Hi there, Paul here, PeeBee on the forum. I’m 50 and love guitars, they are things of beauty and strange in that they are designed to make sound but are as equally appealing on the eye.
I can’t play very well, a few chords etc, but I’m not going to set the world alight.
Over the last couple of years I have been accumulating the tools to get into making my own guitars, electric, the thought of making an acoustic scares the hell out of me.
I have watched tons of stuff on YouTube but this site and Marks YouTube channel are easily the best I’ve seen.....they are so addictive and I can’t thank Mark and Carol enough for sharing their knowledge and time.
I will definitely be investing in the premium membership, can’t wait to view the proper courses, the live streams are fantastic, the best thing on the TV. I plan to start having a go after Christmas...I am currently practicing some techniques on some scrap pine and made a few of my own templates in preparation.
Background is I was an electrician on leaving school so I am reasonably handy with tools, before getting into electrical engineering but now I take people on holiday, when we are not in a Zombie apocalypse to quote Mark, flying a 737 for a well known holiday airline. This gives me no time off in the summer but plenty in the autumn and winter so this will be my main guitar building time.
Looking forward to starting properly, learning from all you guys and sharing my progress once I have something to share. I have already learned that routers are to be respected!
Thanks. PB.
Give up the news folks, it’s liberating!
Good to "meet" you Paul @peebee
🙂
Over the last couple of years I have been accumulating the tools to get into making my own guitars, electric, the thought of making an acoustic scares the hell out of me.
Over the last 10+ years, I've built quite a few electrics ... and the thought of making an acoustic *still* scares the hell out of me!
However, it might just have to be one of those things that I have a go at. I keep telling people how good Mark's (electric) courses, so I guess I should follow my own advice at some point and have a go at his acoustic course ...
Looking forward to starting properly, learning from all you guys and sharing my progress
One of the (many) great things about this forum is that we're all learning from each other - guitar building throws up so many learning opportunities.
Welcome.
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
@robin thanks, I have read your post, First Practice Build, and am really impressed with what you have done on a workbench...but most of all thanks for sharing your mistakes, these are most helpful.
I have glued a number of bits together to make a blank and then made my own Tele template and shaped and routed out the cavities etc. Now I am practicing a neck, it wont be used as its pine but just for shaping practice before I butcher some proper hardwood. I started this before finding Marks channel and already I can see that I have made tonnes of mistakes and actually should have started with the neck, but its a learning curve.
Give up the news folks, it’s liberating!
@peebee Thanks for your compliment, I impressed myself with what I managed to build. Hopefully I shouldn't have too many mistakes to document on my next build, I'll try my best not to repeat any, no doubt I'll find some new learning opportunities. I think the secret to neck carving is just take off a little bit at a time and keep checking. It's an awful lot harder to add wood back on. I don't think that I'll get much done over the next few months, it's just too cold out in my lockup and can't use my router without electricity. But if I do the neck all with hand tools, that would keep me warm. Looking forward to seeing photos of your progress.
Hi Pete (et al),
I would just like to put in a word for the acoustic guitar here as I feel it is being somewhat maligned as a possible home build project. I came to all this from completely the opposite direction to many of you in that my main interest was in building in an acoustic. There are clearly more steps involved but basically it just a box with a neck rather than a plank with a neck, not that different really. I found Mark's video course to be exceptionally easy to follow and the fact that every process is presented as a small achievable step is, without doubt, the genius of his teaching method.
I am talking to Mark and Carol about the possibility of them supplying preformed laminated back and side sets as thinking about how to accurately bend the sides, especially of a cutaway, is probably the main part of the build that puts many people off having a go at an acoustic, that and the cost of a bending iron. Quite a few things are being discussed at the moment so watch this space!
Good luck with your build and hope you manage to get skyborne again in the not too distant future!
Darren
I am talking to Mark and Carol about the possibility of them supplying preformed laminated back and side sets as thinking about how to accurately bend the sides, especially of a cutaway, is probably the main part of the build that puts many people off having a go at an acoustic, that and the cost of a bending iron. Quite a few things are being discussed at the moment so watch this space!
Once again, tempting @darrenking!
The more I think about it, the more I think that perhaps I’ve built enough electrics, maybe it’s time to build an acoustic ...
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
I would like to build an acoustic too, but I'm going get another couple of electrics under my belt first.