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KilaTsunami
October, 2024

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Finished my guitar.

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freezed
Posts: 12973 - Karma: 500
There have to be some guitarists on NS...

I finished the project I started last summer.

Made my own body from limba (AKA korina)...here's a picture of it when I got the blank.

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I then used a blueprint a guy from a telecaster forum made in CAD to make my own MDF templates.

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From the 1/4" MDF master template, I made 3/4" MDF working templates. I used those to route the shape of the body, the pickup holes, and the control plate holes. The neck pocket needed its own template as well. I routed the roundover, and used a drill press for all the bridge holes, string-through holes, etc.

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Then I shellacked it with amber flakes, and sprayed it with clear lacquer. I let it dry for a few months (I'm working on this project at my parents house, I was at school for a few months). I came back for Christmas break, and got to finish it. I dry-fit to make sure everything went on correctly then wet sanded and then hand polished with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Cleaner Wax.


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Jan 5 2009 9:19PM
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alh10
Posts: 1502 - Karma: 15
i dont play guitar, but that is reeeallly sick, nice job!
Jan 5 2009 9:23PM
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ROOS.
Posts: 1992 - Karma: 39
yo thats good work, does it sound nice?
Jan 5 2009 9:23PM
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BikeMlatt69
Posts: 1947 - Karma: 60
i would like to play some rifts on that
Jan 5 2009 9:24PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451
that thing is beautiful
Jan 5 2009 9:24PM
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idontactuallyski
Posts: 1320 - Karma: 19
wow nice work man thats awesome
Jan 5 2009 9:26PM
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Justin.B
Posts: 2257 - Karma: 721
looks so sick.
Jan 5 2009 9:26PM
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jeremy.g
Posts: 4931 - Karma: 459
awesome. how's it sound?
Jan 5 2009 9:31PM
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Malarky
Posts: 349 - Karma: 11
that is awesome man. I wish I could make my own guitar!
Jan 5 2009 9:33PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Thats pretty sweet dude, building your own guitar is a huge acheivement. Did you just buy a neck or did you make that too?
Jan 5 2009 9:34PM
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kepler.
Posts: 8761 - Karma: 139
Same. Don't play but I can totally respect the fact you building your own guitar. Especially a beautiful one at that.
Jan 5 2009 9:37PM
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GratefulShred
Posts: 419 - Karma: 408
Really classy looking. That must have been hard.
Jan 5 2009 9:40PM
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statuswhitegirl
Posts: 4058 - Karma: 883
Jan 5 2009 9:40PM
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[BRI]noceros
Posts: 2319 - Karma: 40
that is a beautiful guitar
i would really like to hear what it sounds like
Jan 5 2009 9:44PM
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mokeefe257
Posts: 405 - Karma: 10
agreed and props on the craftsmenship man nice work
Jan 5 2009 9:45PM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
i don't own or play guitar (i wish i did), but that is pretty sweet. huge props.
Jan 5 2009 9:46PM
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drumbumocdp
Posts: 3229 - Karma: 1,098
thats a sweet strum box.
my drum teacher(plays guitar as well) has made 3 teles. i really want to try doing one. how much did that all cost you?
Jan 5 2009 9:56PM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
wow man that is so sick respect for building such a sick guitar
Jan 5 2009 10:03PM
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2+2=5
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 18
wow beautiful. looks kinda like my fender special edition lite ash, except mines a lot brighter. does korina have a special tone or something?
Jan 5 2009 10:16PM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
I don't know a lot about guitars but that's pretty amazing. and how did you find a solid piece of wood that wide?
Jan 6 2009 12:05AM
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ontwosticks
Posts: 915 - Karma: 95
what pickups did you put in?
Jan 6 2009 12:09AM
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Arabian.
Posts: 9632 - Karma: 55

My god that is a sexy guitar. have you thought about using a humbucker in the bridge slot? I hear it resonates better with softer woods like Korina. That's why the Korina Flying V is so fucking amazing sounding.

Amazing job though.Tele's are one of ma faves and yours just looks bangable.

Jan 6 2009 12:10AM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 370
good job, ive always wanted a tele
Jan 6 2009 12:11AM
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Shpadoinkle
Posts: 10437 - Karma: 84
That is gorgeous.
Jan 6 2009 12:12AM
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fsscott
Posts: 4684 - Karma: 114
make a vid of that it looks sick man
Jan 6 2009 12:12AM
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freezed
Posts: 12973 - Karma: 500
It does look a lot like the Lite Ash special...I definitely had that in mind making it, I think it's a classy look.

The pickups are custom wound, from a company in Hood River, Oregon called Vintage Vibe. I definitely want the traditional tele setup for this one. If I made another one I might do a Tele Custom style, with a humbucker in the neck though.
Jan 6 2009 12:18AM
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Elijah.
Posts: 9322 - Karma: 76
Oh so sick.
Jan 6 2009 12:20AM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
That's the sexiest tele I've ever seen. Well done sir.
Jan 6 2009 12:58AM
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funk.
Posts: 2679 - Karma: 33
Awesome!  I started building a bass guitar from scratch about five years ago for a school project and put it down for a few and finally finished it (to functioning order) last winter.  All I have yet to do is paint it. 

I made the body out of alder since I knew I wouldn't really be seeing the grain.  The neck is laminated fiery maple, purpleheart, and curly maple with an ebony fingerboard.  I bought a jig to saw the frets but that was the only piece I purchased.  It was a 24 fret long neck.. baller heh.  The rest we shaped ourselves.  The headstock is a subtle curly maple with a fiery maple cap.  I was way into Metallica back then so I gave `er an explorer body style. 

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Four years later:

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Hope all those pictures worked!

and congrats on yours.  It's definitely an accomplishment.



Jan 6 2009 1:08AM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
That old dude grew his hair back! Good for him.
Jan 6 2009 1:16AM
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freezed
Posts: 12973 - Karma: 500
sick with the bass, man...building your own instrument is really fun.

my dad and his friend are building their own amps right now too. so i can rock a fully homebrewed setup, haha.
Jan 6 2009 1:18AM
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funk.
Posts: 2679 - Karma: 33
Hah!
Jan 6 2009 1:28AM
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Flarestrike
Posts: 437 - Karma: 18

What would be harder to make. acoustic or electric?
electrics are nice, but personally i like acoustics, such a nicer sound

class job man, nice work

Jan 6 2009 7:19AM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
All woods have a special tone per say. Its subtle but you can tell the difference if youve been playing awhile.
Jan 6 2009 8:20AM
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A.R.
Posts: 1111 - Karma: 11

huge props man - that tele is beautiful.

tele's are awesome guitars...#1 imo. ive got an fender 04 american tele and a brand new g&l asat classic. tele's are sweet.

Jan 6 2009 8:44AM
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ontwosticks
Posts: 915 - Karma: 95
An acoustic would be exponentially harder to build. Becuase of all the bracing required inside and the shaping of the wood, and how exact everything needs to be inside the body it would be very very difficult for an amateur to build and acoustic guitar without any background.
Jan 6 2009 9:59AM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
haha thats so dope. i helped make my cello, lot of hard work went into that so i bet you doing  it your self was super hard
Jan 6 2009 11:41AM
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uh_lis_uh
Posts: 609 - Karma: 16
that is a beautiful guitar!! i have 3 guitars: 2 acoustic and one electric. none are as sick as yours tho!
Jan 6 2009 4:09PM
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Nicholas.
Posts: 10905 - Karma: 60
wow good job man, that looks really nice.
Jan 6 2009 4:49PM
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IGotScrilla
Posts: 69 - Karma: 10
nice man that looks so sick
Jan 6 2009 4:51PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
How much did this cost you total? I want a strat but I can't decide if I should build one or buy one and fix it up...
Jan 6 2009 4:57PM
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freezed
Posts: 12973 - Karma: 500
Hmmm...I would guess it came out to a bit less than $600. Not cheap, but I got to make every aspect of it custom...4-way wiring harness with tone bleed circuit (doesn't cut high freqs as volume pot is turned down), custom pickups, the neck I wanted, vintage style bridge, etc. So for the money, it was definitely worth it. However, I didn't have to purchase any tools, as my dad already had a jigsaw, drill press, router/router table, etc. So that could significantly up the price if you needed to do that though.

In any case, I would recommend making your own. It's really fun.
Jan 6 2009 5:33PM
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hellomynameisjef
Posts: 5794 - Karma: 167
yes
Jan 6 2009 5:36PM
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wnab21
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 18
Thats pretty sick.
Jan 6 2009 5:38PM
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.Asain-Skiier
Posts: 3708 - Karma: 977
dude that take time and skill
hope you own it up with that and show everyone up.
Jan 6 2009 6:03PM
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NE.
Posts: 234 - Karma: 428
that is awesome, the body looks sick.
Jan 6 2009 7:47PM
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Skier.for.life
Posts: 373 - Karma: 64
the most creative thing that i have ever made with wood is a clock that looks like New Hampshire
Jan 6 2009 8:03PM
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Moonlight
Posts: 905 - Karma: 18
that is sick good work
Jan 6 2009 8:04PM
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Jay31
Posts: 796 - Karma: 11
Excellent work man.  How does it sound?  Looks like it would give off a nice deep tone from the weight
Jan 6 2009 8:04PM
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wiglaf
Posts: 4877 - Karma: 141
It looks pretty good. Did it set up well? I've been thinking about building a guitar but I'm worried that I might just fuck it up... I think getting a beater and just modding the shit out of it would be good practice and maybe a little confidence booster for the real thing.
Jan 6 2009 11:50PM
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