How to Build Your Own SG400 Gibson Guitar
The Gibson SG is an iconic guitar, made famous by players like Angus Young and Eric Clapton. Gibson's heritage and popularity is due to the high build quality and great tone of their guitars. However, the SG's asking price of $1998, as of August 2010, puts its out of the range of most guitar enthusiasts. The SG400 is a modern variety of the original SG. Making your own Gibson SG400 is a cost-effective way of owning a truly beautiful, great sounding guitar. Constructed correctly, your homemade Gibson SG400 should prove to be a great sounding hard rock guitar characterized by long sustain and low fretboard action for fast playing.
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Things You'll Need
- Guitar body
- Guitar neck
- Humbucker pick ups
- Bridge
- Tuning keys
- Dials
- Wires
- Jig saw
- Wood file
- Soldering iron
- Polyvinyl acetate
- Guitar paint
- Set of guitar strings
Instructions
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Gather the necessary parts. You can do this by salvaging old parts from broken guitars or you can start from scratch using a guitar template (see Resources).
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Set up a suitable workshop. Make sure it is well lit and ventilated with adequate power sources.
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3
Prepare the guitar body. If you're starting from scratch, you'll need to trace the template onto your wood and then cut out the body shape by using a jig saw. If you're using salvaged parts, clean up the body and check it for cracks before fixing the hardware.
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4
Prepare the guitar's neck. The quality, fit and angle of the neck has a huge influence on the playability of a guitar, so it's essential to get this part right. If you're using a template, take care to cut the wood accurately. If you're salvaging your parts, make sure that the neck is free from blemishes, uneven finish and cracks.
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5
Measure up your parts. Your pick ups, bridge, tuning keys and volume pots must fit perfectly. If you're using a salvaged body, it's likely that the sockets and cavities for the various parts will already be the perfect fit. If you're starting from scratch, cut the cavities and sockets to the your own measurements with a jig saw and finish with a wood file.
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6
Paint the body of the guitar. It's easier to get a good finish on the body by painting it before you've finished the construction. Gibson SG guitars come in two colors, cherry red or black. Cherry red is the most popular color. Allow the paint to dry over night and apply a gloss varnish in the morning.
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Fix the neck to the body. The Gibson SG400 traditionally has a glued-on neck. Use a high quality polyvinyl acetate to fix the neck to the body. Once you've glued the neck in place, clamp it tightly and leave it for at least three hours so that the glue sets in the correct position.
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Install the bridge by screwing it into the guitar body. Ensure that it is perfectly lined up with the neck so that the strings run in a straight line. The SG guitars are famous for their low action (the distance between the strings and fretboard). So make sure the bridge is set correctly.
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9
Install the electrical components. You'll need to solder the wires so that the pick ups, volume and tone dials, and the input socket form a complete circuit. If you're unsure how to do this, consult a schematic (see Resources).
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10
Put on a brand new set of strings and then plug your guitar in to test it.
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Tips & Warnings
Practice carving out your guitar body using scrap wood.
Practice soldering on scrap metal.
Always solder in a well ventilated area.
Don't use any parts that are cracked or warped.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit rock guitar player illustration image by Slobodan Djajic from Fotolia.com
