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How I Built My Own Guitar

· 3 min read
Luis Gomez

Why?​

I wanted a faster, more efficient way to make music.

My solution? Stick a Launchpad in a guitar

Sadly, no electric guitars I found had the room for a launchpad.

My solution (pt 2)? Build my own guitar with correct dimensions.

My advice? DON'T DO IT. It was really hard and time consuming.

Unless you NEED to do this to get specific dimensions & realize some crazy idea of your own, just buy a nice used guitar. You'll still get a lot of instrument for your money, and SAVE TIME.

Do not delay, sing and play everyday.

Shopping List​

Hardware​

Total Cost: $170

Tools​

  • Orbital Jigsaw (or a handsaw)
  • T-Shank Blades
  • Power drill
  • Cheap drillbit set
  • 13/32in. drill bit (for bridge studs)
  • Soldering iron
  • Sandpaper
  • File
  • 6 3 inch clamps (used for gluing two ~1in. boards together)

Thankfully my pops had most of these tools laying around. Did have get a cheap jigsaw from harbor freight.

All these tools are very easy to use, and very easy to misuse. Be careful.

Summary​

Mindset Tips​

Don't get so caught up in planning on buying specific tools or brands unless you really know what you want.

Otherwise you'll spend hours and hours on woodworking forums, guitar forums, electronics forums, and YouTube thinking and spectating instead of doing.

Hands-On Tips​

  • Measure twice, cut once.

  • When you're cutting out the body, don't try to trace the line exactly with the jigsaw. Drill holes near curves, and aim at the holes with the jigsaw. (You could even do this with a handsaw, save yourself some money!) Make the shape nicer using a file & rough sandpaper.

  • If you don't have a drill watch the video below titled 'Relief Cuts'.

  • If you don't have a soldering iron and solder laying around, buy a pre-wired harness from guitarfetish(GFS). Also, you can make good joints using electrical tape and zip ties, see the video linked below 'Joining Wires with NO Solder'

Helpful Videos I Watched​

Joining Wires with NO Solder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Gierk4SCw
TLDR: Use Electrical tape to join the wires, zip tie around the electrical tape.

Relief Cuts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qCY-iXPvw8

What Can You Do With A Jigsaw?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWneDzqAbH8
Smoother cuts on the side of the board the teeth are immediately facing (upward pointing blades make smoother lines on underside of board)

Cutting A Guitar Body Out With Hand Tools (2X speed this guy speaks slow)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lm3l_GOAOQ

Reducing Hum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI_v-NjBRKc

  • Use foil, but not too much.
  • Ground everything to one place (Star Grounding)
  • Twist the pickup's power and ground wires together for phase cancellation and length reduction

Schematics / Plans​

[My custom plan](/downloads/luis paul jr schemes 4 WEB.zip)

I adapted my plan from here: Electric Herald High Quality Guitar Templates