Thread: New Comer with high hopes.

gday new comer

if you are going to go to the trouble of dove tailing a cab, i wouldnt waste my time wth pine....
you can get plenty of decent woods for cheap
you want to show off those dovetails, not have them just sit there on a piece of pine ...
well thats how i would do it... lol

ummm...
i reckon, screw the traditional shapes....

now that i have built a few guitars, i think the best first guitar for anyone to do is your own design....
draw up a plan, learn about the scale length, positions of the pickups/bridge/nut/machine heads etc....
if you do it this way you will be alot more knowledgable when it comes to the actual buildng....

im not saying not to get a neck and make a body or somehting like that....
but if you want to build it.....
i very much recomend drawing your own full scale plans....

i love drawing them now.....
theres just so much more you can play around with when doing your own stuff....

but you seem to like a tele....
they are pretty simple, routing is pretty simple, just do your homework....
plenty of build threads on the net, and plenty of Q&A's around

goodluck

Hi Jonny,

Welcome. I would recommend get the book "Build your own guitar" by Melvin Hiscocks. Read it cover to cover and it will tell you everything you need to know in order to build your own guitar with very little woodwork experience. Plus, just ask q's on the forum and you pretty much always get a response.

Cheers,

Peter

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

gday new comer
if you are going to go to the trouble of dove tailing a cab, i wouldnt waste my time wth pine....

i have to disagree on the use of pine for amp cabs
it is cheap, widely available, plantation grown, light and very resonant.
i have built the odd cab or three and found pine to be a very acceptable material
with a little cunning finishing it looks great too
heres one i did in jan ths year




many early amps were built from pine including the venerable tweed era amps from leo fender - if your wood work is a little rough you can cover it with tolex or tweed

i also would like to suggest that a tele is a great first project. the reason being that
it is the easiest build of all to build and the parts are cheap and easily available

apart from that the tele is a great favourite and has remained virtually unchanged for 50 years - there ae some very good reasons why - any one who plays a tele will tell you what they are

btw welcome to a great forum and good luck with your adventures with wood

there are some very fine craftsmen who post here one eg is oztradie - newcomers can learn a lot from makers with that calibre of skill

Originally Posted by old_picker

many early amps were built from pine including the venerable tweed era amps from leo fender - if your wood work is a little rough you can cover it with tolex or tweed

i also would like to suggest that a tele is a great first project. the reason being that
it is the easiest build of all to build and the parts are cheap and easily available

you cant compare pine from 50 years ago to todays pine

thats true about the tele.... but do the books not run you through doing a scale plan?

and if your wanting to buy some tele parts... i have a bridge and pickup set here

Originally Posted by peterbrown

I would recommend get the book "Build your own guitar" by Melvin Hiscocks.

This is the 'bible' that everyone recommends. So I'd suggest you buy 2 copies and send one to me 'cos I still haven't bought one for myself

You'll get plenty of help on cabs and guitars around here ... and this tends to be a very patient group, as opposed to some forums. So do your homework first, then ask lots of questions when you're stuck.

But be wary of Andy B ... that guy has way too much knowledge, energy and creativity ... he'll only make you feel guilty for not pumping out the geetars at a faster rate

Welcome aboard.

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

you cant compare pine from 50 years ago to todays pine

thats true about the tele.... but do the books not run you through doing a scale plan?

and if your wanting to buy some tele parts... i have a bridge and pickup set here

i'd say that todays pine is alot closer to the pine 50 years ago than todays mahogany or rosewood compared to mahogany and rosewood 50 years ago, and people still use them for instruments. pine is a fast growing wood, so the differences wouldnt be that big.

i'd say pine is great for cabs, i've made one too (planning on spraying it over the next month or so). and it sounds great, but i havent heard the speakers in any other cabs either. its cheap and it works well. you can get it easily from bunnings.
you could also get ply from bunnings, but i wouldnt use that for much, i have to pick through alot of the pile before finding one that is of high enough quality to use for a template, i wouldnt use that for a cab.

and go for the tele, but do your own templates and such so you can add your own flavour (but be careful around the pickguard so it matches still.

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

you cant compare pine from 50 years ago to todays pine

thats true about the tele.... but do the books not run you through doing a scale plan?

and if your wanting to buy some tele parts... i have a bridge and pickup set here

hehehe
50 years ago, todays 50 year old pine was todays pine

Originally Posted by old_picker

hehehe
50 years ago, todays 50 year old pine was todays pine

lol smart ass

i guess i should shut up since i started building a tele body a while back oout of ine just too see what it would sound like lol.....
its laying around somewhere

Thanks for all of the input guys. I have decided to go ahead with the pine cab, mainly caus i can get it at a good price as i work at bunnings :P plus im not too worried if i screw up.

In regards to my first build i have decided to go for a strat shape instead, i figure i may as well go with what i really want instead of going with what i think i can achieve easier, if you know what i mean.

Originally Posted by jmiersy

In regards to my first build i have decided to go for a strat shape instead, i figure i may as well go with what i really want instead of going with what i think i can achieve easier, if you know what i mean.

Absolutely. When you're contemplating your first build it's easy to be daunted into taking the easy option. But you're better off taking the leap and going for what you really want 'cos you'll get lots of support along the way and you'll be stoked when you pull it off

Originally Posted by old_picker

hehehe
50 years ago, todays 50 year old pine was todays pine

One should not let logic and reason get in the way of things

Originally Posted by old_picker

hehehe
50 years ago, todays 50 year old pine was todays pine

mmmmm
perhaps i should have said
50 years ago todays pine is now todays 50 year old pine

ot am i just digging myself a deeper hole

what andrewb said though is kinda correct in that milled wood as it ages, becomes accoustically moe sensitive. ie the resins etc become crystalised over the years and the wood becomes more uniform in density - this allows it to resonate a little more easily

this i have read and i may be incorrrect - it makes sense to me though

if you were to set out to build a replica of an original wide panel fender deluxe cabinet you would start by looking for some pine that was milled around the mid 50's

i think this may be a thread hijack so back to the topic

its a complex project building a guitar so the more copmplex the guitar is the more you will learn - you may as well build exactly what you want but be warned, one is never enough - before you finish #1 you will already have the 2nd one drawn up and most likely the timber for it and a few more stashed away

Originally Posted by old_picker

mmmmm
perhaps i should have said
50 years ago todays pine is now todays 50 year old pine
ot am i just digging myself a deeper hole

Stop it ... you're making my head hurt!!!

Originally Posted by old_picker

you may as well build exactly what you want but be warned, one is never enough - before you finish #1 you will already have the 2nd one drawn up and most likely the timber for it and a few more stashed away

So true ... project #1 started out as bit of fun ... and I'm now 3 guitars down with timber for 3 or 4 more tucked away under the bench

So go for it jmiersy ... but have fun with it 'cos you'll be back again trying to do even better