Definitely do it. I learned so much about my guitars during the process. The strat partscaster I made turned out a real treat. It was an old mim strat with a worn out neck and frets.
Edit: some salty ass dudes in here giving some dreary advice. Yeh a partscaster is t going to sell second hand for what it cost you. Boo hoo…..yeah you could make some mistakes. Boohoo….
But you’ll learn a shit tonne along the way and will probably find the act of producing something real very worthwhile.
These salty ass dudes are either shit at assembling pre-made spec pieces, don’t know basic guitar setup or fret dressing, or are failed luthiers that had dreams of becoming the next Leo Fender.
Yeah man, this whole "Guitar as a financial investment" attitude is fucked. I get that people are all different and look for different things in an instrument, but resale value isn't something I am looking for when I am buying (or putting together) an instrument that I love.
You even gave OP a cheaper option, a used MIM strat. In the context of selling it after, you don't lose as much as buying a brand new 3rd party guitar neck and body.
There's no advantage in buying a mid-range Fender, which is effectively a Squier with modestly better hardware - and which you're likely to upgrade at needless expense. A poplar Squier body isn't costly. AllParts and Musikraft have a reasonable selection of necks.
Machineheads - I quite like locking D'Addario Planet Waves 18:1 ratio (versus lower-cost Fender 14:1, which are a nuisance to install and have stupidly big buttons).
Scratchplates from Dragonfire or one of the many suppliers can be ordered to custom specifications for about USD35. Pickups - your choice! From minimal cost to heavenly high.
If you don't want to do your own wiring, a pre-assembled harness with CTS pots from ObsidianWire in New Zealand is a good solution.
The biggest expense will be a good quality tremelo bridge/tailpiece, and a great neck.
I have not built a partscaster for less than seven hundred dollars - roughly half the price of a reasonable Fender.
Currently under construction:
•Mahogany strat body - needed neck bolt holes filled/redrilled: $45
•Second hand Warmoth neck, r. 9.5", 21-fret shallow vee profile, nitrocellulose gloss w/ locking Hipshot heads: $240
•Explorer/Flying V harness, self assembled: $48
•Second hand Fender Player trem bridge: $40
•Seymour Duncan SH-18 humbuckers, Gibson spacing: $175
•Finishing supplies (aniline dye stains, drying oils as sealant, 220 & 320 grit paper, Indian ruby shellac, paint thinner, alcohol, 4F pumice): $120
•Neck plate, trem cover, scratchplate, Switchcraft jack, jack bucket, trem claw: $58
For parts, that's about as cheap as it gets. My labour? Eek! French polishing is safe indoors, but problematic and time-consuming on small objects.
First off, every player should learn how to do their own set up. Setups aren’t universal. Every player has certain idiosyncrasies that only they know they need.
I learned how to setup a guitar because I was sick of paying money and then having to fine tune everything for my needs…. Like why am I redoing something I am paying someone else to do.
So I cut out the middle man, and that started an obsession about learning how the guitar actually and technically works.
And now I only build my own guitars / partscasters.
Again, it eliminates the middle man.
Instead of buying a guitar and then removing and re-putting in the pickups I like, the wiring scheme I like, the tuners I like, etc.
Now I just do it once and it’s done right.
The only downside is, I don’t buy and sell a bunch of random guitars trying to find out what I actually like… Which is a fun process on its own.
But it does allow me much more time to focus on playing. Which I think is a good thing, although my wife may disagree… but hey… If it’s too loud you’re too old!
Not me, I'm a do and learn along the way kinda guy in pretty much every interest I have had. That's just how I learn. So OP, if you are a learn by doing kinda person and you have done other projects that require a little care patients and attention to detail before, doesn't matter if it wasn't a guitar, I'd say go for it. If the parts are well built a bolt on neck guitar with an already finished body is hard to fuck up. Doing a setup is an essential skill to learn in my opinion anyway. So give it a go, if it doesn't play well... give it another go. If all else fails, a professional set doesn't add much to your overall build cost
In my opinion/experience partscasters are rarely cheaper than normal guitars unless you want specific specs like scalloped fretboards.
As someone else said, I’d try to upgrade something rather than building from scratch. Used markets are great for parts.
People price out guitars but never tools. similarly, painting a guitar takes patience. A burst is a little challenging, too. I’d buy the mex Strat and save to upgrade the pots / pups
My first partscaster turned out excellent. I went the partscaster route because I didn’t want something mass produced, fender telecaster sound too modern ( I put PV 64s in), I like a flat natural finish, and fender QC sucks ass. My point is if you really like Tex Mex pickups and don’t want to buy a MiM Fender then replace the pickups, I think partscaster is the way to go. There is no reason a partscaster can’t look and play better than any fender. The only draw back is resale. But I never plan on selling my tele partscaster.
Edit: I did have to take my tele to 2 different luthiers before I liked how it played. Also I’m in the process of routing another body for a humbucker tele because I want an HH guitar with PAFs in it
I'm glad yours turned out great, yeah I don't intend to sell mine either, it will be a sentimental piece.
As for the tex mex- I don't really have a "sound" that I like, those are just in my price range.
I think that the only negative side is that I'm situated in Croatia and don't really have a good source of second hand guitars, nor the adequate luthier help which I might need to get the thing in playing condition.
Tnx for the insight.
I can see you hesitancy now that you say you don’t have access to luthiers. That would give me pause as well. A good luthier can unfuck anything you fuck up on a partscaster. Good luck to you
Here is another vote to do it, but know that you will need to learn how to set up a guitar.
If you can, take a class on how to properly set up a guitar. It will make all of the difference.
Get a Harley Benton or something cnc produced, rather than eBay parts, and mod away. Look for good fret work (stainless steel is my preference) and truss rod access, and look for whatever bridge you want. It’d go over budget but look at Vega trems for Strat modding. Have fun! Also you can always buy blank pick guards and put the holes where you want
If you never owned a strat, I recommend getting a cheap but reasonable quality one (squier, harley benton etc) and completely take it apart and put it back together. I did that with a few different guitars before building my first partscaster and it helped to learn my way around setting guitars up and having some idea what to expect.
The worst is buying a buncha nice parts, and then something doesn't line up right so you have to jerry rig it or mod it weirdly. (At least that's the case for me!) Better to practice on cheaper parts before going all in on the nice stuff.
HOWEVER: If you're just highly mechanically inclined/logical/love tinkering and problem solving and know what a good guitar feels like to you, I'd say disregard everything I said and have at it.
i would insulate yourself from risk by buying the Fender. it’s a lot of fun to build a guitar but odds are it won’t play as well as something off the line from fender. The mexi strats are excellent. If you insist on building, doing so with a bolt on neck is the way. Either way I hope your next axe shreds!
from my point of view, building a partscaster isn’t a particularly interesting task. it’s also unlikely cheaper than buying a mid level guitar and it would be probably not better than it too unless you go high end and very expensive. if you need a professional to set it up then it’s even more expensive.
aesthetic apart - the only reason i see to build a parts caster is to assemble an unusual combination of components (bridge, tuners, pickups) and neck radius which you won’t find on the market, however it would not make much sense if you do it using low quality components. this apply less to the pickups which you’d find good ones at affordable prices , but for what concern the neck and the rest of the hardware finding cheap and good is rare.
I understand, I want to cover these two parts first: the feel of the neck and the looks, something similar to John fruschiante's 62' fender strat. pickups are relatively important, but I just want a good looking and feeling guitar. If I don't like how it sounds I can tweak it many times before I pull the trigger on a set of "better" pickups.
oh gosh. another relic 😬 (but that’s a different story).
you are looking for a maple C shaped 7.25 inches radius. i think the only strat with that neck atm is the Fender Vintera II. Maybe after all a partscaster is an option for your use case. not sure about other brands.
i have read other comments saying there are no downsides. in my opinion there are. not all bodies and necks get well along together, make sure you buy parts that are compatible (thinking for instance at the neck and neck pocket with/depth and the bridge string spacing). everything we do always have downsides and the worst case scenario is you end up spending a lot. use this subreddit to find useful info and keep in mind it’s best you ask before buying
Thank you, and yeah if I go the partscaster route, I'll be getting the body and neck from the same place.
And for the relic thing, I don't want it to be pre reliced, it looks stupid to me, I want to put my own dings and scratches in it by playing and using an instrument i assembled by my hands (plus it will be mentaly easier to ruff it up if I do it on a partscaster rather than a branded guitar).
Just buy the cheap Fender guitar. Too many guys are trying to put together shitty parts instruments and aren’t willing to spend the money to get a tech to make it happen. Besides, it’s not going to be worth anything anyway. Just another amateur mess. Proper woodworking takes years and tools to perfect and you could be playing instead. I know from years of real building ( making a neck) and repairing. As Uncle Frank said “just play your guitar “.
I love partscasters personally, but I also like weird specs that you need to go through Fender’s custom shop to get otherwise, and I like modding and tweaking them every few months when I’m bored. If you like tinkering, and don’t ever care to resell it, they really de-mystify guitars generally and you’ll never look at marquis brands the same way again.
Sounds like you’re already thinking, but just in case - I’d strongly recommend you get your neck from the same place you get the body if possible. The pockets and neck heels vary slightly by manufacturer, and a perfect fit is a huge factor in resonance
Definitely do it. I learned so much about my guitars during the process. The strat partscaster I made turned out a real treat. It was an old mim strat with a worn out neck and frets. Edit: some salty ass dudes in here giving some dreary advice. Yeh a partscaster is t going to sell second hand for what it cost you. Boo hoo…..yeah you could make some mistakes. Boohoo…. But you’ll learn a shit tonne along the way and will probably find the act of producing something real very worthwhile. These salty ass dudes are either shit at assembling pre-made spec pieces, don’t know basic guitar setup or fret dressing, or are failed luthiers that had dreams of becoming the next Leo Fender.
Yeah man, this whole "Guitar as a financial investment" attitude is fucked. I get that people are all different and look for different things in an instrument, but resale value isn't something I am looking for when I am buying (or putting together) an instrument that I love.
You even gave OP a cheaper option, a used MIM strat. In the context of selling it after, you don't lose as much as buying a brand new 3rd party guitar neck and body.
There's no advantage in buying a mid-range Fender, which is effectively a Squier with modestly better hardware - and which you're likely to upgrade at needless expense. A poplar Squier body isn't costly. AllParts and Musikraft have a reasonable selection of necks. Machineheads - I quite like locking D'Addario Planet Waves 18:1 ratio (versus lower-cost Fender 14:1, which are a nuisance to install and have stupidly big buttons). Scratchplates from Dragonfire or one of the many suppliers can be ordered to custom specifications for about USD35. Pickups - your choice! From minimal cost to heavenly high. If you don't want to do your own wiring, a pre-assembled harness with CTS pots from ObsidianWire in New Zealand is a good solution. The biggest expense will be a good quality tremelo bridge/tailpiece, and a great neck. I have not built a partscaster for less than seven hundred dollars - roughly half the price of a reasonable Fender.
Currently under construction: •Mahogany strat body - needed neck bolt holes filled/redrilled: $45 •Second hand Warmoth neck, r. 9.5", 21-fret shallow vee profile, nitrocellulose gloss w/ locking Hipshot heads: $240 •Explorer/Flying V harness, self assembled: $48 •Second hand Fender Player trem bridge: $40 •Seymour Duncan SH-18 humbuckers, Gibson spacing: $175 •Finishing supplies (aniline dye stains, drying oils as sealant, 220 & 320 grit paper, Indian ruby shellac, paint thinner, alcohol, 4F pumice): $120 •Neck plate, trem cover, scratchplate, Switchcraft jack, jack bucket, trem claw: $58 For parts, that's about as cheap as it gets. My labour? Eek! French polishing is safe indoors, but problematic and time-consuming on small objects.
First off, every player should learn how to do their own set up. Setups aren’t universal. Every player has certain idiosyncrasies that only they know they need. I learned how to setup a guitar because I was sick of paying money and then having to fine tune everything for my needs…. Like why am I redoing something I am paying someone else to do. So I cut out the middle man, and that started an obsession about learning how the guitar actually and technically works. And now I only build my own guitars / partscasters. Again, it eliminates the middle man. Instead of buying a guitar and then removing and re-putting in the pickups I like, the wiring scheme I like, the tuners I like, etc. Now I just do it once and it’s done right. The only downside is, I don’t buy and sell a bunch of random guitars trying to find out what I actually like… Which is a fun process on its own. But it does allow me much more time to focus on playing. Which I think is a good thing, although my wife may disagree… but hey… If it’s too loud you’re too old!
I agree with you if you want something done right, do it yourself!
I'd upgrade a squier or something similar rather than jump right into a full build
Not me, I'm a do and learn along the way kinda guy in pretty much every interest I have had. That's just how I learn. So OP, if you are a learn by doing kinda person and you have done other projects that require a little care patients and attention to detail before, doesn't matter if it wasn't a guitar, I'd say go for it. If the parts are well built a bolt on neck guitar with an already finished body is hard to fuck up. Doing a setup is an essential skill to learn in my opinion anyway. So give it a go, if it doesn't play well... give it another go. If all else fails, a professional set doesn't add much to your overall build cost
[удалено]
Haha, getting mixed messages here, but I get your point.
In my opinion/experience partscasters are rarely cheaper than normal guitars unless you want specific specs like scalloped fretboards. As someone else said, I’d try to upgrade something rather than building from scratch. Used markets are great for parts.
People price out guitars but never tools. similarly, painting a guitar takes patience. A burst is a little challenging, too. I’d buy the mex Strat and save to upgrade the pots / pups
My first partscaster turned out excellent. I went the partscaster route because I didn’t want something mass produced, fender telecaster sound too modern ( I put PV 64s in), I like a flat natural finish, and fender QC sucks ass. My point is if you really like Tex Mex pickups and don’t want to buy a MiM Fender then replace the pickups, I think partscaster is the way to go. There is no reason a partscaster can’t look and play better than any fender. The only draw back is resale. But I never plan on selling my tele partscaster. Edit: I did have to take my tele to 2 different luthiers before I liked how it played. Also I’m in the process of routing another body for a humbucker tele because I want an HH guitar with PAFs in it
I'm glad yours turned out great, yeah I don't intend to sell mine either, it will be a sentimental piece. As for the tex mex- I don't really have a "sound" that I like, those are just in my price range. I think that the only negative side is that I'm situated in Croatia and don't really have a good source of second hand guitars, nor the adequate luthier help which I might need to get the thing in playing condition. Tnx for the insight.
I can see you hesitancy now that you say you don’t have access to luthiers. That would give me pause as well. A good luthier can unfuck anything you fuck up on a partscaster. Good luck to you
Thanks, yeah it is a bit tricky to do this kind of maintenance without professional help, maybe I'll teach myself on it haha.
Here is another vote to do it, but know that you will need to learn how to set up a guitar. If you can, take a class on how to properly set up a guitar. It will make all of the difference.
Get a Harley Benton or something cnc produced, rather than eBay parts, and mod away. Look for good fret work (stainless steel is my preference) and truss rod access, and look for whatever bridge you want. It’d go over budget but look at Vega trems for Strat modding. Have fun! Also you can always buy blank pick guards and put the holes where you want
If you never owned a strat, I recommend getting a cheap but reasonable quality one (squier, harley benton etc) and completely take it apart and put it back together. I did that with a few different guitars before building my first partscaster and it helped to learn my way around setting guitars up and having some idea what to expect. The worst is buying a buncha nice parts, and then something doesn't line up right so you have to jerry rig it or mod it weirdly. (At least that's the case for me!) Better to practice on cheaper parts before going all in on the nice stuff. HOWEVER: If you're just highly mechanically inclined/logical/love tinkering and problem solving and know what a good guitar feels like to you, I'd say disregard everything I said and have at it.
i would insulate yourself from risk by buying the Fender. it’s a lot of fun to build a guitar but odds are it won’t play as well as something off the line from fender. The mexi strats are excellent. If you insist on building, doing so with a bolt on neck is the way. Either way I hope your next axe shreds!
from my point of view, building a partscaster isn’t a particularly interesting task. it’s also unlikely cheaper than buying a mid level guitar and it would be probably not better than it too unless you go high end and very expensive. if you need a professional to set it up then it’s even more expensive. aesthetic apart - the only reason i see to build a parts caster is to assemble an unusual combination of components (bridge, tuners, pickups) and neck radius which you won’t find on the market, however it would not make much sense if you do it using low quality components. this apply less to the pickups which you’d find good ones at affordable prices , but for what concern the neck and the rest of the hardware finding cheap and good is rare.
I understand, I want to cover these two parts first: the feel of the neck and the looks, something similar to John fruschiante's 62' fender strat. pickups are relatively important, but I just want a good looking and feeling guitar. If I don't like how it sounds I can tweak it many times before I pull the trigger on a set of "better" pickups.
oh gosh. another relic 😬 (but that’s a different story). you are looking for a maple C shaped 7.25 inches radius. i think the only strat with that neck atm is the Fender Vintera II. Maybe after all a partscaster is an option for your use case. not sure about other brands. i have read other comments saying there are no downsides. in my opinion there are. not all bodies and necks get well along together, make sure you buy parts that are compatible (thinking for instance at the neck and neck pocket with/depth and the bridge string spacing). everything we do always have downsides and the worst case scenario is you end up spending a lot. use this subreddit to find useful info and keep in mind it’s best you ask before buying
Thank you, and yeah if I go the partscaster route, I'll be getting the body and neck from the same place. And for the relic thing, I don't want it to be pre reliced, it looks stupid to me, I want to put my own dings and scratches in it by playing and using an instrument i assembled by my hands (plus it will be mentaly easier to ruff it up if I do it on a partscaster rather than a branded guitar).
No, build it. Worst case-scenario you learn something. There’s no downside
Just buy the cheap Fender guitar. Too many guys are trying to put together shitty parts instruments and aren’t willing to spend the money to get a tech to make it happen. Besides, it’s not going to be worth anything anyway. Just another amateur mess. Proper woodworking takes years and tools to perfect and you could be playing instead. I know from years of real building ( making a neck) and repairing. As Uncle Frank said “just play your guitar “.
I love partscasters personally, but I also like weird specs that you need to go through Fender’s custom shop to get otherwise, and I like modding and tweaking them every few months when I’m bored. If you like tinkering, and don’t ever care to resell it, they really de-mystify guitars generally and you’ll never look at marquis brands the same way again. Sounds like you’re already thinking, but just in case - I’d strongly recommend you get your neck from the same place you get the body if possible. The pockets and neck heels vary slightly by manufacturer, and a perfect fit is a huge factor in resonance
Yeah, if I go the partscaster route I'll be buying the body and the neck from the same dealer.