My First Guitar....

[jseklund]

That LOOKS amazing. Given your choice of wood/pickups- I'd guess it sounds just as good! I want to play it!

Being an avid player for years (not so much anymore), I have one question- ask your son how well it plays up on the high end of the fretboard? The neck joint looks like it could go either way to me, and with you being this close to perfect on your first attempt- if that's an area that you tweak slighly, you could probably sell these things! You could sell it anyway actually, it's at least as good as 90% of the joints I've seen on bought guitars- usually the high end joints get just slightly slicker in shape so you can get your hand in there better.

Not only a great job- AMAZING job. In the parlance of my home state- that is WICKED SWEET!

[ScottGolden]

wow WOW WOW.

That is a amazing. Fantasic!!!

Did you take any pictures while creating it?

Scott

[Tundra_Man]

Great looking guitar, especially for your first build. I love the color, and the faux binding. Great wood selection. The pickguard and neck heel aren't my cup of tea, but thats just a personal preference type of thing. Did you wetsand and buff the poly?

BTW, the bridge looks like an "old school" style hardtail. The more modern hard tail bridges have different saddles that are more refined looking. Both styles of bridges have the same functionality, so it's mainly just an asthetic thing.

The most important thing is that your son loves it. Great job!

[Turaj]

Wow! This is beautiful! Your choice of wood is very pleasing! Thanks for sharing.

[Knottscott]

...Did you take any pictures while creating it?

Hi Scott - Thanks....yes, I took a few pics along the way. Here's a couple:

first cuts:


making progress:


got color:


more progress:



Hi Terry - Thanks for the encouragement. I did wet sand to 1200, then sprayed a final clear coat...I'll buff that out in a couple of weeks. Rookie question....what part is the "faux binding"? I saw your latest bass, and almost didn't post here after seeing it! It's really a work of art....It's as nice as any guitar I looked at anywhere live or on the web during my information search....and I looked a few!

[Tundra_Man]

Hi Terry - Thanks for the encouragement. I did wet sand to 1200, then sprayed a final clear coat...I'll buff that out in a couple of weeks. Rookie question....what part is the "faux binding"? I saw your latest bass, and almost didn't post here after seeing it! It's really a work of art....It's as nice as any guitar I looked at anywhere live or on the web during my information search....and I looked a few!

Thanks for the compliments. Your first guitar looks a lot better than my first one did, so don't feel bad.

Faux binding is the unstained area around the edge of the guitar top. Rather than inlaying wood or plastic binding into the edge (ala Les Paul) the unstained area sets off the top visually in the same sort of way. Paul Reed Smith uses faux binding on their guitars.

From the in-progress pictures, it looks like you applied finish to the body before you glued the top in place. That's a very different approach from traditional. What were the advantages of doing it that way, and would you do it again?

[Knottscott]

I did stain the top before glueing the pieces together....the only advantage I can think of is the I didn't have to worry about slopping any stain on the back piece, but the truth is that method was strictly poor planning on my part. It's something I would try to avoid if I ever get another chance!

[John Hunter]

Very nice.

[mater]

That is a beautiful piece of work. Something to be very proud of.

[Wood_workur]

very nice... now the real question... How does it sound?

[Knottscott]

very nice... now the real question... How does it sound?

Thanks...

From the get go, the sound was better than we dared hope for....dumb luck, but we'll take it. We're still trying to tweak in final adjustments, but it definitely sounds considerably cleaner, livelier, and makes far more diverse sounds than his Chinese Strat clone. This one is far more sensitive to minor nuances. We're encouraged enough about the sound that we're considering at least one pickup upgrade, and likely switching to a tube amp.

[Russianwolf]

makes me want to build one, but the fit and finish is intimidating. You guys are setting too high of a standard around here.

Hey Sam, how about a new site www.BT3Central-averagewoodworker.com for those of us that aren't up to par.

[Knottscott]

makes me want to build one, but the fit and finish is intimidating. You guys are setting too high of a standard around here.

Hey Sam, how about a new site www.BT3Central-averagewoodworker.com for those of us that aren't up to par.

Just do it Mike! It's an interesting, challenging, and very rewarding project! ...You might just surprise yourself! A pre-fabbed neck is surely frowned upon by the purists, but it was a Godsend and easily the best decision I made on this project...builing the neck at that point would have put me over the edge enought that it'd still be sitting on a shelf making me ill every time I thought about it.

Here's a little push!
http://projectguitar.com/
http://mimf.com/cgi-bin/WebX
http://buildyourguitar.com/
http://stewmac.com/

[smc331]

As a musician of some thirty-odd years...

all I can say is WOW! I'd be proud to play something that looked that nice - if it didn't sound good! Great sound is a bonus - goodonya! Congrats on a beautiful project.

[onedash]

Looks good. Any particular things to look for in the wood for the body? I had an old arbor V and my son has an elcheapo BC Rich that he never touches. I was never to good but had a few friends that were awsome. One has a recording studio and tours with old 80s bands like Ratt.