Worth it for a rookie?

[TommyChung71]

You guys know the creation piece better than anyone else. I am contemplating building by own or purchasing a pre-made (i.e. Fender). I want a Tele body shape with a two humbuckers. I don't want to do too too much work. I would like the assembly piece but I read everywhere how you can easily mess up a Warmouth and then you S.O.L.

I was looking into a kit at Warmouth and price wise it appears to be more expensive. I'm not looking for anything really custom. I tried a Mexican made one for $689 at the guitar store. It was nice, not perfect but with a few changes it would be great. I'm thinking for me, the pre-made might be a better fit because I don't feel all the customization necessary. Can someone steer me in a direction?

Also, if the quality noticeably/drastically better for the build your own kits?

[martino]

I would call the folks @ U S A Custom http://www.usacustomguitars.com/

I think you will love the price ! ! ! and it will be all your guitar.

The folks at USAcustom are fantastic at matching wood giving you
a grate neck with a grate body and,there is enough info on this site
to get you trough the building of this guitar.

If your not ready to call you can email USAcustom they respond
pretty fast.

[TommyChung71]

I'm actually going to give them a call tomorrow. Their prices appear much more reasonable. Thanks.

[martino]

Originally Posted by TommyChung71

I'm actually going to give them a call tomorrow. Their prices appear much more reasonable. Thanks.

Hay What did they say.

[TommyChung71]

For me to do the project the way I wanted, and really it was just a telecaster with two humbuckers I was looking at around $1200. I'd really like to spend less than that to do my first guitar because if I mess up, I'd be SOL. Very nice to me on the phone though and talked me through the process.

[Colt W. Knight]

If you are plannning on building a guitar, it will cost more than what you can buy a new one for.
You can only save money building guitars if you have all the tools and know how already.
Don't get me wrong. I am not discouraging anyone from building, but BUILDING IS A HOBBY NOT A WAY TO SAVE MONEY. You can nickel and dime parts off eBay, but when you calculate shipping costs, you end up spending more.

Buying ready to bolt up parts from a factory like USACG and Warmoth is extremely expensive. Why? Well, they do all the leg work for you, so really it's worth it. Consider building a body from scratch.

You need master templates - 45$ for Ron Kirns templates.
Then you need working templates - 10$ in 3/4" MDF.
Body blank - 50-100$
Building your own body blank ( Cost of the lumber(0$ - alot) + you need expensive clamps(15-40$ a piece depeding on quality), table saw ( 100-650$) and a jointer(easily 450$ machine).
Before you route you need to cut the rough shape with band saw ( 200-400$) Jig saws can be used, but a quality jig saw is 100$.
Then you need to route your body ( 80-200$ for a router then 50-75$ in router bits) Oh yeah, a router table, those are 100$ to buy.
Drilling string through holes - you need a large drill press or custom made jig and a hand drill.
Drilling the input jack - hand drill and 10$ forstner bit)

Finishing the body
hand sander if you have things to do besides hand sand for hours on end. ( 30-100$)
Lots of sand paper in lots of grits.
Sanding Sealer ( 15$)
Grain Filler ( 15$)
Paint ( 5-40$) spray cans
Clear ( 5-60$) spray cans Spraying equipment is another 400$ for an air compressor and spray gun stuff.
sanding sealer

Most of the equipment I listed

If you factor in all the above, you are actually going to get off cheaper buying a new Fender and modding it to your desired specifications. Fender has the benefit of the economy of scale, and we don't building one or two at a time.

There are still things I am leaving out. I am just illustrating that there is more to building a guitar than just buying a neck, body, pickups, and hardware. The small stuff will nickel and dime you into the poor house.

But if it's something you are into , and like a lot. It is a phenominal hobby. Once you have all the tools and skills to build guitars, you can build other things as well.