guitar help wanted

[twelchPTM]

I want to build a guitar, My niece was recently taken from us in a horrible accident, among many things she was an avid musician. While I will probably never know the full impact she made in her short time on this earth.
I have no experience with musical instruments, nor I am musically inclined in any way but it was her way of life to challenge herself and do thing no-one (sometimes even herself) thought she could do.
I have watched some video's on the process of building both electric and acoustic guitars, while the acoustic was more her style the crafting is definitely an art and form and functionality definitely go hand in hand while an electric guitar can be ugly and still sound decent so I've decided to go that route.
I have some white oak that I salvaged and have been waiting for it to tell me what is wants to be.
I have seen several post of guitars that have been built and was hoping some of you guys could help me out with guidance, tips, tutorials, sources for parts, or anything I might not even know i need to know.
The guitar will ultimately end up on display but close mutual friend would like If it could at least make it through on song.
Thanks in advance for any help.

[twelchPTM]

okay i finish reading some of these articles, i realize that with my limited knowledge and musical know how it would work out best if I made the body (this is the part i really want to customize anyhow) and Use a premade neck.
As for the other parts my head is spinning a bit right now.
Again I hope one on you guys doesn't mind helping me out... I have a limited budget and this is not a for-profit project so i need to go on the low-end of things, a parts list would be really helpful or even better if one of you guys wanted to sell me a kit of sorts that would be awesome.

[twelchPTM]

i'm really sorry to keep posting like this, I cant figure out how to edit my previous post. That being said I have just finished reading through all the 17something posts that come up when i search "guitar" here on the forum.

first i would like to say, I mean no insult to the guysd that make guitars as a profession and I know the end result will not be the greatest guitar ever.

second I have decided that what I would like to do is in fact purchase a kit but make my own body. It doesn't need to be anything top of the line. As i said previously it will most likely play one or two songs at a benfit event we are putting together and then end up on display.

third , I once again thank anybody for any input or direction they can offer.

[myxpykalix]

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/musical-instrument-design-and-construction/84317-downloadable-guitar-plans.html

http://drw-holland.nl/pdf/guitar_building_plans.pdf

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/musical-instrument-design-and-construction/74640-ultimate-3d-guitar-model-thread.html

http://www.grzsoftware.com/users/johnw.php

I think i have collected some plans and if you want me to try to find them let me know.
Google is your friend:D search free guitar files, free cnc guitar files, ect.

[bleeth]

These guys have everything you need:

www.stewmac.com

They also have real live people to talk to, and that can often be much more helpful.

[Xray]

Condolences on your niece.

Here is a thread from a guitar guru at vectric that may be of interest
http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12036

[twelchPTM]

thanks so much guys.
Jack everytime I use the word free in a google search I get three types of results, 1. things that are free to look at but not use or download 2. things that have what i'm looking for in the title but not the content and 3. p**n.
but seriously I did google but after reading through alot of results I turned to a source I know I can count on.

[mikeacg]

Thomas,

My first electric guitar project I searched on Musicians Friend website and they had close-out electric guitars. I got a complete guitar for $99.00 shipped (and it sounded pretty good actually). Pulled the body and made my own custom body... An easy way to get started fairly cheaply and if you like it, you can always learn the rest later!

Mike

[myxpykalix]

Actually Michael has a good idea, you could go to the pawn shop and buy a guitar and take the parts and make your own body.

[brian]

I agree
The old saying the sum of the parts is more than the whole really applies .You also might try ebay and check out "project guitars".

Brian

[twelchPTM]

i followed up on all the links and info you guys have sent my way and I am very excited about this project know. I originally wanted to do an acoustic but opted to electric for several reasons however I found several kits for acoustic guitars where the body is completely disassembled, this will allow me to customize the face of the body as I want I am thinking I might use PhotoVcarve and engrave her picture. (I have a great shot of the first time she performed on stage).

I'm pretty sure carving into the face will effect the sound, is there anything you guys can tell me about this effect? should I limit my depth? can I fill the cut lines with a clear resin? thanks again you guys are all awesome!

[ed_lysne]

I've built many guitars... acoustic, archtop and electric (solid and semi-hollows). I can give you a few guidelines.

Guitars are all built with a scale in-mind. This is the distance between the frets and the overall scalle length between the nut and the bridge. This determines how the guitar will play in tune and it is critical to all be correct. There are several standards... and you can find/download a program that can allow you to customize. If you plan to buy and off-the-shelf neck... the scale length is already determined... and you build with that in mind. For most standard acoustic guitars (25.4 inches)... the 14th is where the body and neck join. The distance between the nut and the 12th fret and the 12 fret and the bridge are equal (almost... we add a slight extra for compensation to make up for the rise in pitch as the strings are depressed or fretted) to keep the guitar in tune. Making a neck is really not that hard... and once you've tried it you can figure it out. I make all my necks without using the CNC as it's faster (although I do make my fretboard slots and inlays on the bot... for accuracy).

One of the other really critical issues that we all struggle to get right is the neck angle. The neck has a slight ~3 degree pitch and this defines the playability of the instrument. Getting real/good advice here is important.

Once the scale length is determined... the rest is built around that plan. On an acoustic... the underside of the sound board (top) is setup so that the bridge plate (an 1/8 piece of material) fits right under the bridge and the x-brace goes right under it. This ensures the guitar top won't cave in and the sound is right. An acoustic guitar with the strings tensioned has about 55 lbs of weight pulling the top forward and twisting it.

The top on an acoustic is generally sanded to about 1.1 inches thick. We always use spruce or cedar... as the strength to weight ratio is very high...meaning when you pluck the strings the energy is generated into the top and the top will transfer that to a rich sound. Over-building or under building a top is the key to the sound in all cases. The art of guitar building is making something just barely strong enough... those are the ones that sound best in my opinion.

The body (back and sides) your free to try anything. A friend of mine once built the body out of chip board... and it didn't sound bad. The neck wood is also important. The neck resonates significantly... and can have a dramatic effect on the sound. You'll get a million inputs on wood if you ask... but the real story is some are better than others.

Anytime you mess with the top... you are changing the ability for the wood to resonate. Carving into the top may create both sound and strength issues. I don't want to deter you... but more to make you aware.

There are several ideas you might want to look at...

1. The pick-guard... you can inlay into this material which is often plastic.
2. The back... less sound issues... but you would want to think about structural issues.
3. The fret board.. less working area but inlaying a picture done right can be quite dramatic.
4. The headstock veneer... another small area.. but I've seen some amazing work here. You a have to plan carefully for tuners and other technical issues like the neck truss rod issues.

There are many good books for acoustic building... and some popular sites.
http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Book/textbook.html
http://luthiersforum.com/forum/
http://www.mimf.com/

I started with a book... and just worked thru it. My first complete guitar hangs on my wall-of-shame in the shop. Some of my others are real works of art that I am very proud of...

I might suggest that you build one completely by hand using Home Depot materials... before you get to the good wood. Once you've done it all the first time.. you will be much better equipped to build a decent guitar. There are also "amateur" builders wherever you live who are often very helpful in getting you going and helping you solve problems. Ask for help on the websites... you might be surprise. I'm outside Chicago... and would be willing to help you get started and think it thru.

You can google many sites to see how everything is put together. Building a guitar is both easy and very hard. You discover in the journey that items that look simple are hard and vice verse.... Good Luck!