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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Building My Own Axe
Posted by: Mrblomme May 10 2009, 08:33 PM
Well I have an old axe here (a quite cheap one) but I dont play on it anymore because the sound aint that good.
But now I got the idea to change it, it's a standard fender strat type guitar a Volcano. I would delete everything and start again from the body and neck.
I want to brush the body, buy another pickguard, picks, bridge, tremelo, tune things etc etc ...
The whole project will take a long time because I only work sometimes and dont have that much money left but who cares, I dont play that guitar at the moment! Doesnt care me if it takes 1-2 years.
Does anyone have experience with this, is it difficult, tricky...?
And is it good to re use the body and neck because it's from a cheap guitar but if I have to buy a new neck and body I can better buy a whole new guitar instead. 
I just want to re use my old guitar because it was my first one and that's quite special for me and there has to be SOMETHING that reminds me back of it.
So I hope you guys understand a bit of my talking here! 
Posted by: djohnneay May 10 2009, 08:51 PM
Sounds like nostalgy
Cool man, go for it ! I think you can use the old neck and the body if they are in good shape, and you're right about buying a new guitar if you got to get new ones of those, but that new guitar wouldn't be custom !
It sounds like a lot of work though, but if you have the time, I would say go for it !
Posted by: Frederik May 10 2009, 08:55 PM
I woudnt do it, a LOT of playability and sound (which u disliked) comes from neck and body. so u are better of starting form scratch or buying a new guitar IMO
-Frederik
Posted by: berko May 10 2009, 09:00 PM
I have absolutely no experience in building guitars but I'd say go for it!
If it's a strat-type guitar then you're lucky because that's the one you can get loads of separate parts for. You can maybe readjust the neck to be sure about it, but other than that it's totally up to you what you'll do with the whole project. I'm sure some more experienced members will help you out...
And keep us updated
Posted by: Mrblomme May 10 2009, 09:00 PM
-Frederik
I like how it plays, but I dont like the sound so If I change pickups it will change a lot.
Posted by: wrk May 10 2009, 09:11 PM
Why you don't customize it step by step? .. change pickups, tuners, bridge, pots and switch, ... replace something whenever you have some money left.
I would not start with body finish or pickguard or other visual stuff. This you still can do when the guitar develops to your liking.
If you don't like the neck, try to reshape it a bit (backside). It's a good opportunity to find the perfect neck shape for you. Do it slowly and test it regular ...
Posted by: Mrblomme May 10 2009, 09:13 PM
I would not start with body finish or pickguard or other visual stuff. This you still can do when the guitar develops to your liking.
If you don't like the neck, try to reshape it a bit (backside). It's a good opportunity to find the perfect neck shape for you. Do it slowly and test it regular ...
Hmmmz maybe not a bad idea, but I surely want to adjust the body finish and pickguard stuff first.
(I know I'm a difficult one maybe ).But it's good to do it step by step indeed.
Posted by: Mrblomme May 10 2009, 10:33 PM
... forget the things I've typed here
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 10 2009, 11:39 PM
Well, since it is a cheapo guitar, I would possibly advise to put cheapo hardware on it. I think you will gain a lot of useful guitar experience with this project, and using cheap components will be the same as using hi grade ones in obtaining that experience. Just put it apart first and go from there, clean it, brush it, then see about the parts, what you wanna do etc.
Posted by: Mrblomme May 10 2009, 11:58 PM
Hi Ivan, long time ago!
Ye maybe you're right but I want to get it good ... no cheap stuff but real fender pickups etc... Not good?
Posted by: Mrblomme May 11 2009, 09:12 AM
I was wondering this night if its smart to rebuild my old guitar. My main goal is to put all fender stuff on it with custom pickups. Isnt it better to buy a standart fender stratocaster and put some custom pickups in it?
It will be a little more expensive but much better quality...
Posted by: wrk May 11 2009, 09:31 AM
Yes, it can be cheaper to buy a new/used guitar which has already most of the spects you are looking for and customize the rest after.
Concerning the guitar you have already, you should ask yourself what you like on this one and if it's worth it for you to invest more money on it. I mean, if you plan to replace everything and just want to keep the body and the neck makes only sense if these two parts feels perfectly comfortable for you or it's good quality wood to be a basic of your project ...
I would suggest, go hunting for replacement parts. You will get an idea what this will cost you and then you can evaluate which direction to go.
Posted by: Mrblomme May 11 2009, 09:46 AM
Concerning the guitar you have already, you should ask yourself what you like on this one and if it's worth it for you to invest more money on it. I mean, if you plan to replace everything and just want to keep the body and the neck makes only sense if these two parts feels perfectly comfortable for you or it's good quality wood to be a basic of your project ...
I would suggest, go hunting for replacement parts. You will get an idea what this will cost you and then you can evaluate which direction to go.
Nop I dont like the neck and body that much so would be stupid to re use them I suppose.
Maybe I just better buy me a stratocaster and add some better pickups...
But I was wondering: the low budget fenders (no squire) are they good?
Because there are fenders from 400 - .....
Posted by: wrk May 11 2009, 10:00 AM
Maybe I just better buy me a stratocaster and add some better pickups...
But I was wondering: the low budget fenders (no squire) are they good?
Because there are fenders from 400 - .....
Overall these are good guitars, but you should play them first of course. Problem is, good deals are often found online and to test them is not possible all the time. At least go to shops and test as much strats you can to get an idea about the differences.
A while back i planed to buy a highway strat as a basic for a custom strat, but thats my own approach .. i guess not everybody will agree on that with me.
You will find a lot of informations about fender strats here in the forum. Ivan wrote once a nice resume about the different models. I can not find the topic by now.
Posted by: Mrblomme May 11 2009, 11:41 AM
A while back i planed to buy a highway strat as a basic for a custom strat, but thats my own approach .. i guess not everybody will agree on that with me.
You will find a lot of informations about fender strats here in the forum. Ivan wrote once a nice resume about the different models. I can not find the topic by now.
Ok great idea, I'll give it a try. Will be the best solution I guess.
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