Howdy guys...first post here. In the next year or so I will be finishing my PhD and I plan on buying myself a custom T-Style as a congratulations present. It
looks, frankly, like it doesn't take all that much work to take a USACG neck and body, bolt'em together slap in some electronics and hardware the
nstart playing...am I missing something? I am fundamentally deficient in any sort of wood-working skills but am not afraid of soldering (I've done some
decent work on my tube amp, rewired my Strat etc.). What do you guys think? Can a cautious yet unskileld guy like me take these parts and build a
"custom shop" quality guitar or am I likely to just screw it all up?
0 Kudo
Technical skill required to build a USACG guitar
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 jjkrause84 |
Technical skill required to build a USACG guitar |
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Posts: 1 Thu, Jul 23, 2009 16:04:47 |
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fuzzy beard |
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Posts: 1925 Thu, Jul 23, 2009 18:49:14 Contrib. Gold Charter Member
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Hi jj!
As long as you make sure the nut, neck and bridge are aligned, there are few other pitfalls. USACG will drill all necessary holes for bridge, neck and tuners. When you're ready to go, mount the bridge, clamp the neck to the body and align neck and bridge. Then you drill pilot holes for the neck screws. Recheck the alignment. Be careful not drill through the neck  (that goes for the
tuner mounting screws, too) Making the nut is time consuming. A very common mistake is to make string slots too deep...
That's pretty much it 
Check Frank Fords website for technical help: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html |
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Schneidas |
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Posts: 399 Thu, Jul 23, 2009 20:42:53 Silver Member |
Pardon me for saying this but "fundamentally deficient" doesn't really inspire my confidence
Some soldering skills doesn't guarantee that you won't be messing up a neck or even the body. I would just go with a good & experienced luthier and let him do the important stuff (like installing and slotting the nut, bridge install, aligning neck, pickguard and the major adjustments). If you are to invest serious money into a project it might be wise to invest a couple of $$ more and make sure the guitar is perfect. It will safe you trouble, time and $$ in the longrun. |
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lgbclp |
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Posts: 1300 Thu, Jul 23, 2009 23:11:27 Contributing Palladium Member |
If you're getting both neck and body from USACG, they can drill the mounting holes in the neck for you. Their tolerances are so tight, everything should
align nicely.
The basic assembly is pretty easy. Just take your time and be patient. You'll have to drill pickguard mounting holes, strap button holes, control plate holes, input jack holes (if you don't use the traditional cup) and tuner mounting holes. So make sure you trust yourself to align and drill these. I thought I was reasonably handy with a soldering iron, so I tried wiring mine up and failed miserably, LOL. But I learned a lot and later wired up another guitar from scratch with no problem. I left the nut and bridge/action set up to my tech. And also had him rewire it properly. Building is a learning experience, so give it a shot and if you get stuck on anything just bring it to a trusted tech to finish off.
--Garrett--
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Boris Bubbanov |
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Posts: 181 Fri, Jul 24, 2009 02:51:14 |
Fear can be your ally.
I really like the idea of tearing apart and rebuilding a Squier or two, to get your bearings at what you are expected to do. With no background, you might succeed, or maybe the guitar will be not quite what it otherwise could be. Takes time to accumulate the skill sets; even for people with wood skills, painting experience in other fields, and plenty of guitar seat time. If you deserve instant gratification (sounds like yes to me) you should be buying bespoke custom, or used custom, or used Fender Custom Shop. You deserve the best after all your studies and sacrifice- I can all but guarantee a first try and finish and assembly even though the USACG parts are fantastic, will not be "the best". |
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jjkrause84 |
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Posts: 2 Fri, Jul 24, 2009 11:27:11 |
Boris...are you EVERYWHERE, man? I always appreciate your opinions, you're a man who knows his stuff
I was under the impression that USACG drilled all the relevant holes and then all I did was literally screw everything in. I was sure they'd do the tuner holes, for instance. I am by no means against having someone else do the hard work (in fact, I'd rather it be done that way) but the luthier I first spoke to wanted in excess of $1,000. I can't afford that and don't know if I'd pay it even if I could. I'll ask my local tech if he'd do the job. I would one day like to learn to build guitars...but not really right now and not with the quality parts I want for this particular guitar. I'll buy a cheapy Tele build for that day. Thanks for your input guys. |
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Boris Bubbanov |
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Posts: 182 Fri, Jul 24, 2009 15:09:02 |
jjkrause84 wrote:I'm here trying to learn all I can. I apologize. I tried to read your post carefully, and what I gathered is, this undertaking is real different from anything you have ever attempted, so I threw the caution in there. My Dad's dad was a businessman who never changed a lightbulb in his life - simply no way he could've done a guitar. My Mom's dad was always fixing something, upholstering a chair or building a second bath into a house, and so I he decided to do a guitar, he'd do it well. I'm reading you as more like the first man than the second. But I could be quite wrong. I admit it, there's an element of contradiction in my suggestions. When someone has done a few partscasters and it is time for the real deal, then I strongly recommend the USACG components. How much acumen, how much experience is enough for assembler X to get a great result? - in a way I'm only guessing. But there's definitely a gulf between what (fill in the name of the heralded custom builder who uses USACG parts as standard practice) and the ones I finish and assemble, having completed only 20 or so. And there's maybe a big gulf between the result I get (I suspect) and the first timer. There's a lot more to building a guitar than having all the best possible parts before you. Some of the guys get all the pieces they believe they will need, then turn them over to an experienced or gifted guy for certain aspects of completion. Or, do what many do; snoop around and find out confidentially, which builder uses USACG parts and order a guitar from them. |
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jjkrause84 |
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Posts: 3 Fri, Jul 24, 2009 16:11:06 |
Boris Bubbanov wrote: Boris, would you be willing to elaborate on just what (or why) your guitars wouldn't quite live up to one made by a luthier with the same parts? The finish will be done by USACG so I'm curious on the assembly side from your perspective (as you've done this before) |
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Boris Bubbanov |
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Posts: 183 Fri, Jul 24, 2009 23:26:00 |
I think that reviewing one of Ron Kirn's build tutorials might give you some neat insight into all the procedures, etc., and of course Ron can only convey
a small portion of what is going on.
Amazing stuff. www.ronkirn.com |
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lgbclp |
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Posts: 1302 Fri, Jul 24, 2009 23:42:56 Contributing Palladium Member |
USACG drill the holes through the headstock for the tuner shafts, but you'll be responsible for aligning the tuners and drilling any mounting holes. Plus,
if you're using Kluson style tuners, you'll need to install the bushings on the front of the neck, which can take a little finesse. My first attempt at
it was not so smooth.
I almost forgot for a Tele you'll have to install the string ferrules as well, which I hear can be a little tricky, but I haven't done a Tele yet.
--Garrett--
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AnthonyEMan7 |
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Posts: 805 Sun, Jul 26, 2009 21:15:12 Contributing Silver Member |
I say go for it!!
A couple of things: 1) Make sure you have all of the drill bits for the miscellanous parts - tuner mounting screws, jack screws, pickguard mounting holes, etc. 2) Make sure you have a #1 and a #2 phillips head and a set of the small screwdrivers. 3) Make sure you have beeswax or soap for all of the screws - believe me this is a must. 4) You can buy re-slotted graphite nuts. Slotting a nut is not extremely difficult, though. I use Norman's Nut files which are just serrated feeler gauges. 5) Get a few small c-clamps for the neck mounting. Use blocks of wood to protect the guitar and neck. 6) Get towels or old t-shirts to protect the finish. Bottom line; you will have time to read and study (or find a more reasonable luthier) while you are waiting for parts. Don't be in a hurry and don't do anything irreversible without checking and re-checking. Any slight errors while be offset by the satisfaction that you set up the guitar for you. I couldn't cut a straight line five years ago, and now build my own guitars. |
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BOSS302BASS |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 2 Sun, Jul 26, 2009 22:03:31 |
+1 on the E-Man, JI! You've just done a PhD...I chuck bags for a living and I just built a relic Bass VI from USACG parts and everyone who's touched it
thinks it's a genuine 1963...as well as half a dozen P basses and Jazz Basses and strats...
The fun you have is extremely satisfying when you're finally playing your own hand-assembled and painted axe. Even painting with nitro is easy via the rattle-can route...people like Re-Ranch offer everything you need for a nitro finish in a spray-can. And like one of the other guys said, just mark all the relevant depths on your drillbits when doing tuner and neckscrew holes, make sure your clear undercoat(fullerplast) is sanded flat to 800 grit wetndry before applying undercoat and color, and seal your neck with clear nitro before you start tinting it with vintage amber, and you will pull it off. Pre-slotted nuts make it real easy, and setting up a guitar is all over Youtube. Fender wiring diagrams are on the Fender website, and if you want to reshape your USACG headstock to F specs, well that's not hard either, that can usually be done with a good eye, a pencil line and 80grit sandpaper wrapped around a rat-tail file... |
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jjkrause84 |
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Posts: 4 Tue, Jul 28, 2009 11:47:34 |
BOSS302BASS wrote: This post terrified me! The post above didn't help either....I feel like you're talking Greek! Besides, my guess is that chucking bags probably puts you in a better place to start uilding guitars than reading this stuff all day: 
In any case I decided just to mod an existing Tele. The cost will come out about the same and with the exception of putting on a Bigsby B5 I can very comfortably do everything else I want done to it. The pros are: I don't have to sweat and worry over my gift to myself like I've sweated and worried over the past three years writing/researching....I can comfortably use an "f" logo Bigsby and it'll look stellar on a "real" Fender guitar.....if things ever go belly-up I can sell a US Tele, even with the fiarly minor mods I'm making, pretty easy....I couldn't do that to a USACG. Thanks for all your input guys! |
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Copperhead |
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Posts: 23 Sat, Aug 8, 2009 15:23:52 |
Where are you located? If you can manage the finish, I use a very excellent luthier in the Phoenix area. Assembly and wiring of your stuff, you are looking at
about $300. This will include the fret dress and setup. Make sure you provide all the parts and screws.
Tru-Oil is an excellent finish that is easy to work with. With a little common sense and care you can do it. |
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jjkrause84 |
eg | #14 | ||
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Posts: 5 Mon, Aug 10, 2009 14:49:31 |
Hey, man...thanks for the offer but I've decided to just mod an existing Tele since the only specs I really wanted to change was having a bucker in the
neck and a Bigsby.
I appreciate all the info you guys have provided....I may be back one day! |
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Ed Storer |
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Posts: 2 Wed, Sep 30, 2009 18:11:40 |
If you do decide to try building, I suggest starting with a Saga kit. They come in S- T- and LP styles. Cost for the whole thing is about 1/3 the cost of a
really good neck and the nut is already there and cut for you.
The process is about the same, even if the quality is not. You can then upgrade parts. I have a strat that started as a Saga S-Type. It now has a Warmoth neck (bought used), S-D mini buckers (bought used), Gotoh tuners. I think the body is Poplar, it is a very dark sounding guitar and I now have so many other better guitars that it never sees the light of day. Nonetheless, I did have fun building it and I may upgrade the body and bridge one of these days to see if I can't wind up with a really great Partscaster. On the other hand, see my thread "Pinup Guitars" and see how high the bar is set. |
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