The general idea I have for my final projects to build an electric guitar from scratch. I thought to purchase a kit guitar (package incl. body, neck, and hardware) and put that together, however that process would take perhaps two weeks at most – hardly a final project. So then I thought bigger, why not build an entire guitar?
I have been watching a lot of luthiers videos online and seeing the creativity and the ingenuity of those people inspired me greatly, and I would love nothing more than to take on a project of my own and be the very proud owner of a fully-custom electric guitar.
I have researched woods in good detail, with a view to purchase ash or alder as main options for the body, however if I can source a similar type of wood within the same price range, I may opt for that instead. I am favouring maple for the neck and headstock, however I am open to change depending on what other tone woods I can source. Lastly, for the fretboard, I will be using Richlite – a renewable material which consists of many layers of paper composited together. Richlite also is incredibly durable and low-maintenance, requiring almost no upkeep, which keeps costs down in the long run.
Alongside the YouTube creators, I have a design inspiration in Prince. Prince is an iconic artist and, for me, a personal hero; his music and his attention to visual aesthetics really speaks to me and so I shall look to him for ideas regarding the guitar’s design.
Obviously, this means purple will play a role in the end product. I plan on painting the guitar body, neck, and headstock in purple (I am undecided on adding glitter to the paint); the fretboard will be black, as Richlite can be purchased in black, this means it requires no painting, finishing, or dyeing. Gold hardware will be used on my build, as the colour was favoured by Prince and works wonderfully with the purple and black already mentioned on the design. I am currently in workshopping the larger shape of the body and headstock, so I am as yet undecided. I recognise this is a crucial part of the design that needs great consideration so I am exploring all my options before coming to a final decision. This will have to be relatively soon, though, as the shaping of the wood blanks will be one of the first processes undertaken.
In terms of budget – which is a great consideration of mine – I am looking to achieve all of this for under £250, with the bulk of the costs coming from the wood blanks and the pickups. This is the cost of a lower-midrange electric guitar, except it will hold much higher value to me than any shop-bought instrument as I will have worked so hard on it.
I have been granted access to the facilities here at college and the workshop will act as my base of operations. I will be working diligently under the supervision of Tony, who has very kindly agreed to host me in the workshop and assist in my project where needed. Tools, machinery, and other such equipment will see use on my build and so Tony will teach me how to safely and effectively use what’s required, ensuring no harm comes to us or the guitar.
As for presentation, I intend on filming the process and uploading it to YouTube as a way of documenting my work in a nice package, saving time on written work, as I’ll evaluate my work and explain my processes within the videos. This will lead into how I present my work at the final showcase, I aim to put together either a PowerPoint presentation or a YouTube video which can be played back.
Reflections
As firm a belief I have in this project, over the course of my first presentation I did lose a little confidence due to feeling like I failed to consider and explain many things. I certainly have a lot to consider (and even more learning) if I am to be successful in this project, so I will take onboard the criticisms and suggestions to improve the strength of my plan.
In terms of organisation, I would say I am behind. As was raised by Nic, there are many aspects of my project that haven’t been given adequate thought, so I will ensure that those aspects are given attention prior to presenting my proposal. Such things include: learning woodworking skills, performing a risk assessment, acquisition of materials, along with a good deal more. There are many processes (e.g. finishing/painting wood) which I haven’t done quite enough research on, and these are all things I will have to research in order to estimate how long each will take, thus allowing me to create a reasonably accurate timetable – a necessary resource when undertaking such a time-intensive project.
One thing I failed to mention was how I would prepare and mitigate things going wrong or not how as expected; or even react to them. For example, should the neck blank break, I haven’t considered what would be my next move which is an issue. I will have to look at what my options are, whether I could practice on other woods to mitigate problems arising, whether I could afford another blank or even have the time to wait for another to come in. I had considered what would happen if I ran out of time, essentially, and didn’t finish the guitar but I forgot to mention that within the presentation.
With regards to my budget, I need a far more accurate breakdown of budget and my access to woodworking facilities. As of right now, I am not certain on when exactly I would be able to access the workshop, which is one of the most important things to find out. As for the budget, I need to spend a lot of time figuring it all out as this is a project which has the potential to fly away from me if I don’t remain in control.
Finally: time management. The only way I am able to complete this project is if I manage my time extremely efficiently and intelligently. There is a vast amount of work to be done in what’s a relatively short timeframe. Managing my workload and allocating exact time slots will help me achieve my goals and avoid a subpar outcome. This is an area which will require a great deal of my focus in pre-production, creating a comprehensive schedule to follow, which should give me the best possible chance succeeding.