Thread: Easy 1:1 Guitar Images for making plans

Hey all,

I'm working on building a copy of the ESP Alexi 600, with a few mods. I've been playing around in Photoshop and worked out a simple way to turn a high res image into a perfect 1:1 scale photo that you can print out and turn into templates. This might get a bit confusing, I don't usually write "how to" articles, so bear with me

Find a High Resolution photo of the guitar of your choice - larger file the better - and it needs to be as front on as possible, which isn't usually a problem as guitar companies and online music stores tend to shoot from that angle first. You also need to know the scale length of the particular instrument. For me, this was 25.5", or 647.7mm. We're measuring the scale length from the nut to the 12th fret, which is exactly half of the full scale length - so in my case, 323.85

Open the file up in Photoshop (these instructions should apply to most photo software) and set your rulers up for Millimetres, by right-clicking on the left/top ruler and selecting Millimetres. Then adjust the image to Landscape, and if need be, use the Rotate Canvas function to get the fretboard running as close to horizontal as possible.

Zoom the image in so the screen only shows from around the 12th/13th fret of the guitar, across to the nut. Now use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (a dashed box that you can drag across to make square/rectangular selections, usually top right in the toolbar of brushes and tools). Using the crosshairs, center in exactly on the line of the nut, where the fretboard starts (A) , and note the measurement on your ruler. Then do the same thing directly on the 12th fret (B), and note that.

Using your calculator, subtract (B) from (A). This gives you the distance in the image between the 12th fret and nut (C). All you need to do now is divide your scale length by 2 to give the distance you need between the 12th and the nut (my figure was 323.85), divide that figure by (C) (when I did mine, my C figure was 290), and note down the result (D). This is the factor you need to scale your image up/down by so that the image is 1:1 scale to the real thing, and will print out as such. Go to Image/Image Size, look in the Document Size box and take the Width in MM's. If you multiply that width by the resulting (D) figure, and keep the height/width locked together so they scale together, the image should come out as 1:1.

I used 'PosterPro' after that, which will print out a large image for you on multiple pieces of paper that you can cut and tape/paste together. The other option is getting it printed out at a print shop, which would be ideal, but maybe pricey. One thing to remember is that the image is from front on/top down, so remember the headstock may be slightly angled, and you might need to factor that into the headstock shape you cut.

It's not high tech, but it should be helpful to you guys that want to build a copy of your favourite guitar. Also very handy as it prints out any paint details on the guitar.

Enjoy!