get the closest look of real thing.

 

[stubhead]

One thing that has never happened here is a comprehensive answer to an oft-expressed newbie plea -

I need a list of everything to buy!

:help:

I consider our inability to express this to be, of course, multi-faceted, conditional, but not-so-stupid* and overall, to tick over into the mildly-positive column. My answer, if someone doesn't get to it first, is solidly geographical. If someone wants to build a Warmoth, sitting down with another guitar and going over the whole thing from the tip of the peghead to the last bottom strap button and listing the parts out is a REAL GOOD IDEA. Yes, little wires and capacitors and all sorts of bitty screws come from somewhere, and if the determination to build/assemble your own guitar runs out before you even get to the output jack*... well, there are a lot of people who can assemble stuff for you, and the cost just depends on finishing, fretwork, inlays, etc.

We have had a few guys (Yo, Max!) who came in here knowing very little*, but they knew what they didn't know, remained methodical and asked good questions*, and ended up learning a TRUCKLOAD of stuff and having a fine guitar in the end. But even Max agreed that it might've been good to goose a few more store-bought guitars before laying into... learning everything at once. It's a tricky thing - there are all sorts of transfer credits that can apply to one or another aspect of it, soldering, finishing etc. I very often recommend that a seemingly-inexperienced newest-of-newbie buy Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Player Repair Guide" and read all the relevant sections - it's a lot cheaper way to start than blowing up some nice wood! Though I'm reasonably confident that the worst of the E-Bay abortions - you know the ones - "You can just fix this up with some dowels, sawdust, Spackle and Bondo!" - are NOT the effluvium of any of our more methodical forum disciples. Reasonably....

As far as visualization goes, THINKING SMALL is of course a prerequisite to good fretwork and setups. If you can't get your brain and EYES down to .002" discrimination, you just can't do great frets. At the age of 55, my eyes seem to be engaged in a race to the bottom with my teeth, but that's why God made jeweler's loupes and Optivisors and bifocals (and cusswords, Praise de Lawd!)

And even so, sometimes parts don't... just ACT right. I was really surprised at how much this green pickup plate... doesn't look as good as I wanted it too!  :sad1:



Fortunately I now have the much-sexier black plate finished now (just overlaid in this pix) -



- and those eyeball knobs can absolutely butter any biscuit made, huh? :hello2:


*(One area of mild shame and/or pISS oFF tHE sTUBsTER - once in a while, we get a question from someone who is either REALLY a fresh-hatchling, or really really dumb, and maybe with a bitty whiff of arrogance about them (You ARF somebody Special - NOT! arf, arf arf. Mommie LIED to you...) If I can get to it, I try and give the benefit of the doubt and nudge them in a direction where they can be better evaluated (a little squish here, and a little squish there, what squirted?!?) But occasionally one of my dear fo-bros needs to polish his brownie and will lay into Newbie with a fair amount of flame, and it can quite-fantastically warp into a full-throttle internet dump-on. FAST - whoo. Put any six of us together and you'll get three whole wits!  :toothy12: :toothy12: :toothy12:

dnA reD doG, pity the one who decides to "share" some free guitar lessons to help us out.

:evil4: :evil4: :evil4: Yow.