So here goes, first ever guitar build, this is likely to be slow going, if I start to progress quickly at any point remind me I should sleep 🙂
Here’s the design so far, a 25.5” scale length Bandsman
The wood, mahogany all round and an Ebony fretboard will hopefully be arriving next week so I can get started on the neck.
To date I’ve made a load of jigs and templates, need to finish sanding the templates and can them cut working from the masters
Heres a few bits, I’ll not post all as you have seen them before!
I looked around at aftermarket base plates for the router and the generic ones weren’t that big anyway and ones that were big cost more that a sheet of Perspex. So I went with 8mm Perspex for my new base, cut on a circle jig I made for the band saw using a 24 tooth 1/4 blade from TuffSaws. It cut pretty cleanly so I took out the cut marks with some wet 120 grit wet&dry and worked up to 1500, keeping it wet, so I got super smooth edges and no clogged paper/melting plastic. The mount holes were taken directly from my actual router base plate and cut with a step drill so that I got the mount hole and rebate with one drill bit.
Hopefully by the end of the weekend all the jigs and templates will be complete and sanded with working copies of all masters. I’ll then sit by the door and wait for the post next week 🙂
As for parts, I’ve got with a GraphTec Tusq nut, lovely material to work with if you need to cut it down at all!
A Gotoh 510UB bridge with individually adjustable saddles.
Gotoh machine heads, don’t recall the model number, the basic end of the range.
Pickups I’m undecided about right now, watch this space. The rest of the hardware is all chrome, no complex switching plans at the moment either. I think the Humbucker surrounds will be swapped out for something nicer too.
So, there we are for now, I’ll add more as I progress and post a full build video at the end 🙂
…on an elaborate journey to turn trees into music.
So, there we are for now, I’ll add more as I progress and post a full build video at the end 🙂
@tej Yep, you’re really getting it together now, looking good. It’s exciting watching people do this for the first time. You’ll soon be creating all kinds of new guitars but this one is the most important, you’ll learn a lot. After that, the sky is the limit. 👍
I think the Humbucker surrounds will be swapped out for something nicer too.
Definitely a good call.
(I'm not a fan of bits of cheap black plastic appearing *anywhere* on a guitar! We spend ages crafting beautiful pieces of timber into precise shapes, finishing them with love and care ... and then stick 50p bits of plastic on them. So wrong!!!!)
I'm not a fan of bits of cheap black plastic appearing *anywhere* on a guitar! We spend ages crafting beautiful pieces of timber into precise shapes, finishing them with love and care ... and then stick 50p bits of plastic on them. So wrong!!!!
@tv101 Agree on that one, I’ve seen a few metal ones about, crazy high price tag for what they are though. If you’ve found good quality ones at a sensible price please post me a link!
…on an elaborate journey to turn trees into music.
@tv101 I honestly thought I’d looked on axetec as I was looking to get pickups from there!! Clearly didn’t look very well! Does remind me though that I need to decide on pups!!!
…on an elaborate journey to turn trees into music.
Does remind me though that I need to decide on pups!!!
Those Iron Gear p’ups are very good.
Depends on what sort of sounds you want if course. I have Rolling Mills and the Blues Engine / Dirty Torque sets in various of my guitars. Hot Slags went into my first Bailey BYOG course build.
Professional builders aren’t offended by customers having specific requirements like no black plastic. It all adds to the challenge and it’s a great sense of achievement when you can tick all the boxes.
Some people call me a tool, others are less complimentary. Tools being useful things.
When I did my first BYOG workshop course (2007), we all stayed on-site, and sat around in the evenings drinking, talking, drinking, playing guitars, and drinking.
One of the guitars we sat around drinking playing was one of Mark's own builds. It was a stunning guitar. Better than anything I'd played.
I tried to persuade my wife that coming home with 2 guitars would be a great result from the course. She didn't fully agree. So, I didn't dare buy it. Though I really -really- wanted to.
Scroll forward a few years and I was booked to do another (would have been my 3rd) course, booked, deposit paid, ready to go, but had to defer. Carol filled the place, so someone else got lucky.
Rather than return the deposit, we had a chat, and I put it towards Mark building "a guitar, just like the one I played on that first course". I sent up a few bits of hardware (PRS HFS & VB pickups & wiring) and Mark built the guitar.
I didn't spec any more than "like the one I played". He did the rest.
It is, head & shoulders (or, more accurately, neck & body) my #1 guitar. Even with the black plastic.
Hot Slags went into my first Bailey BYOG course build.
@tv101 curiously that’s what I was planning to use for mine, so much more of the sound depends on what you plug it into it’s hard to get recommendations for pickups I’ve found. Too subjective!
…on an elaborate journey to turn trees into music.
so much more of the sound depends on what you plug it into
Totally agree.
Most famous players have their sound, doesn't matter what pickups are on what guitar, through which amp, they still sound like you expect them to.
The pickups are but one component in creating the sound. I think people choose the pickups based on the sound that they want (logical so far!), but it's actually their playing in the style that they want to emulate that does more in creating the sound - but they may still attribute it to the pickups.
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