Design · Calculate · Cut · Wire · Finish
Build the
whole thing.
A guitar is a stick with wire on it, held under about a hundred and eighty pounds of tension, and every decision you make either fights that tension or works with it. This section is the long way round, the reasoning, the numbers, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
Where should I begin?
Pick the job in front of youI am starting from nothing
Use the full course in order. It begins with design because every later operation depends on decisions made before the wood is cut.
PlanningI need exact fret positions
Calculate standard or multiscale layouts before making a template. This is not a measurement you can repair with setup work later.
Scale and stringsI am changing tuning, gauge, or scale length
Compare the actual pull before committing to a baritone, down tuning, extended range, or unusual string set.
Neck and fretsI am building or repairing the playing surface
Follow the neck, fretboard, slotting, installation, leveling, and dressing work as one connected system.
ElectronicsI need to wire or diagnose the controls
Understand the signal path, pots, capacitors, switches, grounding, and shielding before choosing a diagram.
Final adjustmentThe guitar is built, but it does not play correctly
Use the complete setup order. Do not chase one symptom by turning every adjustable part at once.
Follow a complete path
Free · 12 guides · 20 hours of video
The full building course
Design, wood, bodies, necks and fretwork, inlay, finishing and electronics, the whole build from a drawing to a working instrument. Plus pickup winding, shop-made jigs and restoration work. Every video paired with a full written guide.
Calculators
Get the numbers right firstFret position calculator
Every slot position from the nut, for any scale length, in inches or millimeters, plus fanned-fret layouts for multiscale builds. This is the one number you cannot get wrong.
FeelString tension calculator
How hard a given set actually pulls at your scale length and tuning. Essential before you commit to a baritone, a down-tuned seven, or anything unusual.
ReferenceWiring & electronics
Pot values, tone caps, switching, shielding and grounding, what each part actually does to the signal, so you can choose rather than copy.
Watch the builds on YouTube
Full build videos, start to finish, including the parts that went wrong.
Build series · New video most months