Sandra asks…
is it cheaper to make your own guitar neck?
i want to copy my guitars warped guitar neck in my construction class during the winter… is this a good idea?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Cheaper yes, definitely as you only need good wood (not expensive), inlays, fretwire etc. A pre-made neck will cost 3 times as much at least.
I’ll warn you though, its not easy. Getting the profile right, making sure the scale is perfect so the frets play in tune is very difficult. Weigh up the pros and cons first.
Beware of buying from Stewmac as they charge a hell of a lot more than they should for basic things. Advice from them is good, prices not so good.
Thomas asks…
I’ve been looking for a guitar but I am having trouble finding a guitar with the specs I want. Any suggestions?
I want a guitar that has neck through construction, strings through the body, no tremolo, at least 22 frets, a humbucker in the bridge position and oh it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. What guitars fit this profile? Used or new I don’t care. Ebay is definitely an option.
NydiaMccartney answers:
I’d recommend a fender stratocaster, it fits most of your specs, and if it’s price that’s a problem try the replica stratocasters, for example the yamaha pacific also fits your requirements and is half the price http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/yamaha-pacifica012/1268. Hope this helps.
Michael asks…
Switching from classical to electric guitar?
If I practice classical guitar for 1,5 years and then switch to electric, how long will it take me to fully get used to electric guitar playing (steel strings, thiner neck, construction etc)? How hard do you thing it’ll be?
Also, is it easier to go from acoustic to electric than from classical to electric?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Your classical playing will help you fret chords much better. Also, a lot of the bad sloppy techniques electric guitarists use you won’t have to worry about since you learned the right way on a classical. But, it can be harder to play chords on an electric since the necks are so much thinner.
Also, some of the techniques that are frowned upon with classical playing are used quite frequently on electic guitar such as hanging your thumb over the top of neck. So you may have to get used to moving your thumb around from the back middle (like classical) to the top of the neck. Too often electic guitarists hang their thumbs over the top too much and don’t know how to play with the thumb in the middle. That’s where your classical playing can help you.
I would say it would be easier to go from acoustic to electric. But, don’t let that stop you. Learning classical first is a really great way to go. You are ahead of the game already since you learned good form.
One last thing that isn’t really related to anything. If you ever get a chance to spend a weekend with a banjo do it. I played classical for years and tried a banjo and all of the fingerpinking was easy to pick up. I was jammin on the banjo within a day. That all came from a classical guitar background. Just something to think about.
Steven asks…
Is it possible for a guitar to have the neck and body the same piece?
Not a set neck, or through the body, its just the same piece of wood. Would it still work? Or would you constantly be having issues with your neck?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Yeah… That’s exactly what neck-thru construction is.
Bolt-on necks are, well, separate pieces that are bolted together.
Set necks are separate pieces that are glued in place.
Neck-thru construction is where the wood in the neck runs the entire length of the instrument. The pickups and bridge are mounted to that same piece. A couple of “wings” are usually glued to the side to make the guitar something other than plank-of-wood-shaped.
Take a look, here is a guitar with a 5-piece neck-thru construction
http://students.cis.uab.edu/jouellet/neck-thru%20guitar.jpg
Here is a neck-thru Carvin guitar with a single piece neck
http://www.carvinguitars.com/isa/images/full/dc127c-alder-84144.jpg
You can also add a solid top to a neck-thru guitar, but it is uncommon.
They don’t make guitars out of one single piece of wood. They just don’t mill wood that way… It’s wasteful. Have you ever seen a cartoon where somebody quickly shaves a tree down into a baseball bat or a toothpick? That’s basically how wasteful making a guitar that way would be. People have done it, but it’s not an economical approach to guitar making, so it isn’t common.
Lisa asks…
Is agathis any good for a guitar body?
I’m looking at trading in my ESP LTD JH-200 for an ESP LTD M-200FM. The main reason is for the Floyd bridge and the neck-through construction, but it says the body is made from agathis… Is this good quality wood, and is it even worth trading guitars? Thanks for the help.
NydiaMccartney answers:
Agathis is the cheapest wood to make a body out of – it’s classified a “Hard Wood” but it’s softer than maple or poplar. So in a bolt-on neck guitar, the sustain will be slightly less. But in a neck-through design, the body “wings” don’t really matter.
Sandy asks…
What difference does the shape of the guitar make to the sound produced?
I am thinking of designing my own guitar but I’d like to know what difference the shape of the guitar in question makes in accordance to the sound produced.
Y2H… those sound different due to differences in size, not shape.
Although, the wood’s shape does make a difference.
NydiaMccartney answers:
I’m sure that if you did some very elaborate vibration analysis of guitar bodies, you would find some differences.
The parts of the body that really impact the sound are the areas around the bridge and where/how the neck joins the body (unless the design is a neck-thru).
Les Paul first proved out the concept of a solid body guitar by basically making one out of a 2×4, and then attaching “wings” which did little other than make it look more like a conventional guitar.
Of course, the species of wood you use will make a lot of difference, as will the construction techniques.
But the shape….as long as you’ve got sufficient wood around the bridge and neck joint, it really won’t matter.
Good luck.
Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken
Daniel asks…
What is the price of a Jackson King V from the Jackson Guitars custom shop?
I would just like to know what a Jackson King V custom with mahogany body, mahogany neck (through body construction), ebony fingerboard with white binding, headstock with white binding, regular mother-of-pearl “shark fin” inlays, strings-through-body, and regular King V wiring, with a silver finish on the body. It’s a little technical, but I would really like to know.
NydiaMccartney answers:
You need to either contact Jackson direct or contact a Jackson dealer. If you are ordering it from the factory, there is no other way to tell you what they will charge.
Ken asks…
Is it possible to repalce the nylon strings on my Classical Guitar with steel strings?
I’m just wondering if it’s okay to restring my Classical Guitar with steel strings, even though it originally came fitted with nylon strings. Thanks a lot!
NydiaMccartney answers:
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!
While you can get away putting nylon strings on a steel-stringed guitar (though NOT recommended), you will absolutely ruin your classical guitar by putting steel strings on it. Steel strings require heavier construction in the guitar neck to handle the extra tension.
Maybe if you prefer an acoustic steel-stringed guitar, you should get one. You can even sell your current classical guitar and use the money towards the instrument you prefer.
Maria asks…
How can you tell if a guitar needs steel or nylon strings?
I recently bought a second hand guitar, it has steel strings but everything i’ve seen on the internet suggests it needs nylon strings.
How can I tell which it needs? and does it matter if I replace the steel strings with nylon?
NydiaMccartney answers:
You can tell which it needs by the construction of the guitar – nylon string classical guitars are smaller in overall size, have a wider fingerboard at the nut (the top part that the strings rest on) and will have a shorter neck. See the referenced site for reference measurements and diagrams.
It matters if you leave the steel strings on a nylon string guitar; steel strings require a much greater tension to be maintained in order to play on them, and that can cause stress that will crack an instrument not designed to be strung with them.
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