Build Your Own Electric Guitar!

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Have you ever looked at a guitar and wondered, "How do they make that?" Or thought to yourself, "I bet that I could build my own guitar," but never actually tried it? I have built several electric guitars over the years and through trial and error have learned many helpful tips that anyone who might want to tackle this sort of project needs to know before starting out. This kind of thing does require some wood working skill and also requires some specific tools as well but not all the fancy stuff that a guitar manufacture has. Building an electric guitar is time consuming and requires the completion of several steps before your project gets finished but be patient and you'll be happy with the results. I tend to go into detail so as not skip any steps or tips you need along the way, and use pics from other projects that I did as well so you can get more that on reference. If you set out to make a guitar you'll find that it takes quite a bit of time so you'll have time enough to go back and read other info if you just want to skim through the first go round. So I hope this helps all the future guitar builders out there!

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Step 1: TOOLS, PARTS AND SUPPLIERS

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Tools Needed

Plunge Router and Router Bits
(I use a Skill router with a 1/4" bit, a 1/2" bit with ball bearing guide and a 1/2" round over bit)
Drill and Drill Bits
(A basic electric drill and bit set with an optional 6" sanding disk for carving down the body, and a 1/2" Forstner Bit for counter sinking the neck ferrules.)
Jig Saw
(Any good jig saw and fine tooth blade for cutting the plastic control covers)
Belt Sander (optional)
(For carving down the top back body contour)
Mouse or Orbital sander (optional)
Dremmel tool (optional)
(Use with a sanding attachment for hard to reach areas that need to be sculpted)
Drill press (optional)
(I wish I had one, it makes drilling perfectly straight holes much easier)
Clamps
(Good to have if you need to laminate your own body blank. A small one is good to have for holding the neck inplace when you attach it)
Soldering Iron and Solder
Flux and Wire
(Both for the electronics)

Basic Parts and Electronics

Premade Neck
(Trying to build your own neck is difficult and requires more tools that you might be willing to buy.)
Body Blank
(Make your own out of Birch Plywood or buy a blank from a retailer)
Bridge
(I tend to go with a hard tail type bridge since it can be easily bolted on. Not much to it.)
String Ferrules
(These are used to hold the string in the guitar and are placed in small holes drilled in the back. You won't need these if you decide to go with a Gibson style bridge and tail piece.)
Tuners
(It's a good idea to get high quality tuners since the cheaper one don't stay in tune as well)
Screws
(You will need pick guard screws for the control cavity cover and other various size screws for pickup rings and truss rod cover. Your bridge should come with screws but check and make sure in case you need to order any)
Ferrules
(For the neck and strings. You can use a neck plate instead of ferrules but I like the clean look and tight fit that you get with the ferrules.)
Pickups
(This depends on the type of sound you want and how much you are willing to spend. Shop around for good deals.)
Pickup Rings
(Most come with screws when you buy them but if you decide to go with all gold hardware you might want to buy gold screws separately.)
Plastic
(You can get a sheet of black plastic from Stewart MacDonald and use it to cut the cover for the control cavity.)
Control Knobs
(These can be bought from many online retailers. Get the style that best fits your guitar design. Shop around for the best deal)
Potometers
(Uses for volume and tone control you typically need between two and four depending on the type of sound you want. They come in different sizes and values so the best thing to do is look up a wiring schematic online for the set up you want to see what kind to use. Seymour Duncan has great schematics.)
Capacitors
(They also come in different values so find out what you need from your schematic)
Input Jack
(I like to use a long shaft input jack. All you have to do to install it is drill a hole. Pretty easy)
Control Switch
(These come in different styles also. Fender Strats use 5 way switches while Les Pauls use 3 way ones.)

Parts and Suppliers
Stewart MacDonald
Seymour Duncan Pickups
Guitar Parts USA
Guitar Fetish
Guitar Parts Central
Guitar Jones USA
Guitar Parts Online
DJs Guitars
Catalina Guitars
EBAY

There are tons of different online retailers and ebay stores that you can find a great deal on parts and supplies, but those were just some of the ones that I have purchased on and been satisfied with their service and parts. NOTE: Do your research when it comes to parts and the quality of the parts you buy. I like to get feedback and reviews from Harmony-Central. You might not be able to get reviews on everything, but it helps you out allot.

petey2000 says: Mar 12, 2013. 2:46 PM

that is awsome

ahazbun says: Nov 23, 2012. 2:50 PM

Try Ant Hill Music for electric guitar diy parts.

kmarcellus says: Nov 4, 2012. 8:27 AM

Would this work for a bass guitar? I'm 14 and I've brought up the idea of building a bass with my dad since I play and I'd like to know if this would work for it.

Lachlan Fuller says: Oct 19, 2012. 10:35 PM

good instructions, doesn't cover everything but is still a good basic instruction.
of course all guitars are different and require different construction methods.

here's a guitar i made earlier in the year.
i was only 17 at the time.

http://guitarbuild.wetpaint.com/

MerlinTheGreat says: Dec 4, 2009. 6:44 AM

Very good instructable.
I build this one myself when I was 15. I wasn't alowed to buy one, so I asked my parents "what if I build one myself?" They said "OK", but they thought I couldn't do it. Man, were they wrong... :)

Hawxli in reply to MerlinTheGreatMay 20, 2012. 1:22 PM

How much round about did that cost you? I have a guitar but I get bored easy and it'll be nice to actually build one myself

MerlinTheGreat in reply to HawxliMay 20, 2012. 2:32 PM

To be honest, I don't know. It was almost 40 years ago.
I only know that it wasn't half as much as a good ready made guitar would have costed me.
Later on I bought me a couple of other guitars. Not that my own build wasn't good enough, but just because I happened to love the ones I bought.
And to have a spare one of course... :-)
One of those, a guitar made by hand by a professional guitar builder, cost me a minimum of 4 times more than the one I put together myself.

Maybe you could make a list of the things you need and look around in the guitar shop. You have a good chance of finding all the pieces in a shop that has a repair service.
For the wood, you can inform yourself at the local carpenter's. Maybe they have some leftovers they don't use anymore. If you're lucky, you can get that for free. Just check the quality of the wood. Don't use wood that has cracks in it.

Some1else200 in reply to MerlinTheGreatSep 8, 2012. 5:32 AM

Dear Merlin.

I will soon build my own guitar (Im 12) and I have a question will the sound change if i make in the wood a hole to hold or carry the guitar and can i do it if i can that how big does it have to be ?

Hope to get your replay as soon as possible.

Max.

MerlinTheGreat in reply to Some1else200Sep 8, 2012. 9:57 AM

You can build a guitar in any shape you want.
Have a look at some of the guitars from different stars around; You'll see many different shapes, some even with a hole in the body to 'carry' the guitar.
Make the hole the size it needs to be so your fingers easily fit into it.

As you can read in the comment of zenguitar below, it might change the sound.
I realy don't know how much that change would be.

I have a question for you:
You write that you're 12, but your profile says you're 19.
Lost count over the years? ;)

bippintralls in reply to MerlinTheGreatApr 3, 2012. 7:35 PM

Im 15 and i am wanting to build a guitar.. What kind of wood did you use on the body?

MerlinTheGreat in reply to bippintrallsApr 4, 2012. 7:56 AM

Hi there,

I used Meranti for the body. The neck is made out of beech.
Have fun building your own guitar.

reddevved in reply to MerlinTheGreatSep 14, 2011. 5:38 AM

Does the shape/material effect the sound?

amit223 in reply to reddevvedSep 14, 2011. 6:21 PM

yes different densities in the wood can give different tones

MerlinTheGreat in reply to reddevvedSep 14, 2011. 1:03 PM

Just a tiny little bit. Most of the sound is determined by the pickups.
If the guitar has a hollow body, the sound is influenced more. Especially if you play with a microphone eventually combined with the pickups.
That's because with a hollow body the body acts as an amplifier, not so with a solid guitar.
Since this is a solid guitar, the sound influence of the wood is practically zero.
The different woods give different looks, that's their main influence. ;)

zenguitar in reply to MerlinTheGreatSep 15, 2011. 6:02 AM

I'm sorry to disagree Merlin, but the woods used really do make a big difference to the sound of a solid body guitar. Both the neck and body are resonators, the string energy drives the woods which damp some frequencies and use that energy to emphasise the resonant frequencies. That drives the string's vibration through the bridge/nut/fretboard. It's a feedback loop.

That is why pick-up manufacturers are always careful to explain that their pick-ups will sound different depending on the woods and construction of a guitar. Seymour Duncan (among many others) has written about this a lot, a you can read more on the Seymour Duncan website. You can also study more at the FRETS website, GAL (The Guild of American Luthiers), StewMac, and LMI (Luthier's Mercantile International).

You are correct, insofar as the pick-up can only pick up the string vibrations. But those vibrations are substantially modified by the materials and construction. In an acoustic the hollow box is the amplifier in combination with the height of the saddle, but the tone comes from the woods by a similar mechanism to that of the solid body guitar.

Andy

Rockil in reply to zenguitarNov 20, 2011. 7:15 AM

does it make any diference on the finish i want to use danish oil on my first guitar
will that change how it will sound

zenguitar in reply to RockilNov 20, 2011. 12:31 PM

The way a finish can change the sound is when it forms a rigid, hard, shell that damps the vibrations of the woods. So a good finish for a musical instrument is one that allows the woods to vibrate freely but still offers good protection.

The good news is that an oil finish is a very good option for finishing a guitar, and a lot of guitarists actually prefer the oiled finish on the neck. Danish Oil and Tung Oil are both suitable for a guitar. So if you are happiest using Danish Oil, go ahead.

One oil finish that many luthiers use and recommend is Tru-Oil, which was originally formulated for finishing gun stocks. It is the oil finish that Luthier's Mercantile carries, and if you Google for Tru-Oil you will find plentry of information about using it on guitars including some very good instructions. And those instructions will help you with Danish Oil as well.

And congratulations on making your first guitar, I promise you that you will feel amazing the first time you play it. And every time someone says 'WOW!! You made it yourself?' you will feel great.

Andy

Rockil in reply to zenguitarNov 21, 2011. 6:32 AM

Thanks Andy for the info
I am a machinist i plan on making everthing from the body to the pickups even the tuners so this will take awhile but will be fun
thanks vern

zenguitar in reply to RockilNov 21, 2011. 9:56 AM

Sounds good Vern. I can make truss rods and pick-ups but need to get my machining skills up to speed before tackling tuners and bridges etc, although I am very tempted to learn in the future.

Being a machinist will be a real advantage for you. The woodwork on guitars is actually pretty basic, but has to be very accurate. Many years ago one of my luthiery teachers described it was working wood to the tolerances usually found in engineering.

If it helps, Schaller have very accurate drawings of all their hardware on their website. You can also get very good drawings of all Gotoh parts as well, but theirs are harder to find (hidden in the parent company's site and I can't recall the full details). It is worth having a look at those, and pay attention to the way the tuning posts are shaped. That radiused section turned into the post is important , it really helps lock the strings firmly.

Best of luck and I promise two things. There will be frustrations along the way, but once you are finished it is deeply satisfying.

Andy

curt-fullmer in reply to zenguitarOct 5, 2011. 8:46 PM

This is true, i made a guitar out of MDF to test this and it sounded terrible

JoseAAV in reply to MerlinTheGreatSep 10, 2011. 5:02 PM

man i wish i could thumbs up this comment!

zigzagchris in reply to MerlinTheGreatAug 21, 2011. 6:11 PM

Very nice. I love wood finished guitars so much more over painted.
So much fun to build instruments

Instructionsplease in reply to MerlinTheGreatAug 11, 2011. 10:59 AM

This is sick!
I love everything about it. Good job Merlin. :)

reginaron in reply to MerlinTheGreatJan 28, 2011. 2:52 PM

Nice !

mcshawnboy in reply to MerlinTheGreatNov 12, 2010. 7:43 PM

It's nice to show doubters UR can do attitude, nice job Merlin!

looperted in reply to MerlinTheGreatAug 7, 2010. 4:50 PM

That Guitar Is SWEET!! is it a custom shape? And i Love how its triple humbuckers.

MerlinTheGreat in reply to loopertedAug 9, 2010. 2:57 PM

Thanks. Actually it's a crossing between a Fender stratocaster and a Gibson Solid Guitar. The body is made after a Gibson SG while the neck was based on the Stratocaster. Only I split up the tuning keys into a 4/2 setup rather than all keys on one side like the original Strat has.

blueboy2300 in reply to MerlinTheGreatFeb 3, 2010. 8:05 PM

A most excellent example of fine craftsmanship. It looks like it sounds pretty good too. Anyways, I'm planning on making one myself...any advice or tips?

SatchVai in reply to MerlinTheGreatFeb 3, 2010. 4:02 PM

Pretty cool! Looks like a Strat/SG hybrid. BTW, what did you use for the finish? It looks really good. I'm building my own guitar right now, and I'm gonna post a picture of it >:-)

MerlinTheGreat in reply to SatchVaiFeb 4, 2010. 4:37 AM

For the neck I used highgloss ship-varnish because that is a very strong varnish. I put on 4 very thin coats.
The body is covered with satin varnish to give it a soft shiny look.
And you're right, the body is based on the Gibson SG.

SatchVai in reply to MerlinTheGreatFeb 4, 2010. 1:37 PM

How much would the varnish cost, and what other colors are ther (if you know)?

MerlinTheGreat in reply to SatchVaiFeb 4, 2010. 2:18 PM

I don't know exactly, but it isn't that pricy. You need only a little bit of it, a small can will do. And it doesn't have to be ship varnish. I just happened to have it around. Normal varnish will do just fine. Put on several thin layers to make it strong and let it dry for a full 24 hours between layers.
There's all kinds of colors in varnish, but I used colorless one.
The body is made of Meranti and the colorless satin varnish makes the grain of the wood more visible.