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Let's start with using a Telecaster as a simple build.
I'm currently have around £300 in my GAS fund and I am flirting with the idea of buying a good body and neck and piece by piece building my own.
Financially which do you feel offers more bang for buck - building your own from pre-cut parts etc. or purchasing second-hand and maybe upgrading?
Do the guys on here that put together their own do it solely for the enjoyment, challenge and having something unique or do you feel you are getting a greater instrument for the financial outlay?
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Comments
If you can grab a bargain body on ebay (the guitar build ones are excellent) and budget for a decent neck, pickups and hardware, DIY is hard to beat. As long as 1. You budget for a pro setup and 2. You are happy with your own finishing skills. I use tru oil on mine and they are all very nice but basic. I like the stripped down feel and aesthetics but some might not.
Resale value won't be as good, but for £300 you can get a very nice guitar. Just don't get into the trap of it never being quite finished and tinkering endlessly.....
That obviously ignores the enjoyment / learning of building your own.
Another option is to buy somebody else's home build used - you'll get the parts cheaper and can always re-assemble it!
If you want a quality tele for 300, scour the classifieds.
£300 would probably pay for those bits to be relic'd by MJT or the same to have someone finish them.
£60 if you go the wudtone route.
Then there's the hardware (nut, tuners, bridge, control plate, jack, knobs, switch, scratchplate) say £80
(if you opted for relic'ing buy the bits in the US and have them shipped to MJT to match the rest of the guitar another £130)
Then pickups - a good set is going to cost £120 or there abouts.
Assemble and tweek, retweek, question some of your choices... etc.
If you buy a cheaper neck than musikraft or USACG it will need a fret finishing - for that reason I'd say it's a false economy.
I've made one guitar this way and am making another at present - I probably wouldn't if they made the guitars I want in left handed.
I've also modded lots of guitars and that's deeply satisfying as you can record and to an extent compare.
I had a Mexican Midnight Wine Tele - I tricked out to be reminiscent of a 60s coupe, very blingy - mexican teles have the right sized bridge spacing to drop in the vintage US ashtray bridge.
I had an 90's MIJ 62 Reissue Tele - I picked up for £260 and nurtured - sold eventually to fund the MJT .. in part, it's costs spiralled, the current build has gone over budget despite USACG doing a great deal and Wudtone giving me the finish I imagined at a price point I would never have expected - in fact I've been more adventurous in what I wanted to do because I found it really good to work with.
Making is a real mare - finding space, storing spares, waiting for parts, ponying up for import duties, reordering parts that don't match - getting beautiful parts then stuffing up the build some how... I might be a bodger but it happens a fair bit.
I reckon if you get a Tokai or an MIJ tele then modding them is profoundly rewarding. They're 90% perfect anyway and second hand... failing that the new Squiers are pretty awesome also.
@Horse, thanks that good food for thought.
Thanks for the breakdown Frank.
It was actually your Bass VI thread that got me thinking. It makes perfect sense to me that left-handers are more inclined to build the guitar they want due to a woeful selection of available models.
The two things that crossed my mind as long term considerations were firstly the cost spiralling as you see this project as the be-all and end-all so every part you go for is the best possible and before you know it your racking up costs. Second is finishing. I see some Wudtone finished I think are wow and other are a I find a bit meh. If I built my own it would want it finished exactly a I wanted and would undoubtedly be sea foam green.
I am quite choosy about what guitars become 'keepers'. Another consideration is the ability to flog a pre-made guitar if I can't bond with it - which is one reason I rarely buy new. Whereas I could sink a lot into a self-build, never quite settle with it but be stuck.
I don't really need another guitar (does that ever matter?) and I do like the randomness of what the universe may throw up for you - a guitar you never even thought of which you grab and bond with. The £300 is just for starters and to be honest it's highly likely that if I were to buy pre-made it would be a fair whack dearer, which is cool but nothing is currently inspiring me.
I totally love USACG - they must keep records because they knew I liked light swamp ash and as soon as I said I wanted the Bass VI they said "you like light don'tcha?" ...
If anything, the best bit of a self build for me is the people, Matt and Mark Jenny, Tommy and Rich at USACG, Marc at Rutters, Tony at Pickguardians, Andy at Wudtone, Ash at Oil City... it's really nice when people share a little bit of their expertise - it's inspiring
If you want one now, buy a s/h one now, the best one you can afford. If you want a better one later, sell it and buy a better one later. You almost never get your money back on upgrades, and you're unlikely to know if 'upgrades' will have the exact desired effect unless you're a) experienced with upgrading or b) able to accurately describe what you want to achieve to an expert who can advise you or make/sell you the parts you want.
YMMV/IMO
No. 1 is an Allparts / Callaham / BKP / Glendale Telecaster. Top Budget at £700ish but the only Tele's I like as much are CS ones.
No. 2 is a Strat, 1 piece Alder body, Warmoth Neck (got that in a sale), Kluson tuners, Oil city / SD Pickups, Bladerunner trem. £500ish
No. 3, currently under construction, a 72 Deluxe Tele. Fender Pickups and bridge, Guitar build body, Coming in less than £300.
All the guitars are nice and light and resonant. I can see how costs can spiral, but the key for me is getting things cheap off ebay or in sales. The guitar build body I got for £40 is just as good as the Allparts one I have, these are now £200.
Things like this on ebay:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TELE-Lightweight-2-piece-Swamp-Ash-Guitar-Body-Only-2-0-Kg-/200984800439?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2ecba0acb7
I usually keep an eye out for second hand modded guitars being sold too as they go for less than stock second hand ones.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94951346@N08/10867926193/
But, I've progressively bought the bits I specifically want, the body's what I wanted, and the neck (fortunes) is to my total spec. Not fussed about value as don't plan to sell it, just gig it.
That had crossed my mind. As well as finding myself spending more time tinkering than playing and actually earning a living.