Overwhelmed

[jkpalmer52]

Hi All,

I recently retired and I'm looking for something to keep me busy.
My nephew suggested that I look into building my own guitar from a kit. 
I thought that this would be a great idea and Warmoth seems like a great place to start, but as I got into it, I realized that there are SO MANY hardware options related to putting something (really good) together, I needed to do more homework.

The Warmoth site is wonderful, but where would a complete novice go to get more information about the different hardware (bridges, pickups, tuning machines, etc.) options and their advantages and disadvantages.

Starting a "journey" - looking for a "map".

Regards,

Jim P.

 

[mayfly]

starting point for that map is your favorite music.  What's the LP* that you reach for when you really just want to listen to something?






* Hey - he said he was retired!

 

[stratamania]

Ask away...

Let's start with what type of guitar you want to build and take it from there.

Hardtail, tremolo, modern, vintage etc...

 

[ghotiphry]

Bass?  :blob7:

 

[BigSteve22]

Welcome to the forum!

So many choices, and they're all great. Like Mayfly and Stratamania said, it all depends on what you like. As you research and learn more, you'll probably discover that what you're planning isn't your new Warmoth, it's your first new Warmoth.

And you definitely came to the right place to ask questions. Many experienced builders and musicians here who are ready, willing, and able, to give you good solid advice as you go. This is a "No Judgement" zone. Never be afraid to ask help. If you love guitars, you'll love it here!

P.S.: Congrats on your retirement. I'm going in August.

 

[Strat Avenger]

First of all, you need to know what you like.
What do you like about the guitar(s) you have now? What do you not like about them (what would you change if you could?)?  If you don't already have somewhat of a concept of that, I wouldn't recommend building one.

I've built 2 Warmoths so far (and plan on a 3rd). My goal was to build guitars that have all the features I want, that I can't get in a production line guitar, without having to spend $5,000 for from a custom shop.
I achieved exactly that.

 

[exaN]

Welcome to the forums! Like others said, it really helps if you have a good idea of what you'd like to build. Building a custom guitar is always a risk since you have no way of knowing in advance if the end product will be to your liking.

As a first time builder, that leaves you with a few options:

a) If you know exactly what you're doing and have a clear idea in mind, by all means go for it and build your dream guitar.

b) If you're not too sure you can always be safe and build a guitar exactly to "commercial" specs, like a regular off the rack Strat but with your favorite finish, or different frets. That way you'll know what to expect if you've ever played a Strat before, and it'll be a top quality one for a fraction of the price.

c) Go with cheap Ebay parts instead of Warmoth. You could still get a pretty high quality instrument for easily half the money if done right. But if the result isn't quite to your liking, then no big deal. Also, the resell value on such custom guitars is abysmal. There's no point in spending money on a premium product when there's this much risk involved. Then when you know exactly what you want, go with option A!

But no worries if you're unsure, plenty of very knowledgeable builders here ready to steer you in the right direction, Warmoth or not!

 

[Rick]

I'd start with some books with lots of pictures like The telecaster by duchossoir, 60 years of Fender : six decades of the greatest electric guitars / Tony Baconthere, a strat book, an ovation book , a Gibson book, let those marinate, keep an eye on the GOM, look at what your favorite artist is using, after you've studied it for a while they'll be something you'll want to go for.

 

[spe111]

If you don't have a specific guitar in mind the kits from stewmac have all the parts and also comes with instructions.

 

[aarontunes]

Hey Jim,


The amount of options on our site can indeed be overwhelming. Option-anxiety; analysis-paralysis; don't fall for it! DO NOT go down the rabbit-hole of options on your first build.


Instead, just put them out of your mind, and get something completely middle-of-the-road. This is what any kit would give you.


Once you've built something completely middle-of-the-road you will have a great reference point for choosing other options on subsequent builds. (Trust me....you'll want to do more!)


Give Warmoth a call....the sales guys are knowledgeable and will help you cut through the clutter and confusion pretty quick.

 

[rgand]

Hey Jim,


The amount of options on our site can indeed be overwhelming. Option-anxiety; analysis-paralysis; don't fall for it! DO NOT go down the rabbit-hole of options on your first build.


Instead, just put them out of your mind, and get something completely middle-of-the-road. This is what any kit would give you.


Once you've built something completely middle-of-the-road you will have a great reference point for choosing other options on subsequent builds. (Trust me....you'll want to do more!)


Give Warmoth a call....the sales guys are knowledgeable and will help you cut through the clutter and confusion pretty quick.

This is sound advice.

 

[TBurst Std]

I guess really the question lies within

‘I’m starting a journey, I need a map’

I ask, where is your journey to?

 

[jkpalmer52]

All - Thanks for everyone's replies to this point!  I feel very welcome to this forum.

I think that my objective is to put together a guitar that I can call my own.  If it sounds great, that would be a side-benefit.

My musical interests are country, blues, and classic rock.

I have a PRS SE Custom 22 which I like to play but it was my first (and only) electric guitar and I bought it because I thought that it would be a good guitar to start with.  It had nothing to do with its tone.

I've been learning to play for 4+ years and have slowly progressed, but my hands and brain have a difficult time getting on the same page or the same speed.

Rambling a bit, but going to my local guitar store and trying all sorts of makes and models to find what I would like to build is like going to a gym being 100 pounds overweight - feeling like I would be in a "judgement zone".  This anxiety prevents me from sitting in an open room sounding absolutely awful.  Probably need to see a therapist.... :sad1:

Leaning towards a hardtail possibly a semi-hollow with a C-shape neck, maybe asymmetrical, not sure of fret size

If I were to choose a body style, it would be an LP or a Strat.  I really like their sounds.  But, I also like the sounds of other manufacturers. 

I guess I won't really know what I want until I have it...!!

Jim P.

 

[rgand]

The great thing about getting a fine Warmoth body with one of those beautiful finishes is that you can change the tone with pickups after it's built. If it doesn't sound the way you like, change them out to do what you want. You won't need to build a whole new guitar.

Blues, country and classic rock. My interests as well. You'll probably want more classic wound pickups to get some nice clean tones out of it. I stay away from really hot pickups for that reason. You can always drive them harder with your amp.

 

[Cagey]

Robert's right - you can always dirty up a clean pickup, but few dirty pickups want to sound good clean. There are a lotta choices for that these days, either from the pickups or for more versatility - with pedals. There are a lotta "amp in the box" pedals available now. Something like a vintage PAF-style pickup sounds nice clean, then you punch a button on a Friedman BE-OD or Dirty Shirley pedal and you're screaming like a banshee with a soldering iron up his ass as if you're plugged into a $3K 100W tube monster feeding 4x12 cab stacks. Of course, then there are all points in between.

It's an electric guitar. You can do a lotta damage with electronics. Don't get too hung up on "tonewoods" and such, which are more the domain of acoustic guitars. Worry about the playing feel and your personal comfort. That's not so easy to change, while the sky's the limit on sonic character and is infinitely variable.

 

[jkpalmer52]

All replies have been very informative to this point.  Thanks!

One reply indicated "classic wound pickups", which leads me to wonder where I might find a basic explanation of the various pickup types and how to efficiently listen to each of them without getting bogged down with the body that they are installed in.

Is listening online via a manufacturers website or on YouTube video a good start?

Jim P.

 

[rgand]

Is listening online via a manufacturers website or on YouTube video a good start?

This is a good starting point. Pay more attention to the ones that play samples similar to what you like to play. If you're going to build a solid body guitar, the videos done with those will be more true to what you can expect. It has been mentioned that the type of wood isn't all that important and I agree but it does make a slight tonal difference. I've learned on this forum that the neck is more important to tone on an electric. Amps and pickups are even more important to the tones you can produce. Especially if you like things driven with distortion.

'Classic' vs 'hot' just means fewer or more windings, 'hot' being more.

 

[new-killer-star]

Also... consider finding a body and neck you're in love with in the showcase or screaming deals section and then go from there, it may help choosing go a bit faster since you will have some constraints on the pickups and hardware. Like others I'd encourage you to keep the wiring etc simple and straightforward, you can always redo it or save complexity for a later build.

Folks here can warn you from incompatibilities if you're worried about it, so will warmoth if you order over the phone.

 

[Mr. Neutron]

Hey, JKP!!!

I'm a recently retired guy as well, attempting to learn to do this guitar building stuff. Gave one guitar to my son, then built a "simple one" for myself; both Warmoth Strat Hybrids with Strat headstocks/Tele heel cut necks. I can really recommend making this as easy on your self as possible for your very first build.

FWIW, as far as single coil pickups for Teles and Strats, Rob Distefano at Cavalier pickups makes some very good ones. His website ( http://www.frettech.com/ ) does have some youtube vids of a man playing Cavalier pickups. But more importantly to myself, Rob is really a tremendous help in choosing what you need, based on YOUR musical tastes and style(s) of playing.

Just as an example, for myself, I like to play blues music, and with my Okie heritage, I like country too. But I play worship music at church, so I needed something that would do all those. Rob set me up with a Fat Lion King Neck pickup, and a Fat Lion Bridge pickup. This choice of pickups simply  "does it all", for my musical tastes.

There's a gazillion options out there, for nearly every piece of hardware bolted to a guitar. Try to get a good idea of what you prefer for a bridge,pickups, neck, and etc.. Maybe more important is to know what you DON'T want. If there are areas where you're not certain as to what you'd prefer, the folks at Warmoth are great help. One thing I did, as a retired machinist, was to attack my necks on 3 different guitars with a set of calipers. Measured them all in where I felt were "critical areas", and made notes of dimensions. Picked my favorite neck (My old Guild D-25SB acoustic feels the best for me; better than my Fender Tele, my Epiphone SG, or my Ibanez acoustic), and tried to order one as similar dimensionally and shape-wise as I could from Warmoth. A trip to your favorite music store or pawn shop where you can play different instruments will possibly help here. I'd try to hold off ordering much of anything until I knew what I wanted, and what components will be compatible with it.

Good luck, use lots of patience during the build, and have fun with this. Don't forget to play as much as ya can!

 

[stratamania]

If you want some flexible pickups to check out look at Seymour Duncan P-Rails. Works as a humbucker, single coil or P90 type.