Let’s set the scene!!….. It’s a Saturday, nobody’s home and it’s just you and the 500 pics of guitars you’ve been dreaming about the past few weeks. You’ve got an “S Type” over here and a “T Type” over there. Then you see a fully exotic modern type build that blows you away and you just can’t make up your mind!!
Well we’re here to simplify the process and get you back on track. Your custom build should be an enjoyable experience and something you wake up every day thinking about in a positive light. You should be excited about the specs you chose and know that the company building your guitar understands the “what and why” in order to meet your expectations.
Getting started is as easy as a phone call or an email asking the direct question of ” I really like your S style builds with solid colors, but I was wondering if they were available with a roasted maple neck and stainless steel frets?” That question alone would save you hours of back and forth in emails and mining for custom gold online! (The answer is yes BTW:)
TIP 1: Narrow Down Your Body Shape
This is so easy. If you’re an “S” or “T” guy and know that’s your comfort zone, then stay there and don’t stray off the beaten path as far as shapes go. Leave the interesting specs for the near endless amount of options that are waiting to be chosen on steps 3-5!
If you’re more of a Modern player and like flatter fretboard radius, more aggressive body shapes, more comfort cuts and hotter output pickups then you have the option of still sticking with a “Super-Sat” offering or an “XT” model. Both of which have flatter fretboard radius available and plenty of space for a Hipshot 2 point trem and HSH pickup configuration.
The body shape is quite literally merely a springboard and foundation for the rest of the builds specific qualities to rest on. Be sure to be comfortable with how that specific body shape rests in your hands and what the general feel of them are historically so you know you’re headed in the right direction!
TIP 2: Choose Your Woods With Intent
There’s a term floating around the custom guitar building community that’s being way overused…… “Subjective”
What’s so subjective about saying that Alder is a classic body wood used on early Strats and they tend to give an overall punchy yet clear and well balanced tone and works well when accompanied by a Maple neck? That wasn’t that hard now was it?
If you’re not a fan of Alder yet have never owned a Swamp Ash guitar before, then you can expect it to have a more pronounce and clear top and bottom end, along with an audible scoop in the mid range section. This wood still plays well with a nice quartersawn Maple neck and gets an added boost of resonance and sustain when both body and neck woods are roasted to remove moisture from the wood.
We can go on and on as far as exactly what woods sound like what, and once you get into more exotic woods, you’ll have a heck of a time trying to get a straight answer on the tonal properties of a Bacote neck or Zebrawood fingerboard. Rather than spend too much time here, we’ve added a few links below to help you out:
http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/all-about-tonewoods/14591
https://www.stringjoy.com/guitar-wood-guide-tonewoods-guitar-building
http://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Options/WoodDescriptions.aspx
TIP 3: Choose Your Finish Wisely
Here’s the tricky one!! Only you can tell yourself what you think looks great! What grabs you about any given guitar is the “that’s the one!” you experience when you first see it on a dealer site or reverb.com . If you’re a traditionalist then you’ll go with a familiar finish like 3 Tone Sunburst, Butterscotch, Oly White, Trans Amber or things of the like.
If you’re a modern type player then you’ll gravitate to more of a modern type or even a furniture type look. Perhaps you just like your builds oiled up and ready to play! Just you and what appears to be a freshly sawed log with strings slapped on it! On the other have you may like the look of an off the wall fully custom trans finish that shows off the quality and grain of the wood on new frontiers.
Whatever you choose, the number one key is to take your time. You’ll be looking at this build for many moons to come, so make sure that you have it nailed! Don’t feel weird about calling your manufacturer and asking for an idea of the woods they’ll be using on your build and any recommendations for the best suited colors for that body blank, or top wood. You’ll be happy you did!
Also, we can not stress this enough!! if you like excellent tone and all the resonance you can get out of your guitar, please use a nitro cellulose finish! Poly looks fantastic but it encapsulates the guitar in a hard plastic tone tomb and the natural vibrations of the woods are stifled resulting in a less enjoyable playing experience.
TIP 4: Start Big and Narrow it Down
I have always been a fan of starting a build with everything you could imagine your dream guitar having and narrow it down from there! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encouraged a customer to just go for it and let’s see where it ends up, and they were blown away that it landed right in their budget!
We’ve taken insane amounts of time nailing down what we feel should be standard pricing for certain changes to your existing build model. So if you don’t ask, you’ll never know if what you want is well within the models existing structure!
Take it from me! Ask Away AND NARROW DOWN ONLY WHEN NECESSARY!
TIP 5: Take A Day To Go Over Your Specs And Then Place Your Order
You have whittled it all down and started the order process! You have taken the time to choose the right woods, finishes, available options, and then narrowed it down to what you feel is your dream guitar! Congrats! You’re almost there!!
Now take a moment to reflect on your build. Envision it, think on it, look at the specs individually on your dealer spec sheet, weigh it out once more and allow yourself to become an owner of that build mentally before you spend a penny on it.
Once you’ve done that and you have no additional questions or “what if I changed this….” thoughts about it anymore….. Place the deposit and let us make some sawdust fly!
I recommend taking the time to contemplate your build because this ensures that the build you buy is “The One” and that will give you confidence and peace of mind during the build process. This will also make your dealer very happy because there will be no changes to the existing build. And last but not least, this will allow us to have a clear view of your expectations and execute them beautifully and make you a happy happy camper!!
