How to Choose Components For A Homemade Electric Guitar

This article will help you select and measure the components necessary to build an electric guitar.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tape measure
• Digital calipers
• Paper and a pencil

1. 
   Typical tuners

   Purchase 6, sealed geared tuners. Measure the shaft with digital calipers to determine the size hole to drill in the peg head.

2. 
   A bone nut

   Purchase a pre-slotted nut made from either bone or graphite. Measure the width of the nut as well as the overall spacing of the slots from the high e string to the low e string.

3. Visit a guitar store and try out a few guitars to determine what size and style of fret wire you prefer. Purchase either six feet of uncut wire or a package of precut wire.

4. 
   A Pair of Humbuckers

   Choose a pickup configuration. For a bright sounding guitar, select 3 single-coil pickups. For a warmer sounding guitar go with 1 or 2 humbuckers. Check the DC resistance before you buy. The higher the number, the less tonal variation. Bridge pickups need to be a bit more powerful than the neck pickups since the strings don't vibrate as much at the bridge. Measure the width, length, height and mounting arrangement to make sure it will fit your guitar plan. Also be sure the pole spacing matches your string spacing. It helps to draw everything out on a large sheet of paper.

5. 
   A Floyd Rose tremolo bridge

   Choose either a fixed bridge or a tremolo. The choice is a matter of personal preference. Make sure you measure the distance between the high e saddle and the low e saddle. This is necessary to make sure the strings won't drop off the edge of a fretboard that's too narrow.

6. Select the controls. You'll need a pickup selector switch, volume and tone controls, a capacitor and an output jack. Do an internet search for "electric guitar wiring" and choose an appropriate schematic to follow. Purchase the recommended controls and measure their dimensions to make sure they'll fit into your guitar design.

7. Purchase some color coded, 22 gauge, solid core wire to wire up the pickups and controls. Follow the schematic and don't forget to ground everything to the bridge!

8. Select the strings you prefer along with a pair of strap buttons.

9. Choose the wood you want for the body and neck. The body can be made from any good tone wood such as Mahogany (warm, growling sound), Alder (balanced between warm and bright), or Swamp Ash (brighter sounding). The neck should be either quartersawn Mahogany or hard Maple for stiffness.

Tips & Warnings

• Do your homework. Research components to decide what will work best for your style of playing.
• Measure everything carefully to avoid playability problems.
• Try not to skimp on quality. A custom guitar deserves high-end components.