How to build a high end guitar out of a cheap eBay diy kit

I'm Dan, this is guns and

guitar

s and this is how to make a

high

-end

guitar

. I have one of those

cheap

kits you can get on eBay. All according to my last review of this kit. I was not very satisfied with the result. it didn't sound very good and it didn't sound very good so let's fix that right now in ten steps or less step one throw the kit strings in the trash step two throw the electronics in the trash step three add an additional 45 degree angle screws Support for neck and body. Placing these additional screws before the rest of the neck screws will help the next one sit as firmly as possible in the body cavity.

Making solid contact between the neck and the body is essential for the best resonance and lift. of your guitar, this is not a necessary step; In fact, it's rare to see this feature even on

high

-end boutique guitars, but let's be honest, this guitar kit needs all the help it can get, so why don't you straighten the neck and level it in step 4? frets to do this you will need a couple of special tools a beam to sand the guitar fret and a guitar neck with notches a ruler try to say that ten times fast, but you can make these tools yourself with things you probably already have to To straighten the neck use the larger Allen wrench included and turn the neck truss rod a quarter turn at a time to check if the entire neck is level with the Knox ruler.

Once it's completely straight across the neck, it's time to level it. Friends using a marker lightly mark a line across the top of each fret and then place it slightly back and forth across the entire length of the fretboard. with your sanding bar set with 320 grit sandpaper or finer, this will make each fret the exact same height in relation to the Fingerboard which will fix the fret buzz and out of tune notes I was having, as well as allowing me to have a good low and fast action on the strings. Keep the sanding level on the high frets once you've hit the marker with a sanding beam on each fret.

In a single fret, you'll eventually have completely level frets. I also recommend adding some strips of masking tape at the 12th fret and sanding all the frets above the 12th a little more, giving the higher frets a slight taper as you go up the neck. My experience allows for even lower action with a straightened napkin. Step 5, crown and polish the frets. You will need another special tool for this, a fret saver which again you can make from things you already have since we flattened some of the frets. While sanding, we need to crown them again into a dome shape and then polish to a mirror finish using the front port protector.

Start sanding the sides of each individual fret, being careful not to sand the top that we already sanded with at the beginning. 320, then go up to 600 and finish by polishing each fret with steel wool. This will increase the sustain of the strings at the frets and give a much smoother feel for pitch bends and overall playability. Now you are probably saying: you yourself this seems tedious, is there really necessary? Steps 4 and 5 are actually the most important steps in making a guitar play like a high-end guitar. These steps are a little tedious, but if you skip them or shortcut them, you will regret it, maybe the The biggest difference between bass guitars and hiya guitars is how much time the

build

ers spent on these two steps.

Step 6: Sand the neck and body. This obviously makes the guitar soft to the touch. You don't want to get scratches or chips while you're playing. playing this is especially important on the back of the neck to smooth out the back of the neck, the faster you play, apply the finish of your choice. I used a stain instead of a solid finish so the wood can breathe better, solid paint can smother the wood and kill the tone it makes now it beats well it doesn't take stain very well but I use stain anyway because I wanted a more finish worn or heirloom type.

I also use tung oil instead of polyurethane or lacquer because again I don't want to smother the wood. I want the tone of this instrument to be as warm and natural as possible. Additionally, a tung oil finished neck is excellent for protecting the fingerboard and allows for very smooth and fast playing on the neck. The trade-offs, although the oil finishes will protect from the elements very well, they are not as durable for scratch and dent protection, but again, the heirloom finish and I will worry about scratches or dents, in fact they just give it more character.

I would prefer it to be super soft to the touch and the tonal benefits of an oil finished ladder cable on new electronics. I chose to do a triple humbucker super layering using three hot rail pickups, but any OEM or aftermarket pickups will simply be an upgrade from the kit pickups. Solder them the same way the original pickups were connected or, if you have a more advanced knowledge of electronics and soldering, feel free to hot rod your guitar here. I chose to connect a series parallel switch for each pickup which changes the humbucker from the traditional one. adapt a heavy sound to a brighter single coil type sound.

I also added a push-pull volume pot that activates the bridge pickup. This adds two additional pickup mixes that you wouldn't find on a normal strap. An option to place the neck and bridge pickups together. like a Telecaster and an option to run all three together, all of this will result in a very versatile guitar with tons of total possibilities. Lastly, to make room for these modifications, I have to remove one of the tone pots, so I simply connect the other one to be Master Tone for all three pickups Step 9 Put the guitar back together and make sure to put in a good set of ropes.

In my experience, elixirs or Dia Dario have the best tone. The 10 gauge is heavier and the 10 pitch gives the guitar full play. up again, adjust the truss rod to the desired string height and, using the smaller Allen wrench, adjust the bridge saddles to have a nice, even arc across the width of the fingerboard, and lastly, adjust the truss rod intonation screw. strings on the bridge so that the higher notes stay in place. tune to the lowest notes, that's it, now let's see how this compares to that American Stratocaster and like last time, I'll record directly into Logic using this Focusrite Scarlett USB interface and Logics boutique tweed amp simulation with the same settings for both. guitars so you can hear the tonal difference, let's start with the American neck pickup first.