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I've decided to do something I've never done anything like before: I want to build my own guitar!


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Lately I've been feeling like I need a personal project that really excites me, something more than just writing songs and record collecting. I wasn't sure what until just tonight. After watching an interview with Eddie Van Halen about how he built his Frankenstrat, I was fascinated. It finally occurred to me that the only thing stopping me from building my own guitar is me, and I've decided when I get off school for an extended winter break at thanksgiving this year, I'm going to dive head first into it!

 

I have never built much of anything (other than Lego sets, lol) before. So I realize I'm going to immediately feel in over my head, but I'm not going to be intimidated by this project. I am on the path to becoming an architect after all, and what kind of architecture student graduates college without having ever built anything significant? My dad (Amps211 on here) and probably my best friend back home are going to be helping me along the way (Dad knows guitars decently well and my best friend is super handy with tools and building things for fun as a major auto-enthusiast). However seeing as I have a great resource here I thought I might as well use it. Has anyone on here ever built a guitar before? What kind of advice would you be willing to share with me? I'm going to be in a very research oriented stage for the next month and a half or so until I get to go home and start working on this project, so all kinds of beginner's advice is very well appreciated!

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Lately I've been feeling like I need a personal project that really excites me, something more than just writing songs and record collecting. I wasn't sure what until just tonight. After watching an interview with Eddie Van Halen about how he built his Frankenstrat, I was fascinated. It finally occurred to me that the only thing stopping me from building my own guitar is me, and I've decided when I get off school for an extended winter break at thanksgiving this year, I'm going to dive head first into it!

 

I have never built much of anything (other than Lego sets, lol) before. So I realize I'm going to immediately feel in over my head, but I'm not going to be intimidated by this project. I am on the path to becoming an architect after all, and what kind of architecture student graduates college without having ever built anything significant? My dad (Amps211 on here) and probably my best friend back home are going to be helping me along the way (Dad knows guitars decently well and my best friend is super handy with tools and building things for fun as a major auto-enthusiast). However seeing as I have a great resource here I thought I might as well use it. Has anyone on here ever built a guitar before? What kind of advice would you be willing to share with me? I'm going to be in a very research oriented stage for the next month and a half or so until I get to go home and start working on this project, so all kinds of beginner's advice is very well appreciated!

 

Go for it! I saw the Van Halen vids of him making guitars. All the guitars that were not right, or went wrong. That's inspiring stuff right there, straight from Eddie.

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I made a Frankenstein. Body of a Charvel, and picked up bits and bobs from ebay. About 2008, I think. Bought a strat maple neck and humbucker bridge pickup. Painted it all white, then taped it off etc. I fitted a Floyd Rose to it and didn`t connect the neck pick-up, like Ed. It did play properly for a while, but I never got the double locking trem right and it went out of tune very easily so I couldn`t do much with it. I should have looked into it more but I wanted the true Eddie experience of trial and error, and I got that :facepalm:
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Will you go in a Brian May direction or an Eddie Van Halen direction?

 

My dad and I have agreed that going in the Brian May direction of carving my own body is the way to do it. Otherwise it’s someone else’s creation as much as mine.

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Will you go in a Brian May direction or an Eddie Van Halen direction?

 

My dad and I have agreed that going in the Brian May direction of carving my own body is the way to do it. Otherwise it’s someone else’s creation as much as mine.

I think Brian May's dad helped a little bit too.

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Will you go in a Brian May direction or an Eddie Van Halen direction?

 

My dad and I have agreed that going in the Brian May direction of carving my own body is the way to do it. Otherwise it’s someone else’s creation as much as mine.

I think Brian May's dad helped a little bit too.

 

Indeed he did!

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So....it's been 9 months since you decided to build your own axe...is there any updates ?

 

Update: I didn't do it!

 

I got all excited about it and the school got in the way and I've kinda forgotten about it. But I should still do it. I just have to save up some money.

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So....it's been 9 months since you decided to build your own axe...is there any updates ?

 

Update: I didn't do it!

 

I got all excited about it and the school got in the way and I've kinda forgotten about it. But I should still do it. I just have to save up some money.

 

Yeah,I hear ya.....it just seems like when you have some extra dough to put towards your hobby something else comes up.

It took me about a year to finally finish the Hentor Sportscaster I set out to do......it makes it all the more special when you put

it all together yourself...........keep it on the back burner

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