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

Kelly, Will

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0760342245 ISBN 13: 9780760342244

Publisher: Voyageur Press, 2012

Synopsis

In the past few years the market for electric guitar kits and parts has exploded.

For every two enthusiasts, there are four opinions on how properly to fill woodgrain. In this book, Will Kelly cuts through all that noise and shows how, with a little patience and some inexpensive tools, the average person can turn a modest investment into a gig-worthy instrument and perhaps even a lifelong hobby.

Kelly presents guitar-building in a progressive fashion, beginning with a simple Stratocaster-style kit with a bolt-on neck and continuing on to a "relic'd" Telecaster-style build, two Gibson-style set-neck models, and a custom double-neck mash-up. Because each build is more involved than the previous, the reader builds on his or her skill set and acquires only the tools necessary for the reader's level of interest.

Kelly shows how to apply finishes, choose and install hardware, wire electronics, execute the final assembly, and set up the finished guitar for proper action and intonation.

About this title

About the Author

Will Kelly is a highly respected guitar builder and vintage guitar expert who owns and operates Hard Knocks Guitars in Cary, North Carolina. He is author of the popular monthly Shop of Hard Knocks repair column in Vintage Guitar, a consultant to several manufacturers, and the author of How to Build Electric Guitars (2012) and Electric Guitar Repair (2014), both from Voyageur Press.

A veteran guitar-maker, Will Kelly is also a regular contributor to Vintage Guitar magazine and the owner of Hard Knocks Guitars. He lives in Cary, North Carolina.

From the Back Cover

Most guitarists dream of building their own custom guitar. Fortunately, in recent years, the market for affordable electric guitar kits has exploded. Unfortunately, it seems like for every two builders, there are four opinions on how to properly execute each step in a successful build. In this new book, acclaimed builder Will Kelly (Vintage Guitar magazine and Hard Knocks Guitars) cuts through all the noise to show how, with a little patience and some relatively inexpensive tools, the average weekend enthusiast can turn a modest investment into a gig-worthy instrument and even a lifelong hobby.

Leaning on his years of expertise and more than 500 photographs, Kelly presents the world of kit-built guitars in a sensible, progressive fashion, beginning with a simple bolt-on Strat-style kit and continuing on to a Tele-style guitar, a set-neck LP Junior style model, and finally a custom double-neck mash-up. Because each build is more involved than the previous, the reader builds on his or her skill set, along the way acquiring only the tools necessary for their interest level. Readers also learn how to execute several finishes, including sunburst, color-shifting metalflake, and even relic d effects all applied with little more than rattle-can paints. Kelly also shows how to install hardware, cut nuts, wire controls and pickups, and set up the assembled guitar for proper action and intonation. The results are invaluable advice for both beginners and seasoned builders and instruments fit to hand down through the generations!

Edition details

• Publisher: Voyageur Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0760342245
• ISBN 13: 9780760342244
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208