How to Make Your Own Guitar Kit

Making a guitar kit is a simple process of collecting the necessary parts.

Building a guitar kit is simply a matter of gathering the parts that you think will fit your playing style. A guitar kit is all the pieces required to piece a guitar together, and making your own comes down to a series of choices based on preference. Conventionally, guitarists buy pre-made guitars, but if you feel like there is no guitar that fits your needs, then a custom guitar kit is just what you're looking for. By searching the Internet and your local music stores, you can figure out which parts you want and then you need only find them.

Instructions

1. Select a body type. Thicker bodies produce more bass-heavy sounds but can feel very heavy after continued playing. Many different shapes are available to purchase; most of them are the bodies of already existing popular guitars, such as the Stratocaster.

2. Choose a neck. Thin profile necks are ideal for fast, technical playing, while thicker ones are designed for blues guitar. The number of frets on a neck range from 20 to 24. Most necks are made from either rosewood or maple.

3. Choose tuning knobs. Most brands are very similar in terms of tuning knobs, as the knobs offer no variation of sound. Tuning knobs merely hold the strings at the tension you require.

4. Choose your selector switch. Depending on the body type, this might be a 3-way switch, a 5-way blade or a circular knob with many different settings.

5. Choose your volume and tone control knobs. These all function the same way, so your choice should be based on how you want your guitar to look.

6. Choose your pickups. This decision is probably the most important one you will make, as your choice of pickups significantly affects the potential sound of your guitar. Research your brands and products well before choosing, keeping in mind what sound you are aiming for. High-gain metal brands such as EMG offer pickups that work well with distortion, while Humbuckers are more of a classic sound.

7. Choose your bridge. You can either use a solid bridge, which connects to the guitar and does not move or you can use a floating bridge, known as a "tremolo". Floyd Rose is a popular tremolo brand. Your bridge is the part of the guitar that your strings are fed through, anchoring them in place.

8. Purchase the parts. With your list in mind, search local music stores and the Internet for all of the parts you need to make your guitar kit. You now have a custom guitar kit, ready to be transformed into a working, playable guitar.

References

• Marigny Music Guitar Parts