# Help with wood selection for my first build and everything else.



## Petah (Dec 22, 2008)

I'm planning on making a very simple electric guitar. I have built kit Ukulele's before but I really don't think this will help much. I also don't play guitar.
I thought that if I build one that I'd be interested enough to learn to play. 


My idea is to make a super small thin bodied guitar.( Small solid bodied Rickenbacker Model 330 kind of style but viola size). With the flattest, widest fret board I can get my hands on. Pickups... no idea I never play guitar. 


I want to be able to play a variety of music on this. So, I'd love some input.
Also if I can get directed to good Canadian luthiers for bit's I may need made.

:bow::bow::bow:


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

Couple things for to to ponder before jumping into the deep end. First great that you are thinking about building an electric guitar. However ther are some limiting factors that you need to be aware of unless you are just planning to make an ornament. 
1. Thickness: you will be limited on how thin you can make it by the space requirements of the electronics and the neck pocket. (do some research)
2. Neck: Flattest/ Widest. Be aware that unless you are planning to have custom hardware made that you will once again been limited to the standard string spreads of the tailpieces/ bridges available. Also you will need to understand about scale, (distance from the nut to the bridge) and how it affects the fret placement. get it wrong and you won't have a playable guitar.(more research)
3.Wood: Mahogany, Maple, (Maple/mahogany combo), Ash, Alder. all easy to get.
4. Fretboard: Ebony, Maple, Rosewood, Cocobola, all easy to get.

Like I mentioned, don't jump in without doing a little research first.


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## Petah (Dec 22, 2008)

I did some more research, I went to my local luthier and he talked me out of it. 

So I will just Mod my most Favorite guitar... Kramer Baretta 1!!!

I just need to up my post count so I can Place a WTB ad!


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Petah said:


> I did some more research, I went to my local luthier and he talked me out of it.
> 
> So I will just Mod my most Favorite guitar... Kramer Baretta 1!!!
> 
> I just need to up my post count so I can Place a WTB ad!


Thats what bugs me about some "luthiers".... when someone is interested in trying to learn something and further their knowledge - they shoudl encourage it not talk you out of it. WHat are they scared of?

I have had some (not on this forum mind you) self proclaimed "pro luthiers" really get upset that I am open to encourage people to try and learn how to do their own set ups, fretwork, and builds, etc.

I think its GREAT when people want to learn and try things... if you really want to do it, just take it slowly and get a fewbooks - read up on the net, etc. Then make your mind up by yourself!

AJC


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## Petah (Dec 22, 2008)

Thanks for the encouragement ajcoholic but as you can see no one in this forum is willing to help. I will just ask on a USA forum. I have had plenty of help from a US based forum when building my uke. For this build I wanted to stay at home. Heh.


EDIT: ( Maybe this forum isn't that active. I'm really new here )


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## sivs (Aug 5, 2009)

I probably won't be of much help because I've never done it, but I'd say go for it. I'm currently working on a bass project because I like working with wood and I like guitars. I expect that I'll botch it somewhere, but it's fun to try. I went to my local wood place and picked up some poplar because it's easy to work with and was the cheapest thing they had. 

Pickups are fun too. What kind of music do you want to be playing with it? Deciding between single coil/p90/humbucker is a big thing, then you can go anywhere from cheap ones to nice hand wired stuff. Seymour Duncan has good stuff for reasonable prices, might be a good place to start. Maybe a mix of humbucker and single coil would do you well if you don't know exactly what you like yet... something like a S S H configuration. 

What else do you want to know?? From what I've seen and experienced, there are some really good guys on this forum who will gladly answer your questoins, but it helps to be clear as to what you want to know!


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

May I suggest building your first body out of what ever clear (no knots) 2x12 is common to your area? That way you're only spending a few dollars instead of $40 or more. You get the same experience and if you find you want to start over, it's no big deal.
As for necks, if you're not bent on building your own from scratch, Ibanez RG's are about the flatest I've found. They can be had from china for under $50. A good way to start.
For "bits" its hard to beat "Bezdez" on evilbay. Good luck


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## Ian John (Aug 11, 2009)

You could go the same route as the uke and build a kit! Seen some nice ones done. Stew mac has necks fretted ready to go for $140, I only see strat and tele bodies in catalog tho...I built a couple of electric guitars when I was around 14 years old with no help and no clue. If you want to do it don't deny yourself the chance! I still have a slab of wood for a body I bought at the time sitting for over 20 years waiting for me to decide to do another electric.

Regards Ian


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Petah said:


> Thanks for the encouragement ajcoholic but as you can see no one in this forum is willing to help. I will just ask on a USA forum. I have had plenty of help from a US based forum when building my uke. For this build I wanted to stay at home. Heh.
> 
> 
> EDIT: ( Maybe this forum isn't that active. I'm really new here )


I think you will find lots of helpe here - just remember not everyone is here daily, and you probably should give a little more info - "widest board" you can get your hands on... well how wide is that? There are places you can buy a preslotted board to your specs, in many kinds of wood, etc (stewart macdonald and Luthiers mercantile)

Lay out your ideas a little clearer and I am sure there will be more answers for you. I personally have no idea what a "viola" size guitar is. I know what a viola is (the next stpe up in size from a violin, correct?) I think but not how that relates to a guitar.

This place is a lot less populated than some of the larger sites, but the quality of people far make up for it.

AJC


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

There has to be somewhere around you that deals in hardwood. If you get a chance to go to a local wood show, they always have suppliers there. Don't be discouraged, it has taken me over 30 years to start my own project. Wish I had done it sooner. As far as parts, there are a few threads on them in here somewhere. I used (and recommend) MJW customs for my neck and tuners, got shellac from Wood Essence (I recommend them too). I will be getting parts from Guitar Fetish, Stewart MacDonald, and WD Music. Building your own is a great way to get something that is truly yours...go for it!


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

Petah said:


> I'm planning on making a very simple electric guitar. I have built kit Ukulele's before but I really don't think this will help much. I also don't play guitar.
> I thought that if I build one that I'd be interested enough to learn to play.
> 
> 
> ...



 Anything with strings will a sound make. There are lots of "do it this way" or "do it that way" people around. I don't take much heed of such advice in the long run. Oh, I do listen, and I learn, and I do take things under advisement, but when I 'do it my way', I will learn lots from the mistakes I make. LOL lots of times doing it my way leads me to understand better why others do it the way they do it and recomend doing it.

Bezdez as has been mentioned is really good for parts, shipping costs are extremely reasonable, and fast, and they are very friendly and do discuss your needs or issues in emails promptly. http://shop.ebay.ca/Guitar-/3858/i.html?_catref=1&_fln=1&_ssn=bezdez&_trksid=p3911.c0.m282

There is also a recent few threads on electronics suppliers, which isn't a sticky but probably should be. Actually, a stick on luthier/wood suppliers would be good too.

If you feel confident with the size, style, design and want to just go for wood well, as I said, there are builders here have built with pine and there are builders here that have built with really nice burled wood (not recalling the wood species) though the general middle ground seems to be Maple or Ash. Either Maple or Ash or both may give you grief to get though, from a lot of the members comments over time, these woods seem to be a hit or miss for availability. 

If not, then go with plywood. With plywood you know several things: 

1) the sound wont be necessarily the best,
2) you will be faced with edge filling a lot, 
3) it wont break the bank, 
4) you can make mistakes and change your mind as you go or even scrap it and start over without weeping for the loss of the "good" wood. 
5) you want a 'thickness" and with plywood you can build up a thickness even at 1/8 inch at a time very easily, you can get to that 'sweet point' in small steps by starting small rather than starting thick and working down, or starting at a set thickness thinking to work it down only to find you are starting off too thin. Or worse, you over work your wood and suddenly need to add more back. 

Starting off with plywood in the 'just learning' stage gives you a lot of these flexabilities and oppourtunities for learning. Once you know what is working for size, shape, thickness, outline you can cut into a much more expencive piece of wood with confidence.

Necks are another matter. You could use just about anything for a neck again, as long as it is hardwood (lots of tension in strings). If you want a non-standard (of which the selections are pretty broad) string spacing you are likely going to need to machine or otherwise build your own bridge, and with some styles this is easier to do with than others. The favoured woods for necks are Maples or Mahogonies. Fine grained non splintery none open grained woods tend to be the important conciderations. Not to say, you cannot make a neck out of red oak. You can, but you will need to do a lot of sanding and grain filling for it to feel good.

Locally here in Burlington Ontario we have a store http://www.exotic-woods.com/musical/guitar.aspx and they specifically deal with instrument woods. Your location I believe is not far from Vancouver, and I am not conversant with suppliers by name there, but I am willing to bet they too have a good idea of instrument needs and would carry suitable blanks.

 No matter what, give it a go. You want to build, then build!


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

ajcoholic said:


> I think you will find lots of helpe here - just remember not everyone is here daily, and you probably should give a little more info - "widest board" you can get your hands on... well how wide is that? There are places you can buy a preslotted board to your specs, in many kinds of wood, etc (stewart macdonald and Luthiers mercantile)
> 
> Lay out your ideas a little clearer and I am sure there will be more answers for you. * I personally have no idea what a "viola" size guitar is.* I know what a viola is (the next stpe up in size from a violin, correct?) I think but not how that relates to a guitar.
> 
> ...


I think a travel. 3/4 or 1/2 size would be the order down for guitars no? 1/2 sized is possibly viola sized. Half is bigger than a 4/4 violin at the least, and heck maybe it is cello sized :O I know I have seen these at Long and McQuade but have no idea past that who made them. This pic is of I think a child's electric, but the one at L&M was not being sold for children. However, for referance, maybe this is the size?


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## Petah (Dec 22, 2008)

Hm, here we go a little copy/paste/draw.










What I 'was' hoping to do was build a smaller body of a Rickenbacker 325. Super thin!!! Super light. I want to go prebuilt neck. Pickups... sound... Really No idea... I like the sound of Muse/Arctic Monkeys/Beatles/Red Hot Chili Peppers....

If I could get someone to cut/route out a body that would be best... I can do the rest 

Hope this is more helpful.


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

Please don't misunderstand, I certainly wasn't trying to scare you off. I wanted to make you aware of some things you need to know before you start. From the description you gave in the first thread I got the feeling that you wanted something that was far from ordinary. I have had a lot of kids show up at my door who are making there own guitars. Most of them had spent some good money on materials and put a lot of work into making quite creative bodys.Tha sad part was they didn't know the fundementals of what makes a guitar work properly. So here are these young would be luthiers all very proud of their craftmanship only to have me explain to them that what they have made will not be playable. The only reason was that they jumped in blind and made what they thought was a cool and unique guitar with out knowing the basics. I simply didn't want you to make the same mistake. Go ahead and make that guitar and we will be here to help along the way as we can.


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