What hardware should I choose for my guitar build?
August 20, 2012 10:51 PM Subscribe
I'm taking a guitar building class as an elective, but have little to no knowledge about guitars. Advice/opinions on my build options?
So I have a few different options for the parts to order with my build kit, but I have no idea what the differences between them are and which ones I'm going to want. I'm going to build a strat style guitar, and as of now my playing is EXTREMELY basic, but I think I'm going to head in an Allman Brothers style blues direction. Anyways, here are the options. What do you think?
TUNERS:
- GOTOH MACHINES:
- - CHROME OR GOLD MINI LEFTS
- - CHROME STANDARD(3L/3R)
- - GOLD STANDARD(3L/3R)
- GOTOH 510 SERIES:
- - CHROME /GOLD/BLACK MINI LEFTS
- - CHROME MINI (3L/3R)
- - CHROME STANDARD (3L/3R)
- SCHALLER MACHINES:
- - CHROME (3L/3R)
BRIDGES:
- - STRAT - NON-TREM
- - CHROME TUNEMATIC W/ STUDS OR W/ POSTS
- - CHROME TELE STYLE
- - STRAT SYLE FULCRUM
- SCHALLER:
- - TUNEMATIC
- - ROLLER IN BLACK/CHROME OR GOLD
- HIPSHOT
- - 6 STR.
TAIL PIECE:(if required)
- GOTOH CHROME
NECK PICK-UPS:
- RIO GRANDE:
- - TEXAS HUMBUCKER BLACK OR ZEBRA
- - BIG BOTTOM TELE
- - DUAL CALIBRATED STRAT SET
- - JAZZP90
- BARDEN:
- - STRAT
- - HUMBUCKER 2 TONE
BRIDGE PICK-UPS:
- BARDEN:
- - STRAT BRIDGE
- - HUMBUCKER 2 TONE
So I have a few different options for the parts to order with my build kit, but I have no idea what the differences between them are and which ones I'm going to want. I'm going to build a strat style guitar, and as of now my playing is EXTREMELY basic, but I think I'm going to head in an Allman Brothers style blues direction. Anyways, here are the options. What do you think?
TUNERS:
- GOTOH MACHINES:
- - CHROME OR GOLD MINI LEFTS
- - CHROME STANDARD(3L/3R)
- - GOLD STANDARD(3L/3R)
- GOTOH 510 SERIES:
- - CHROME /GOLD/BLACK MINI LEFTS
- - CHROME MINI (3L/3R)
- - CHROME STANDARD (3L/3R)
- SCHALLER MACHINES:
- - CHROME (3L/3R)
BRIDGES:
- - STRAT - NON-TREM
- - CHROME TUNEMATIC W/ STUDS OR W/ POSTS
- - CHROME TELE STYLE
- - STRAT SYLE FULCRUM
- SCHALLER:
- - TUNEMATIC
- - ROLLER IN BLACK/CHROME OR GOLD
- HIPSHOT
- - 6 STR.
TAIL PIECE:(if required)
- GOTOH CHROME
NECK PICK-UPS:
- RIO GRANDE:
- - TEXAS HUMBUCKER BLACK OR ZEBRA
- - BIG BOTTOM TELE
- - DUAL CALIBRATED STRAT SET
- - JAZZP90
- BARDEN:
- - STRAT
- - HUMBUCKER 2 TONE
BRIDGE PICK-UPS:
- BARDEN:
- - STRAT BRIDGE
- - HUMBUCKER 2 TONE
A traditional strat should be your goal here, since you aren't a guitarist, and don't/won't know why you would want to make different choices for things. So, if in doubt, look at what type of thing Fender does on their American strats, and copy that.
Go with cheaper pickups for now, don't splurge on really nice ones. It's easy to change them later if you start playing more and want to upgrade. If you decide the guitar isn't for you, however, you'll have a hell of a time getting much money back.
Go with chrome hardware, gold and black only look good on a guitar designed with that hardware in mind, and even then I don't know if I've ever seen a strat that looked good in gold or black.
As for the choice in hardware, since you're making a strat, most of your choices are already made. A lot of what you listed above is not strat hardware, and wouldn't work or fit on a standard strat.
Definitely talk to your instructor and get some advice, you don't want to spend a ton of money on the wrong stuff.
I don't know how much time you have to do this, but you can get pickups significantly cheaper if you buy them used, and there's usually a few available on craigslist. The same goes for other parts, but they don't come up as often as pickups.
The main things you want to make a good choice with from the beginning are the bridge and tuners. Not because the hardware itself needs to be fantastic, but because those things require drilling holes into the guitar, and if you want to go a different direction later, the new hardware may not fit those holes correctly. So, if you go with a 2 pivot point bridge, and later want one with 6 screws, you may not be able to change without leaving visible finish problems. The electronics can all be changed out without any visible difference later on, so it's easy to change things later on.
posted by markblasco at 11:45 PM on August 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
Go with cheaper pickups for now, don't splurge on really nice ones. It's easy to change them later if you start playing more and want to upgrade. If you decide the guitar isn't for you, however, you'll have a hell of a time getting much money back.
Go with chrome hardware, gold and black only look good on a guitar designed with that hardware in mind, and even then I don't know if I've ever seen a strat that looked good in gold or black.
As for the choice in hardware, since you're making a strat, most of your choices are already made. A lot of what you listed above is not strat hardware, and wouldn't work or fit on a standard strat.
Definitely talk to your instructor and get some advice, you don't want to spend a ton of money on the wrong stuff.
I don't know how much time you have to do this, but you can get pickups significantly cheaper if you buy them used, and there's usually a few available on craigslist. The same goes for other parts, but they don't come up as often as pickups.
The main things you want to make a good choice with from the beginning are the bridge and tuners. Not because the hardware itself needs to be fantastic, but because those things require drilling holes into the guitar, and if you want to go a different direction later, the new hardware may not fit those holes correctly. So, if you go with a 2 pivot point bridge, and later want one with 6 screws, you may not be able to change without leaving visible finish problems. The electronics can all be changed out without any visible difference later on, so it's easy to change things later on.
posted by markblasco at 11:45 PM on August 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
Just marking as a favorite isn't enough - markblasco is right on target.
Just as an example to maybe clarify what he said - the Gotoh (3L/3R) tuning machines you mention are for a different type of headstock (a "Gibson" style). Strats would use a "6 in-line" tuner; all the tuning machines are on one side of the headstock.
So I think you should do some more basic research into "how a strat is constructed", and I'd suggest maybe going to the library and finding actual books. Mostly because Googling will get you a lot of sales websites and a lot of fairly esoteric discussions about details that maybe aren't really relevant to you right now.
One web source I do like quite a bit is the Stewart Macdonald website - obviously they're looking to sell stuff, but they have a lot of good free info in their (duh) "Free Information" and "Trade Secrets" sections.
You can play "Allman Brothers style blues" on any damn guitar there is - you don't need to get too worked up about "fine-tuning" your build for that specific type of music. Just build a nice solid "standard" strat for now. As you advance as a player you can change quite a bit on your guitar to fine tune it to your playing, or it's entirely possible you'll want a different guitar altogether. Or both.
Have fun.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:34 AM on August 21, 2012
Just as an example to maybe clarify what he said - the Gotoh (3L/3R) tuning machines you mention are for a different type of headstock (a "Gibson" style). Strats would use a "6 in-line" tuner; all the tuning machines are on one side of the headstock.
So I think you should do some more basic research into "how a strat is constructed", and I'd suggest maybe going to the library and finding actual books. Mostly because Googling will get you a lot of sales websites and a lot of fairly esoteric discussions about details that maybe aren't really relevant to you right now.
One web source I do like quite a bit is the Stewart Macdonald website - obviously they're looking to sell stuff, but they have a lot of good free info in their (duh) "Free Information" and "Trade Secrets" sections.
You can play "Allman Brothers style blues" on any damn guitar there is - you don't need to get too worked up about "fine-tuning" your build for that specific type of music. Just build a nice solid "standard" strat for now. As you advance as a player you can change quite a bit on your guitar to fine tune it to your playing, or it's entirely possible you'll want a different guitar altogether. Or both.
Have fun.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:34 AM on August 21, 2012
Here's a great story (with an unfortunate ending) about a first-time guitar-maker hitting the big time. No anchors, search the page for 'Stephen Cripe'.
posted by j_curiouser at 1:33 PM on August 21, 2012
posted by j_curiouser at 1:33 PM on August 21, 2012
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posted by mollymayhem at 10:55 PM on August 20, 2012 [1 favorite]