What guitar could you buy for the price of the bits to build a guitar

usedtobe

I like the idea that there's a bit of me in the ones I put together, and that's what makes it worth the extra.. ymmv

WezV

usedtobe said:

I like the idea that there's a bit of me in the ones I put together, and that's what makes it worth the extra.. ymmv

like this

entee

I had a Gretsch BillyBo made (see other thread on here) for my 50th.  I sourced all the parts, designed the artwork for it etc - put it together myself and then sent it away for painting.  It cost me thick end of £1500.  To get it made to same spec I reckon closer to £2500...BUT it is MY guitar, to my specs.  If you want a high end guitar, you pay high end prices - to get a unique guitar, sometimes it is better to build it yourself 

FX_Munkee

I made a Cabronita Tele when you could only buy them from the custom shop. Complete with Fender parts it still saved me quite a lot of money.
Then they released the MIM Cabronita so I decided mine had more mojo*

*mojo is always greater than the cost of my build minus the price of the factory produced model.

WezV

FX_Munkee said:

I made a Cabronita Tele when you could only buy them from the custom shop. Complete with Fender parts it still saved me quite a lot of money.
Then they released the MIM Cabronita so I decided mine had more mojo*

*mojo is always greater than the cost of my build minus the price of the factory produced model.

It's a good example. Fender kinda bought that on themselves. It's a really simple design with a choice between a £3k custom shop... or a really simple DIY project.

that led to a hell of a lot of DIY cabs before they released the MIM a few years later.  I am responsible for 2.

Funkfingers

WezV said:

FX_Munkee said:

I made a Cabronita Tele

Fender kinda bought that on themselves. It's a really simple design with a choice between a £3k custom shop... or a really simple DIY project.that led to a hell of a lot of DIY cabs before they released the MIM a few years later. 

Warmoth and other parts manufacturers did not need much encouragement to jump onto that particular band wagon.

Megii

I've built a few partscasters - for example, this s-type with 2-piece walnut body and custom hand-wound pickups:



All the parts are good stuff, everything is exactly the specs I preferred, and it's very well put together, with a lot of care and attention, if I do say so myself. I honestly think it could happily stand comparison to guitars costing a grand or more. It cost around £500 in parts, plus all the time I put into the project over a few months. I doubt I could sell it for much more than £300. So I think you can build yourself a guitar that in playing/spec terms is great value, but then the resale value doesn't reflect that - this is just how it is.

sawyer

That's a beauty mate! Like that a lot! This is where the value is. Just the pleasure of building something to call your own creation.

Megii

sawyer said:

That's a beauty mate! Like that a lot! This is where the value is. Just the pleasure of building something to call your own creation.

Cheers @sawyer - of course you're right, it's the pleasure of doing something that's your own, and getting it just how you want it - financial considerations aren't always everything.

usedtobe

WezV said:

usedtobe said:

I like the idea that there's a bit of me in the ones I put together, and that's what makes it worth the extra.. ymmv

like this

I did once end up in a&e after hacking into my wrist with a Stanley knife, and bleeding all over the body I was whittling! I try not to put quite that much of me into guitars, these days, though.

marantz1300

i have a strat partscaster.
Warmoth body.Bare knuckle Trilogy's, split post Klusons , Callaham bridge, WD "V" profile neck, CTS pots abs Fender 5 way switch.

All second hand parts, about  £500.

So about MIM strat price.

[IMG]http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii98/marantz1300/P1030224_zpsqkktjbkz.jpg[/IMG]

olafgarten

If you want to save a bit, it's usually worth buying someone else's Partscaster and modding it.