Hello Folks Myself Jozef Clifford Behr, I Want To Share Some Tips About Guitars Buildings. There are a ton of reasons to build your own guitar. You can own a custom guitar built to your specs, learn how your other guitars tick, and maybe save some money in the process.

Oh, and it’s super fun too!

However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed if it’s your first build. Guitar building can be a little complicated, and it’s hard to know where to even begin.

In this post, you’ll learn the top 10 tips for the new guitar builder. I hope that these tips will save you some time and trouble on your guitar-building journey!

Tip #1.

Plan Out Every Guitar Build.

The first tip, and one of the most important ones, is to plan out the build as much as possible before you begin.

This means having a detailed plan of not just what you’re building but also how you’re building it. I know this sounds obvious, but this is why many projects are doomed right from the start.

You need to have a clear idea of what kind of guitar you want to build and all the specs you want it to have. Draw a diagram, make a list, or do whatever else you need to do to get a clear end goal of what you’re aiming for. Try to have all this figured out before you cut a single board, or order a single part!

After you have a clear idea of what you want to build, start planning how to go about building it.

You need to consider;

 -All of the steps involved.
 -How you’re going to perform those steps with the skills, tools, and materials available to you.
 -The order that you’re going to perform those steps.

Make a list and map everything out as you’re thinking about all this. Personally, I write out a complete step-by-step “Order of operations” list before I begin any big project.

I know this might sound like overkill, but having a plan before you begin a project like this can save you a ton of time, money, and frustration.

Tip #2. 

Be Realistic.

 
It’s fun to let your imagination run wild when you’re planning a guitar build, but you also have to be realistic about it.

When planning a guitar build, it’s always a balancing act between what you want and what you can actually pull off. Think about the guitar you’re planning on building, and compare that to your experience, tools, and skill level.

Ask yourself, “Can I realistically build this thing with the resources available to me?”.

It’s probably a good idea to keep your first few guitar builds pretty simple. I’d say stick with a basic solid-body guitar with a bolt-on neck, 1-2 pickups, and a hardtail bridge to start with. As you get some experience, then move on to more advanced features such as set/through neck joints, different wiring layouts, tremolo bridges, etc.

Now don’t get me wrong! It’s great to take on a challenge and learn new skills, just don’t make it so hard at first that it’s mission impossible. I want you to build a guitar that you’ll enjoy, but I also don’t want you to get frustrated and abandon the project halfway through.

 Don’t bite off more than you can chew!
 

Tip #3.

Choose The Right Type Of Guitar Build
 

This kinda goes along with the last one.

There are several different approaches you could take to build your guitar. Each method has its own pros and cons. Which one is right for you will depend on your experience, available tools, and materials.

The four main approaches to building an electric guitar are:

#1. Rebuilding/modifying an existing guitar. Maybe not the most customizable approach, but the quickest and easiest for a beginner.

#2. Building a parts guitar/partscaster. A little more complicated than rebuilding an existing guitar but still fairly easy and more customizable.

#3. Building a kit guitar. Pretty simple to build but requires a lot more work than the previous methods. It will require more tools as well.

#4. Building from scratch. Totally customizable but requires a ton of work and tools. You’re starting with nothing but some lumber and a pile of parts. Scratch builds can take weeks or months to complete, depending on how much time you devote to them.

Tip #4.

Make Sure All Parts Are Compatible

I know this is an obvious one, but I need to say it anyway. Always double-check all the specs of every part that you buy!

Ensure you verify the string spacing of pickups and bridges, the scale length of necks, the size of neck pockets, specs of electronics, etc.

It sucks to end up with a pile of expensive guitar parts that you can’t use. Every guitar builder out there (myself included) has been guilty of buying the wrong s***, just because they didn’t read the spec sheet closely enough. 

Trust me; this tip can save you a lot of money!

Tip #5.

Use A Set Of Guitar Building Pans For Your First Scratch Build.

If you’re building your first guitar from scratch, I would highly recommend you build from a set of plans rather than designing the guitar from the ground up.

I know you probably want to design a custom creation that no mere mortal has ever seen the likes of before. I get it, but what did I just say about being realistic??

Building a guitar from scratch can be a massive undertaking on its own, let alone blueprinting it out as well.

Don’t make it even harder on yourself by taking on too much for your first scratch build. Build from a set of plans at first so that you can focus all your effort on the actual building process itself.
 

Tip #6.

Buy Decent Parts and Materials.

A lot of new builders take either one extreme or another here.

Some new builders go all-out and buy top-of-the-line everything for their first build just to end up ruining something expensive because they didn’t know what they were doing yet!

On the other hand, some builders will buy the cheapest, nastiest parts and materials they can find and make the build harder than it has to be because they are working with crap parts and materials.

The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle for your first build.

Get decent mid-grade parts and materials. These should still be pretty economical, but not so cheap and nasty that they fight you through the entire build.
 

Tip #7

Don’t Buy Every Tool Imaginable at First.
 

Don’t go crazy with tools at first!

If you plan to mod a guitar or build a parts guitar, you may already have all the tools you need lying around the house.

However, if you are planning on a kit guitar or scratch build, you’re probably going to need some additional tools.

Now it’s ok to buy what you need, but don’t go crazy and buy every tool you can think of at first. Buy the bare-bones basics at first, and then slowly add additional tools as you need them.

By doing it this way, you can hopefully avoid wasting money on many tools that just end up collecting dust.
 

Tip #8.

Measure twice and cut once.

This is an old cliche, but it’s the truth.

Always double-check yourself before you do anything that will be irreversible.

Double-check all your measurements before you cut, drill, or rout anything! This will save you a lot of wasted time, materials, and money in the long run.

Trust me on this. It’s easy to remove material from the workpiece, but it’s a lot harder to put it back on again!
 

Tip #9.

Don’t Get Discouraged By Your Mistakes.

Mistakes and goof-ups are a fact of life when you’re building guitars.

Don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake or two. You’re still going to screw some things up, no matter how careful you are!

This is kinda what separates the good luthiers from all the rest. It’s not that they never make mistakes; it’s that they know how to recover from them and salvage the project.

If you make a mistake, just learn from it and move on.

Tip #10. 

Never Stop Learning!

As you progress through your guitar-building journey, you should never stop learning or trying new things.

Even luthiers that have been building guitars for years will tell you that they are still learning new tips and trick all the time!

There are many great books, courses, and videos out there for you to learn from. There’s even a few good blogs you could follow! (wink, wink) 😉

That is one of the great things about guitar building/lutherie. You’ll never know it all, and you’ll never get bored with it!

Conclusion

So there you have it!

Here are the top 10 tips that I feel new guitar builders should know.

Some of these lessons were ones that I had to learn the hard way. I hope that you can learn from the mistakes of myself and others so that you can save yourself some time, money, and frustration as you get started in the world of guitar building!