Greetings...
I'm a newbie here. I'm new to guitars too so I'm sure I'll ask some interesting questions along the way but first here's the rambling backstory and where I'm at right now...
I grew up around guitars and other instruments but never really picked one up myself. Always liked them, always said "someday I"ll learn to play..." but it never happened. For 30 years i've wanted a hollow body guitar but never bought one, even though I have friends in the instrument business...
About 25 years ago my dad gave me a Saga Strat-style kit. I started building it but never finished. After college I got pretty heavy into motorcycles and they took most of my time and money. The kit followed me around the country and finally ended up on a shelf in my basement for the past 10 years.
About two months ago I got fed up with my bike projects - too many frustrations. I had money in my toy fund and it was like I had to beg these guys to take it and send me parts. Screw that. One night I rented "It might get loud" and decided it was time to build that damn kit after all these years. So instead of working on bikes that night, I pulled the kit out and started messing with it.
What a piece of crap. I realized I never finished it because nothing fit! Well, ok, the neck fit the pocket well but other than that nothing lined up, the routing was too big, etc. To top it off, the nut wasn't even slotted. Once again, screw that. I was going to BUY a guitar with the money I had planned on buying parts with. A hollow body. Off to the 'net to search every site I could find.
Two weeks later I had an Ibanez AF75 and a Vox VT15 amp. On the way home from the store I was already thinking about the NEXT guitar I was going to buy, probably in about a year. It had to be a Strat. A black one. I started practicing every day and surfing the 'net for guitar info until the wee hours of the morning. Started learning about Strats, who knew there were SO MANY versions out there?. Decided to build the Saga kit after all, what the heck. the worst that could happen was I pitched it all in the dumpster, right? So I started the Saga build while I window shopped for Strats.
Then I stumbled across the Warmoth site. Saw a Strat body with a quilted maple top, black dye finish. Oh my...
Couldn't get it out of my head. Didn't have the money. Stumbled across this site. Couldn't get the Warmoth out of my head.
Sold an old project engine.
Bought a book on Strats, and one on setting up/repairing electric guitars.
Stayed up until the wee hours surfing guitar sites.
Got to work late.
Ordered the Warmoth body.
Which leads me to this post. It'll be a while before I get to actually build anything since I need to collect parts, but this is what should be showing up in the not too distant future... I'll create a proper build thread when it does.
Ah, one more thing... my dad used to build banjos back in the '70s. When I cleaned out his shop after he died, I took some of the unused fingerboard material he had, both Indian rosewood and ebony. I had planned on buying a neck from the showcase but now I'm thinking when the body gets here I'll lay some of those in place and see if anything strikes my fancy. If so, I'll check with Warmoth to see if it can be used to build a neck around. I think it'd be pretty cool to use some of the wood he had if it will work.
More later.
P.S. I haven't touched a bike since I bought a guitar...
I'm a newbie here. I'm new to guitars too so I'm sure I'll ask some interesting questions along the way but first here's the rambling backstory and where I'm at right now...
I grew up around guitars and other instruments but never really picked one up myself. Always liked them, always said "someday I"ll learn to play..." but it never happened. For 30 years i've wanted a hollow body guitar but never bought one, even though I have friends in the instrument business...
About 25 years ago my dad gave me a Saga Strat-style kit. I started building it but never finished. After college I got pretty heavy into motorcycles and they took most of my time and money. The kit followed me around the country and finally ended up on a shelf in my basement for the past 10 years.
About two months ago I got fed up with my bike projects - too many frustrations. I had money in my toy fund and it was like I had to beg these guys to take it and send me parts. Screw that. One night I rented "It might get loud" and decided it was time to build that damn kit after all these years. So instead of working on bikes that night, I pulled the kit out and started messing with it.
What a piece of crap. I realized I never finished it because nothing fit! Well, ok, the neck fit the pocket well but other than that nothing lined up, the routing was too big, etc. To top it off, the nut wasn't even slotted. Once again, screw that. I was going to BUY a guitar with the money I had planned on buying parts with. A hollow body. Off to the 'net to search every site I could find.
Two weeks later I had an Ibanez AF75 and a Vox VT15 amp. On the way home from the store I was already thinking about the NEXT guitar I was going to buy, probably in about a year. It had to be a Strat. A black one. I started practicing every day and surfing the 'net for guitar info until the wee hours of the morning. Started learning about Strats, who knew there were SO MANY versions out there?. Decided to build the Saga kit after all, what the heck. the worst that could happen was I pitched it all in the dumpster, right? So I started the Saga build while I window shopped for Strats.
Then I stumbled across the Warmoth site. Saw a Strat body with a quilted maple top, black dye finish. Oh my...
Couldn't get it out of my head. Didn't have the money. Stumbled across this site. Couldn't get the Warmoth out of my head.
Sold an old project engine.
Bought a book on Strats, and one on setting up/repairing electric guitars.
Stayed up until the wee hours surfing guitar sites.
Got to work late.
Ordered the Warmoth body.
Which leads me to this post. It'll be a while before I get to actually build anything since I need to collect parts, but this is what should be showing up in the not too distant future... I'll create a proper build thread when it does.
Ah, one more thing... my dad used to build banjos back in the '70s. When I cleaned out his shop after he died, I took some of the unused fingerboard material he had, both Indian rosewood and ebony. I had planned on buying a neck from the showcase but now I'm thinking when the body gets here I'll lay some of those in place and see if anything strikes my fancy. If so, I'll check with Warmoth to see if it can be used to build a neck around. I think it'd be pretty cool to use some of the wood he had if it will work.
More later.
P.S. I haven't touched a bike since I bought a guitar...
