A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Own Homemade Guitar is an entertaining and instructive article that makes building custom musical instruments accessible and exciting. Ben Stone includes numerous detailed diagrams and tips to facilitate this process.
Gathering Materials for Your Homemade Masterpiece
Building guitars requires choosing materials carefully; their choice can have a dramatic impact on its tone and feel, prompting many people to carefully search out suitable wood for the body - sometimes debating whether maple or mahogany makes for the better sound!
As long as you have some household materials on hand, you can build your guitar using them! This tutorial shows how to craft an interactive working guitar and sculpture using common items found around your home such as an empty cereal box and paper towel tube - making this project suitable for children as well as adults looking to turn household scraps and leftovers into works of art!
As your first step in building your guitar, the body should be the first priority. All that's necessary for this step is an empty cereal box (we used one!) as well as some paint or markers - you have several options when it comes to painting the box: you could leave it bare or cover it completely with paint (we chose yellow acrylic for an upbeat appearance).
Once the paint is dry, you can begin working on the neck. Cut a small piece of cardboard slightly longer than your paper towel tube to act as the neck and ensure it fits securely in place. We also painted our cardboard before poking four holes in the top of our guitar body which will later serve as strings.
Once ready to assemble, place the neck tube in the hole you drilled at the top of the guitar box. To do this, hold it against one of the sides near the large hole and trace around it using a pencil or pen before using a box cutter to cut out this circle to form your sound hole.
To complete the neck, hot glue a longer cardboard rectangle to the back of the guitar body just above its sound hole and poke four pieces of twine through its holes to form strings for your homemade guitar. When completed, tie knots around them to secure them - your homemade instrument is now ready!
Woodworking Wonders: Shaping Your Custom Guitar
Once you've outlined a detailed plan and secured all the required tools, it's time to start shaping your guitar. LoveToKnow offers an excellent guide that can provide further assistance; in essence, you should cut out your body according to the plans provided and ensure there is space available for a truss rod (if making one).
After you have your homemade guitar assembled, the next step should be painting its body. Use either a spray can or paint brush, applying multiple coats of paint until each has dried before applying another. For an artistic touch, try swirling techniques for added visual interest on your homemade guitar!
Once your guitar has been painted and dried, add a bridge and strap. Additionally, decorate it using markers or colored stickers for an individual touch - then it's time to rock out!
Kids of all ages will love getting involved with this project, too! They'll love designing and creating their own musical instrument out of everyday items - you could even encourage them to compose songs of their own and form bands!
The beginning is easy. Simply take an empty tissue box, locate and pull out the clear plastic piece from its hole, ideally pulling out by pulling or cutting with scissors if necessary. Draw lines of glue above and below each hole then press popsicle sticks down on each one; allow this glue to dry completely before proceeding further.
Once your neck is complete, use the same process for creating its headstock. Sand your neck down for a smooth finish and shape it according to your desired preference before adding frets for an authentic sound and professional appearance.
Once your guitar has arrived, the next step should be assembling it. There are two approaches available to you when it comes to assembly - bolting together neck and body as in Fender or laminating like Gibson does. Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages so it is wise to do your research prior to beginning construction of your masterpiece.
Stringing It Together: Fretting and Tuning Tips
To play guitar in tune, it's essential that your instrument can stay in tune. Even if your strings are perfectly intoned (all strings in equal places), even with no sharp or flat spots on it, they may still go out of tune when using chords that feature both open and fretted strings further up the neck. To prevent this, always check and make sure that the tuning is correct prior to starting to play.
When tuning a guitar, try matching its open string pitch to that of an outside reference note such as piano music or your voice for optimal results. A tuning fork may also provide helpful reference pitches; these can often be found at music stores and are easy to use - though beware they might not always provide 100% accurate readings!
Harmonics offers another method for tuning guitars. To do this, touch each string above a specific fret with your finger without pressing down and create an overtone that helps determine if they're flat or sharp - starting off by touching the first string at the 7th fret harmonic and checking for flat notes if this method doesn't work for you. Adjust any necessary string adjustments until they come into tune!
An electronic guitar tuner is an indispensable tool for keeping your instrument in tune as you play, providing confidence that tuning on the fly or during performance will go smoothly. A quality tuner will inform you if a string is in or out of tune - an invaluable aid when trying to solve intonation issues.
The fretting hand technique can play a crucial role in maintaining tuneful playing, so it is vitally important that you practice finger placement and fretting method until you achieve optimal results. Open chord practice is also beneficial in making sure that your fingers feel relaxed when playing songs on fretboards.
Finishing Touches for Optimal Sound and Style
Building a custom guitar requires many details to consider. For instance, the number and placement of pickups have an immediate impact on its tone and quality. Fret size also has an effect - lower frets may be harder to bend while higher ones offer easier playability. Finally, your choice of wood type and type of nut may alter its overall sound as well.
Your guitar body requires you to select its color. This can be accomplished with either a brush or spray paint; if using spray paint, ensure all areas will not be painted with a garbage bag before spraying to avoid unwanted over-spray or unnecessary sanding of unwanted areas. Spray painting requires several coats before the body looks smooth enough, so be prepared for rough spots between coats as you sand between applications as well.
Another option for creating your own body blank is using a 3/4" thick piece of Birch plywood, available as 4' by 2' boards that can be bought for under $10. Simply cut two rectangular pieces that accommodate your design from this plywood and glue them together using wood glue before sanding down its surface and applying several coats of clear lacquer for protection.
Once your neck has been formed and its holes pre-rout for wiring, you can attach it to the body firmly and carefully. If using a clamp to do this, be sure to put something between it and the body to avoid leaving any indentions in its path.
Sand the fretboard down and prepare it for fret wire installation, an essential step in building a guitar. For optimal results, start with medium to high-grit paper to ensure an ideal surface on which to place frets. Once this step has been completed, frets can be installed.
At the conclusion of your guitar assembly process, one last thing to keep in mind is its sound and feel. Test it regularly to ensure it remains in tune and boasts an appealing tone before stringing it up and starting to play! When your creation has passed this final test, take pride in enjoying playing it as soon as it dries!