So I'm thinking of building a guitar, sort of...........

[kenlarsson]

I've got a hankering for a 12 string electric and I'm thinking about getting a kit and assembling and finishing it myself. I found these two online,

335 style

single cut

I have no experience in guitar building and I am not the most handy person but I can follow instructions if I put my mind to it so any advice or suggestions from the luthier/guitar tech community will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[gbacklin]

Congratulations !!!

[epaul]

Glue twice, measure once.

[Shannon]

I'm not a luthier, but I see that the single-cut kit has easily accessible holes routed for the electronics. The 335 kit does not appear to have this, so completing the wiring and getting all the parts in place might be a major pain.

[kenlarsson]

I see your point Shannon. Putting in some of the control knobs and especially the input jack for the cable looks damn neat impossible.

[Dub]

I see the detailed instructions are available for download. You’ve probably done that already but if not, I suggest you download them and read them thoroughly to understand the level of difficulty and spot potential trouble points.

This sounds like a fun project. I s sure you’ll do well.

[aquaduct]

I'm partial to the 335. Mine's served me well for 43 years. Maybe you can get Marshall to spray paint you a nice candy apple red sunburst too.

[kenlarsson]

I've read the online instructions and viewed this video which they recommend for the 335 build and pot installation. Looks very dicey and potentially frustrating to me which is unfortunate. I've been leaning toward the 335 but might go with the singlecut instead.

[Marty]

The LP style will be much easier, but, you could modify the 335 body with a back access to get the electronics in. Use the same cover the LP uses.

I can show you how to make the routing templates. You will need a router and some template stock.

Buying a complete kit is the way to go for your first build. It takes some experience to put together a electric from parts. Even thought it's a Tele not all Tele parts will fit all Tele's. And I've had people bring me Fret Wire kits to have me make parts fit so they could put it together. They also had me do the final setup.

[kenlarsson]

Doesn't sound good if they are selling kits with parts that don't fit the kit they're selling. That's a deal breaker for me.

[Marty]

The work is minor fine fitting, usually just a file and sanding.

I had a customer that made their short scale P bass kit. He had me reshape the headstock.

These are cheap kits and not everything is perfectly fitted

Buy a more expensive kit and parts will fit better. Get Warmoth kit and everything will fit perfectly because when you choose the parts they will not let you make a mistake. But it will cost you 5 to 10 times as much depending on parts chosen.

[John B]

Mar 24, 2022 13:12:41 GMT -5 Marty said:

The work is minor fine fitting, usually just a file and sanding.

I had a customer that made their short scale P bass kit. He had me reshape the headstock.

These are cheap kits and not everything is perfectly fitted

Buy a more expensive kit and parts will fit better. Get Warmoth kit and everything will fit perfectly because when you choose the parts they will not you make a mistake. But it will cost you 5 to 10 times as much depending on parts chosen.

Warmoth will cost your more than a guitar off the rack.

Stewart McDonald has some nice kits, but no 12-strings. If Mary says the ones you're looking at are decent enough quality, then I say go for it.

[kenlarsson]

Those Warmoth kits look great but I could buy a prebuilt guitar for less than what I'd probably pay for all the parts the guitar will need. Also the skill level needed for construction looks like it's above my paygrade.

I'm not thinking of reshaping the headstock and I know a retired music store owner who still does set ups and repairs for a reasonable price so I'm gonna go with the singlecut and see how I do...........

Thanks for the info.

[TKennedy]

The longest journey starts with a single step. Go for grasshopper.

I just had to do bridge reglues, and new nuts, saddles/setup on a couple of twelve strings. One Taylor needed a neck reset.

If another twelve string never comes in the shop again it would be just fine with me.

[Marty]

Warmoth makes custom shop high grade parts. Everything they do is top quality and minimal effort is needed to assemble one of their kits. 
 Yes the price is high, damn high, but as said it is a good as it gets for flawless workmanship.

Any kit will need some soldering and finish work. I can provide you with a pictorial schematic that is easy to copy. But that usually comes with the kit.

Tru Oil will do a finish that looks like old fashioned varnish or French polish, and it's easy.

StewMac has everything you'll need for a spray lacquer finish or you can get even more colors from ReRanch . Both have good online finishing guides.

There are even Custom Decal makers for a headstock decal. Although with the right printer and paper you can do this yourself.

StewMac has some pretty cool Jazzmaster kits now. I don't need that, I have a set of templates for a Jazzmaster, a Tele and a Mustang or Duo Sonic. I had a Strat template but someone stole it. All they had to do was ask and I could have copied it for them, that's what templates are for, copying.

[amanajoe]

Mar 24, 2022 10:57:30 GMT -5 kenlarsson said:

I've read the online instructions and viewed this video which they recommend for the 335 build and pot installation. Looks very dicey and potentially frustrating to me which is unfortunate. I've been leaning toward the 335 but might go with the singlecut instead.

I was going to bring up the frustrations with wiring semi-hollow / hollow style guitars and recommend the single cut, but it looks like you came to that conclusion already.

That being said, you need to look at any of the lower cost kits as a possible act in frustration. You can assume quite a bit of fret work will need to be done and that almost all the hardware / electronics will need to be tossed out. If you go in knowing that, and feel comfortable with the effort required. Go for it.

[kenlarsson]

Well this has been a bust. Got the kit a while back but it was missing parts. Specifically, they sent me enough ferrules and washers for a six string guitar, not a twelve. After a protracted period of attempting to contact the company and get a reply they finally responded stating they did not have the inventory to supply the missing parts (WTF?) and I could return the kit for a full refund. The sent me a UPS shipping label for the return. I could probably buy the missing ferrules and washers but to hell with that. The kits going back.

[Shannon]

What a disappointment!

Have you checked out the kits at Luthier's Mercantile? I suspect they wouldn't be cheap, but I doubt you'd have any inferior parts or service, either.

[coachdoc]

I did the initial sign up for a Wayne Henderson guitar build course. 1 week and you have an acoustic dreadnaught. It was either that or a week at Swannanoa. I decided I’m a guitar player, not a builder. I valued that course at Swannanoa with workshops with Donahue and Dowling as much as any week I’ve put effort into. And it was fun!

[Marty]

While I have told people Tru oil makes a really nice varnish looking finish I've been watching about making some of the Wood and Resin Live Edge tables that are very popular these days. These guys use a product call Osmo that gives a hard, durable and deep finish. But since there is always a trade off, when using Osmo the piece must be sanded to at least 1200 grit and 2500 grit would be better and every little pin hole filled. That means a LOT of sanding is needed. 

I may give the stuff a try on 2 Tele bodies I have coming up.