Introduction

[jstream]

Hello All,

I've been lurking for a few days now, and thought it time to introduce myself. My name is Will, and I hope to soon be an addict I played for a lot of years until the idea of getting on stage again became my worst nightmare (quite a few years ago now), and while I dabbled a bit here and there with my guitars (mostly to help my wife start to learn to play), and with electronic music, my poor guitars sat neglected in a spare room. I've decided to finally dust them off and begin playing again. While I may never play on stage again, there's so much joy in playing that I can't ignore them anymore. Pictured below is the strat I did -ahem- 20 years ago this year.

I've always wanted to try building an acoustic. Had a number of them over the years and sold all but one... and of course that one's the cheapest of all of them... A nearly indestructible Applause. And of course, I've regretted selling them ever since.

Back to the topic.

I've wanted to build an acoustic for a long time, and now nearing 50, I've got more time to think about it again. I've been reading here and over at OLF, and a few books, looked at instructions from some of the kits out there and feel confident that I have the skill to do this. Just need to put the cash together. So expect lots of questions from me as I try to build my knowledge base, and as soon as possible, I hope to be posting pictures of an actual build. For now however, hello and here's my strat. I lived in an apartment at the time, so the finish was done by Dennis Rauen.

[tippie53]

well if you get bit by this bug it can be addicting. I am at 122 and counting. Lots of people here that love guitars. have fun and be welcome here

[jstream]

Here are two more

[David L]

Wlcome to the forum! What are you looking to build? Post often with pictures.

David L

[Ken Hundley]

Welcome, and get yourself bitten! MOst of us here started with absolutely no woodowrking experience, and have built beautiful instruments that surpass expectations. While no build is ever perfect, and many many mistakes can be made, we're here to help you along when you get stuck. Got any questions, ask away, and post LOTS of pictures.

[jstream]

Thank you all. I did post two more pics of the strat... need to show the body . but I don't know why they're not showing up here.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Hey welcome J.
We see your body........the guitar body that is.
Yeah, what type of acoustic are you interested in building first?

Kevin

[jstream]

I thought I'd start with the basic... A standard dred. The StewMac kit is currently 1st on the list of possible suspects for several reasons. The documentation seems far better than anyone else's, and it's simply the right shape. It looks good to me. It looks, to my eye, like the perfect dred. And let's face it, looks are very important. Yes, sound is more important, but if I'm going to build my first one, I'm going to want to keep and play my first one, and I want it to look good as well. I haven't heard anything bad about the sound of any of the kits, and all of them should sound as good (at least), and probably way better than my Applause, so why not go for looks and documentation? Besides, sound is a personal thing, and varies widely from guitar to guitar. I've played two d-28's in the same store, and they were completely different.

My other issue with many of the kits out there, with the exception of the Martin kits, is that I don't know what they're really going to look like. I've found lists of kits and plans that give a model number and maybe a vague description - "similar to/based on this or that guitar" - but don't actually show what the plan looks like. I'm sure there are some very good reasons for this, and I can think of several, but I want to see what it's going to look like if I'm going to spend the money and time to build it. Same as I would if I were to walk into a guitar shop to buy one.

So there's the long version of what I'm thinking of building :) After the first one, who knows? A cutaway would be sweet... if I could find one with the same shape as my Applause or even my wife's Alvarez, but I'm thinking a cutaway would not be a first time friendly build. Anyways, that can wait. I'm sure I won't be able to stop at just one, but let's not think about that yet.

[jstream]

Lol! I was hooked 20 years ago when my bandmate bought a custom telecaster from it's builder who worked at the shop we frequented. That guitar, in part, and the store's owner who helped me spec and build the strat and who hooked me up with Rauen for the finishing, had me hook, line, and sinker from that point on. Life intervened for awhile there, but now I'm ready to revisit the idea.

I had thought for awhile about two other projects... Either a telecaster to match the strat exactly, or a completely, ridicuously over-the-top telecaster. But I kept coming back to remembering how much I wanted an acoustic, and how fun I thought it would be to try to build one, so that's where I'm at now. I can always do the tele idea at any time, but I have the time, space, and occasionally the means to do something I've really wanted to try for a very long time. The truth is, I've wanted to do it since I was a kid and got my first real 6 string.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Hey J,
Actually you can make your kit guitar look like anything you want. That is what is so great about building it yourself. Any of the kit suppliers Drednaught is going to be pretty much the same, if not exact specs in body size and shape to a Martin dred.
If you use LMI you can choose your own woods from their long list.
I know you can also specify wood, binding, etc from either John Hall or Ken Cierp to make your guitar exactly to your liking. A kit does not have to tie you up to only mahogany, or Indian rosewood, or spruce. Talk to John and Ken, check out the kit wizard at LMI and see what floats your boat. LMI will include an instructional DVD by Robbie Obrien.
Here is a picture of my first kit from LMI, totally customized.
The guitar on the left is my second, built from scratch.

Kevin