Have you been thinking about building your very own electric guitar? For lots of guitarists, it’s a dream to build exactly what they want and to create it themselves. But so many never get any further than thinking about it because it seems too difficult and the end result will probably sound terrible and be nearly unplayable.
So, let’s find out… is building an electric guitar easier than you think?
If you’re considering building a simple electric guitar, for example, using a kit, or from ready-made parts, then it won’t be particularly hard and is easily achieved by most people with average DIY skills.
However, if your dream is to build a high-end guitar from scratch, then you will need a much higher level of skills and a lot more tools than those required for a basic build.
Is a Kit Guitar Hard to Build?
The easiest and cheapest route into guitar building is to buy a guitar kit that contains everything you need to build the instrument. This includes the wooden parts - body, neck, and fretboard, the hardware - tuners, bridge, etc., and the electronics and pickups.
The body will either be unfinished allowing you to choose a color or stain and apply it yourself, or finished, making the build even easier and guaranteeing a quality result. The neck will already be fretted and have a truss rod fitted, which is one of the hardest parts to get right if you are building from scratch.
Then you just need to assemble the parts using basic tools and voila - after a few hours - you have a guitar!
Are Guitar Kits Worth the Cost?
Guitar kits range from around $150 up to about $300. The more you spend, the better the quality of the parts will be. However, being completely honest, regardless of how well you build your kit, you’ll end up with a guitar that would cost you around $500 at the very most. So, don’t expect a Les Paul kit to produce anything approaching a genuine Les Paul.
But you will have a guitar that you created with your own hands, plus if you selected an unfinished body, one with your own unique finish, and have had a lot of fun using your skills to make a playable and ok-sounding instrument. Is that worth $150 to $300? I would say - definitely!
And, you don’t have to stick with the parts included in the kit forever, if you’re not happy with the tuning machines, change them for a better set, or if you think the pickups could do with a bit more power, replace them with ones that will give you the tone you are looking for.
Is a Parts Guitar Hard to Build?
A parts guitar is a step up from a kit guitar and allows you to choose every component that makes up your guitar. Therefore, you can be much more creative and build a far higher quality instrument that is a lot closer to your dream guitar.
The cost will be higher than a kit guitar, but you have the freedom to choose exactly what parts you want and ensure that they are the quality you require. In terms of difficulty, as long as you buy a pre-made neck, a parts guitar shouldn’t be any harder to build than a kit guitar.
However, due to the fact that you can choose any part from any company, you have to be much more careful regarding compatibility. You need to carefully plan if and how all the parts will fit together. Get this wrong and you will either end up having to buy more parts that actually fit together properly or spend hours modifying the parts you bought so that they work together.
You also need to watch your budget. If, for example, you are looking to parts build a quality strat, do the cost of all the parts come close to how much an actual strat would cost? If so, it might be better to let Fender do what they do best, and just buy the strat.
Is it Sard to Build an Electric Guitar from Scratch?
In a word, Yes! It involves a number of different skills that you may or may not have, or need to spend the time improving. For example, you’ll need to have excellent carpentry skills, creating a perfect neck takes a lot of patience and practice, and if you’re thinking of a set neck design, it gets even harder. You will also need a far greater selection of tools than those needed to build a kit or parts guitar.
You’ll also need to master the art of fretwork. Fretting the neck properly and accurately, then leveling, crowning, and polishing the frets are the difference between a neck that is playable and one that you want to play for days.
Guitar electronics are quite basic, regardless of the build, so there shouldn’t be any real issues there, but finishing is a different story. If you’re spending a lot of money on high-quality parts for your perfect musical creation, you will want it to look great. To do that, you’ll need to get the finish as smooth as silk. This is no easy task for most DIY’ers and will take a lot of patience, experimentation, and trial and error to achieve professional-looking results.
How Much Does it Cost to Build an Electric Guitar?
Starting at the low end, the component parts (not the body or the neck) needed to build a basic electric guitar will cost you between $180 and $200 for generic/low-quality parts. For a more serious build, you can expect to pay around $600 for far better-quality parts. With a high-end build, the sky’s the limit.
As for the timber for the body and neck, lower quality wood will start at around $100 going up to $300 for more types of exotic wood species with a higher tonal quality.
Therefore, adding the parts and timber together, a basic build will be around the $300 mark, and for under $1000 you could build a guitar that would be custom shop standard in terms of the materials, as long as your building and finishing skills don’t let the project down.
Wrapping it Up
Building a guitar, whether it's a basic kit guitar or something far more complex and ornate is a dream that many guitarists have. And now that you know the different options, nothing is stopping you from achieving that dream. My advice would be to start with a simpler build such as a Telecaster parts guitar, then move on from there, maybe building a Les Paul, and from there moving on to your dream guitar - a three-necked electric mandolin, 12-string, 6-string combo in the shape of your favorite cake!
Maybe not, but you get the idea, enjoy the journey, and create some beautiful instruments that you can use to create some beautiful music.
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