How to Build Electric Guitars: The Complete Guide to Building and Setting Up Your Own Custom Guitar

Very basic and over simplfied book on the process but some neat projects and ideas.

Overall, this is a great book. It is packed with tons of excellent information on how to take a kit guitar from raw wood, sand it, paint it, assemble it, wire it, and set it up. I bought 2 electric guitar kits; an Offset Flying V for myself, and a Mockingbird styled version for my daughter to give us a project each that we could do together. This has given her another medium to express her creativity. First in painting the guitar, next when she gets to play it. I like how the author laid out this book. Each of the sections build upon the knowledge gained in the prior one giving you more in-depth knowledge as the projects get more complicated. The first chapter is probably teaches you everything you need to know to complete your first bolt neck kit. Or it comes very close anyway. The second chapter covers a more complicated build and how to relic the guitar. <start rant>I personally never have understood why anyone would want to buy something that doesn't look new since none of the marks mean anything unlike an actual antique with marks that arrived through decades of use. <end rant>Chapter three hours over the differences to complete a set neck guitar and chapter for goes into taking two kitsand combining them into one two neck guitar. In his build he combined a 6 string Axis styled electric guitar with a 4 string electric bass. In this chapter he even covers the required woodworking to mate the kits together so that they are aesthetically pleasing to look at while also maintaining playability. A side note about the book format:I bought the kindle version which is a little difficult to flip back and forth in since I didn't use the bookmark feature the first time through the book. If, like me, you are building your first kit guitar, I highly recommend bookmarks since you will be referring back to the various sections add your build progresses.

I don't know if the description specifies, but this is about building kit guitars. Although most of the same details apply to any guitar build, there are certain things when you are mixing suppliers and making stuff yourself that you won't get out of this book, although by taking bits and pieces from each separate build, you will get the brunt of it (just be ready to flip some pages). Exceptional photos and step-by-step instructions throughout, well-written and stays on point. Area most lacking is in fretting, as it uses pre-constructed necks for the builds, but also doesn't talk about leveling or polishing or any of that - maybe better for the beginner this book is aiming at. The relic techniques are interesting and probably pretty useful if you are into that. Gives you finishing techniques that don't require a spray booth (or gun), and basically just keeps it pretty simple. Some of the best written and illustrated setup (bridge and nut height) techniques that I can recall seeing in print. A great place for a beginner to guitar building to start, and will give a tinkerer some ideas to modify and improve their guitar.

I have decided to build my own guitars with all top of the line electronics and finishes. I am starting with kits admittedly, and upgrading almost everything.This book is the Holy Bible of Guitar Building and setting them up if you're starting with a kit.I LOVE ITThere is nothing this book does not cover, no matter what you're building. I am currently working on a Strat and Les Paul. I have my Seymour Duncan pickups and many other parts and bodies....it's time to get to work.This book even covers finishing tips and set up after you've put everything together.It's a great reference guide for those buying guitars and wanting to learn how to set them up correctly or even upgrading electronics. When it comes to making an electric guitar sound great, it's ALL in the electronics. You can take an inexpensive guitar and make it a high quality piece.I own high end guitars but have a few cheaper ones I've upgraded too. This book covers EVERTHING.MORE than 5 stars to this one. The BEST reference guide I've seen, period!!!

Really found a large amount of really good advice and ways of getting around some of the more expensive ways to build and I m not done .. I’m onto my 4th and thankful for the ideas conveyed within that pushed me over some real problem areas that had me stuck ..

It's a great book, BUT, this came up in my wiring my humbuckers searchIt goes into NO detail other than some irrelevant photos and sentence or so of a harness kitBack to the drawing boards for me :(

This is a fantastic book if you're building guitars from kits. It is well written and well illustrated with hundreds of color photographs. It contains lots of great info on getting professional-looking results using commonly available tools and finishing materials. I've had it for a couple of years, and I still refer to it frequently.

I'm looking to build a guitar from scratch, and this book seemed to fit. Unfortunately, it only refers to kit guitars, which basically require only assembly and finish. I wish this fact was displayed more prominently, as I would not have wasted my money.

For a first timer it was quite helpful but certainly not complete. I am building a Tele with body and neck from Precision Guitars in Vancouver. While the wood is excellent and the fit of the neck to the body is great, I am left to drill mounting holes in the neck myself and there is no guidance about that kind of thing. Pretty vague about mounting pickups, plug-ins and such. I need to slot the nut from scratch and no ideas about spacing the strings. Probably worth the price anyway. Lots of pictures.

Filled with lots of info on how to build three different styles of guitars and how to paint and wire them! Great book for anyone looking to repair guitars!

Will Kelly writes a monthly article in Vintage Guitar Magazine and his practical approach to guitar repair is refreshing.This book cover assembling the most common guitar types namely a Fender Strat,Tele,Gibson Les Paul junior etc...These are for the most part kits available from different suppliers and shows how to assemble, stain or paint,glue in set necks and so on.It is well laid and may save you from the common pratfalls when it comes to guitar building.I highly recommend this to first time builders.

Really like this book, a great reference guide and resource.

Thank you.