OT DIY Guitar (1 Viewer)

[Brian Fellmeth]

The problem : House is overstocked with speakers but the garage is full of idle woodworking tools and finishing supplies. Spouse/SO would melt down if you show up with another sheet of MDF.
The Solution : What else combines music, woodworking, finishing and electronics ?

Another angle
Body is solid Koa, finished with shellac
Rear view
Body closer
I put some zebrawood veneer on the headstock
There are 2 suppliers if your interested. The above is the Carvin bolt kit :http://carvin.com
This place has a bewildering arrray of high quality parts :
http://warmoth.com

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Good work, Brian! Looks great. My 15-yr old son wants a guitar and amp for his birthday, so I checked the first site, thinking a kit must be the lowest cost electric guitar, BUT, at $350, I'll have to pass and check the music store (or maybe pawn shops )

 

[Ted Kim]

Looks good Solid Koa for the body is an unusual choice. How do you like it versus the more traditional Alder or Swamp Ash?

 

[Dave Poehlman]

That looks awesome, Brian!

If I played guitar, I might consider building one.

 

[jeff lam]

Nice!

I'm currently in process of finishing the headstock on my bass. I bought a carvin neck (I love the ebony fingerboard) and modified my old ibanez. It's nearly all carvin parts except for the body, bridge (allparts), and mounting plate. I love carvin stuff, very nice quality and very affordable.

 

[BryanZ]

They can be very nice. One of my friends is working on a guitar made out of purple heart (headstock, body, and neck - unsure about fretboard). His favorite wood to work with is puduke (or however you spell it). He also custom builds the guitars.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Very nice! I've played Carvins and they're the real deal. That Bolt looks nice for a Strat sound but with a nice flat radius and a 'bucker at the bridge. Can it still do Jimi and Stevie?

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

Hank : The 2-3 fold savings with speaker/sub DIY isn't there for the guitar kit because most of the hard work is already done for you. The Carvin bolt kit is not cheap, but the parts are quite high quality. The other advantage is that you can outfit it any way you want. For your son, take a look at Ebay- hundreds of guitars there.

Ted: I'm not sure what effect the solid Koa has on the sound, but it certainly looks good. The playability and sound are comparable to my $1500 PRS.

Jack: It could probably do Jimi and Stevie but not in my hands.