I don't need another guitar but

[DarkPenguin]

I need to build one. Help me! Talk me down!

 

[musicispeace]

Think of the time! It can take sooo much time to decide on components and wait for them. Six weeks promised for hand wound pickups become three months, your painted guitar body is delivered in yet another quarter of the year from when you first were excited about it, etc, etc.

 

[ghotiphry]

Wouldn't it be nice to turn hobbyist lutherie into business lutherie?  Build a guitar, sell it for a profit, rinse, repeat.  I know that bug of just wanting to build something.  It's just too bad that usually hobbyist creations aren't worth as much as the parts that went into it.

Think of the credit card bills.  Maybe that would help talk you down.

Or maybe you're really actually asking for us to push you in the other direction?  A cry for help that's actually a request for justification?

 

[rgand]

OH MY GOD! All the decisions! Is it worth the mental strain? Maybe you should think about it before moving forward with such a venture.

(If you do one, though, be sure to start a build thread.)

 

[DarkPenguin]

The credit card bills might have done it.

 

[mayfly]

Instead of building, why not learn that impossible solo from that song from your faviourite band?

That'll keep you out of trouble!

 

[dmraco]

Or do what I have done....re-do a previously build guitar. :dontknow:

 

[ghotiphry]

One custom neck plate, coming right up...

 

[DarkPenguin]

Actually learning the guitar better would also be a great thing.

And my own cheapness on tools last time lead to me ordering a fret file I had to wait for 3 months to arrive by trireme from greece...

Maybe I should just buy some new pickups... Get a whiff of solder. Turn a few screws. Out at a couple hundred only....

(Like the neck plate.)

 

[ghotiphry]

Right.  Why don't you talk about the guitar you WOULD build?  Like a little therapy?

Something else that I have done is to make a small change.  Order a new pickguard or new knobs.  Decide to rewire.  Reburnish a raw neck.  Upgrade your output jack.  I'm not one to talk about impulse control, however.

 

[rgand]

All this talk. Now I have to go build another one...  :icon_biggrin:

 

[DarkPenguin]

Just a simple telecaster.

GFS has most of the parts for relatively cheap. So I could do it without worrying about credit cards. Would hardly be warmoth parts, tho. I'd be less upset if a mosquito landed in the nitro while painting GFS than I would warmoth.

I think their bodies are made from 100,000 alder toothpicks glued together but if the dimensions are correct.

This calls for a 1am impulse. Thank god for online shopping.

 

[mayfly]

I suggest you have a look at my thread "Cheap Thrills Tele" before you decide on a particular body...

 

[dmraco]

I suggest you have a look at my thread "Cheap Thrills Tele" before you decide on a particular body...

If you go GFS, you have to go to the XGP line.  The other stuff is off...just like Mayfly....said. :laughing8:

 

[BigSteve22]

:evil4: Psssst......Don't listen to these guys.....Nobody NEEDS another guitar.....Are you seriously asking these guys to help you NOT  build a guitar?......Boy, have you come to the wrong place!

JUST BUILD IT!!!!!​

Get thee behind me, Warmoth devil emoji! Let's talk reality!

Planning is the key! Unless you're a professional touring musician, who's going to have a return on the investment, it's pretty hard to justify going into debt for an instrument. I mean, if you have disposal cash, WTF, a guitar's as good a place as any to spend it. If not, don't despair, there's still hope....

Don't charge parts, SAVE for them! Got a few extra bucks, (Pounds, Euros, AUDs, whatever...)? Buy yourself a gift certificate. Warmoth, Musicians Friend, Amazon, wherever you buy your parts. You don't have to buy large denominations, start small. It won't be too long before you can start buying without going into hock!

Use the time it takes to save up for your build to do your planning. Sure, plans will change as you go along, but you'll have a good idea of where you want to go. Best of all, when you start buying gift certificates, you start to feel that the new build is a reality instead of just a dream. It works. I know, I've done it!

Good luck on your new build, don't forget to post pix when it gets started.

 

[Mad Hatter]

I need to build one. Help me! Talk me down!

I can't, in good conscious, help you out.  I say, do it.  Every build doesn't have to be platinum level.  Sometimes the budget builds wind up being the most fun; the challenge of using parts on hand, or finding sweet deals on used ones, or making your own, doing an experimental finish, etc.  If you're looking to scratch the build itch, a cheap build will require much more fiddly work due to the cheaper parts, so it seems like a win win.  Or just crack out the Visa and order a bunch of Warmoth candy and wait for the Santa delivery to arrive.

 

[DarkPenguin]

Just about convinced myself to do a GFS build with XGP/Slick parts.

Save up for another Warmoth build some other time.

 

[DarkPenguin]

$11.90 USA Spec Telecaster 3-Way Switch Switch Tip: USA Spec barrel Tip - $1.95
$10.95 Ultra Thick Gold Neck Plate with Screws for Strat/Tele
$8.95  Tele/Hardtail Gold Vintage Spec. String Ferrules
$5.95  Vintage Gold Tele Circular String Retainer
$7.95  Gold Oval Jackplate with FREE Jack!
$13.95 Telecaster Gold control plate vintage Style
$15.95 Telecaster Pickguard "1964 Aged White 8 Hole
$32.95 Wilkinson Compensated Telecaster Bridge- Gold with Brass Saddles
$67.95 Wood Boxed "Fullerton" Alnico 7.6k Vintage Tele Matched Pair
$3.45  XGP Custom Taper Split Shaft Pot B250K- Single Coil Tone Control- Our Best!
$3.45  XGP Custom Taper Split Shaft Pot A250K- Single Coil Volume- Our Best!
$14.95 XGP Brand SOLID BRASS Slick Guitars Telecaster style knobs (Round Top)
$57.95 XGP Professional Tele Style Neck Maple Fingerboard Vintage Amber Gloss
$59.95 XGP Professional Tele Body Unfinished White Poplar

$326.25 before shipping.

 

[Cagey]

That's a good bill of materials. You're missing tuners, but they have some Schaller locker copies for ~$32 that work real well. Other than that, there are two flags I would throw. First, the neck is arguably the most important part of the instrument, so I don't know if I'd risk $60 on one of theirs. Second, unless you have a real hard-on to do a paint job, I'd go the extra $20-$30 and buy one of their finished bodies. They're not Warmoth quality, but they're pretty good, and you can't even buy the materials to finish a body for that little money, never mind all the labor. Hell, for an extra $20-$30, they'll not only paint it, they'll bind it front and back.

 

[DarkPenguin]

$350 with tuners. Locking ones with a coin.

Finishing the body is half the fun! Plus the colors are just not doing it for me.

Gotta say that the spalted bodies are not good looking at all.