Hi all
I feel I should learn more about the technical side of guitar - how setting up works, basic repairs etc and wondered what people thought of what I think are the options for someone on a budget like me.
I am keen to try out a tele type guitar.
I know you can get kit guitars from places like StewMac which I get the impression would give me a good grounding in assembly.
I am also looking at Bullet Teles which seem to be about the same price new which, while being fully assembled, could present a good opportunity to upgrade parts and rectify some manufacturing issues. The attraction of this is that, providing I don't ruin it, I could return it to original spec and sell on if I wanted to upgrade in future.
Finally there's the second-hand route. To be honest I've not seen a second hand guitar on ebay etc that is priced keenly enough. Everyone seems to want close to full price for used Bullet and Affinity guitars.
I can solder and have all the kit for that, as well as the usual screwdrivers etc, but I don't have any guitar specific files, so I know this would have to be factored in too.
Hope that makes sense... over to you
Martin
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I do have a soft spot for kits though, although i accept it may make more sense to go down the partscaster route after the modding stage, as most end up changing most parts on a kit.
Start by modding an existing guitar, even if its just taking it apart, putting it back together and making it play as good as you can. (learning how to do a fretdress is far more valuable than learning how to change a pickup at this point)
Then try assembling a kit or partscaster.... Then build one from planks of wood.
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One issue for many is the cost and need of say specific top nut files, fret files etc - For many they will only use them once or twice
There's a guy called Philip Knight on YouTube that I find produces clear and helpful videos. Of course the challenge is translating the videos of an expert into good results yourself
I have yet to find a suitable cheap alternative to proper nut slotting files that can give proper results, but you don't need a full set, just a few to get going.
You can get great results on frets with very few "proper" fret tools, as long as the neck is in a reasonable state to begin with. Again, its a good reason to start with an existing guitar that's close to playable
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Nut files, for instance, appear to either be very expensive or suspiciously cheap depending on where you look.
For example just this morning I was fitting a bridge humbucker to a customer's Fender Strat - he'd bought an aftermarket pickguard cut for one, but firstly the pickup wouldn't quite go through the hole in the guard because the pickup is covered and so slightly larger than a normal open-coil humbucker, and secondly the pickup did not quite line up with the body cavity even though it's routed for a humbucker - so I had to file the hole in the guard larger, and skim about 1mm off the cavity wall on one side with a router. Plus the pickup height screws were too long for the depth of the body rout so I had to cut them down.
Without experience to spot and solve problems like that the easiest way and the right tools do do it neatly, it can be challenging to make a good job of assembling a kit, or even modding a guitar. But if you're willing to learn on the job and have some basic skills with tools, it's possible to make it work.... just expect it to take five times as long as you think it will . And if you start with a cheap Strat-type guitar, it's hard to ruin anything too expensive.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Why do you need files for the basics? You'd be better off going on a course to learn about working on frets and nuts, that's proper craftsmanship.
But before that learn about setting up a guitar, that at least will teach you the mechanics. Plenty of books and youtube vids available on what's involved.
I cant afford to go on a course and while I can do the electronics I'd like to be able to do a few other jobs too. I have no grand plans of becoming a luthier, I just want to be a little bit more capable. Setting up, as you say, will be part of it.
Donkeys years ago in my SRV days I bought big ass frets and went at it on my Strat, bought the tools blah blah.
Finally a friend rescued me and introduced me to someone who actually knew about fretwork who cleaned up the mess and turned a car crash into a great thing (Bass Gallery in London if they're still about).
There's so much involved.
A kit seemed like a cheap way to go about it via another route, but it seems to be both cheap and littered with problems! I think I'd rather avoid owning a badly put together no name plank
What you choose to do depends a lot on what you want to achieve longer-term.
Starting with a kit will be a steeper learning curve because you’ll probably encounter more issues with fit and component quality that will need sorting. But once you’ve dealt with those, you’ll have learned a lot of skills that would help in future if you had any vague thoughts about building your own.
Starting with something new might be disappointing in that many (not all!) new guitars are pretty playable straight out of the box, so limited need / benefit from using those as a starting point for set-ups. You might do more harm than good.
So, s/h. But again, you don’t want something loved that’s been looked after (and set-up decently!).
Car boots? Something sold as an honest project? But keep in mind that not all faults can be easily fixed with a set-up. If the neck is warped ... if the bridge is in the wrong place ... if .... if ... (etc).
Tools ...
A soldering iron is all you really need for most of the electrics, Nothing too hard.
Assuming that you’ve no interest (atm) in refinishing, that really leaves playability.
- Get the neck straight.
- Make sure frets are level, crowned, properly seated and no rough ends.
- Get the nut slots cut correctly.
- Make sure it’s intonated properly.
For that lot you need a proper straight edge, fret files, nut files, and a decent tuner. I spent a lot of money buying Stewmac’s kit a good few years ago. They all still work fine, and have done many jobs, so cost per job isn’t quite so bad.If you really think you’ll only use them once or twice, then that’ll be an expensive approach, and you’d do better (IMHO) by spending some money on a course of some kind.
The general thinking seemed to be the base guitars were rather good.
I've still got mine- it started as a TE52. I modded quite a lot & everything I bought fit just fine. It's been my main guitar for several years & I doubt I'd ever part with it.