DIY ELECTRIC GUITAR FROM PLYWOOD - a Decent project
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
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I've never built a guitar before, so when the opportunity to make a piece for the Rockler Plywood Challenge came around, I thought, "Hey, why not?" Now, my disclaimer is that I did my best, and there's probably some stuff an actual luthier would roll their eyes at SUPER hard, but, in the end, it works great and looks great!
If there's anything you think I should know for modifying this guitar or building another one, let me know in the comments.
It was a total DIY project, using as many reclaimed materials as I could manage. Soon I will release an in depth video on building your own pickups.
Ok, so to address a few of the most common (and typically valid) critiques of this build:
1. I built it over 2 days out of literally garbage. I did not set out to be the next Rickenbacker, I just wanted to see what was possible with as low of a barrier to entry as I could manage. You're seeing my first 6 string build. I'm not selling this piece, nor am I selling plans for it. I wanted to show people that making a working electric guitar for almost free with cheap tools is possible. So get off the high horse and join us over here in the playground of fun ideas. It's way better and we have ice cream. THERE WILL BE FOLLOW UP VIDS!!
2. It's not finished yet. I will be adding a truss rod, i will be redoing the fretboard and frets, and I will be adding a tone knob and possibly humbucking the pickup. I don't know exactly when, but thats the plan. Maybe a tremolo system also.
3. The dinosaur SHOULD have been facing outward. I cut it wrong like an idiot, but at least this leaves me free to paint another one on the other side!
4. Am I the only one who thinks the 3d inlay is rad as hell? Everyone's all about the hinge but c'mon!
Anyway, thanks to everyone for watching, i really do appreciate it, and all of the love hate or whatever comes my way. Have a good day and if you think you can do better, PLEASE absolutely go out and do it and show the world.
the 3d inlay is rad as hell! I'm a bit skeptical of its longevity as a pick guard, but who cares, it looks cool
My only nit pick really is not laminating another layer over the top so both sides of the neck is glued to a surface, I'd be worried about the through neck splitting from the body. Since it's glued to plywood
Also you might wanna do the soldering you can do without mounting the parts inside the body if you plan on doing one with more pots and a switch, it makes the soldering alot easier
good tip, thank you!
The hinge bit is called the tailpiece
As a guitar builder the most impressive part of this build is the custom pickup. It may not be pretty but it worked and you did it yourself. I only have 1 major complaint about this build, you should have put the dinosaur on the outside of the back that thing looked awesome. Still great job man.
thanks so much. yeah it was vary much a "can it be done?" experiment that will move on to "can it be improved?" soon
My Questions about Pickups- I had some with 2 wires and others with 4 wires. Please explain. Still Learning
These are called coil taps. Essentially you can electrically change the pickup from a single coil to a humbucker and back again.
@@richardprutz6458 2 wires... negative + positive
4 wires ?? ...negative + positive + neutral + ground
I think...?!
Nah it's just allowing for a coil tap as Pat said. @@redbullnshimano1 You have 2 single coils that are reverse wound reverse polarity and put together to make a hum bucker. The 4 wires are the start and end of each coil. A Standard non tapped hum bucker will bridge the end of coil one to the start of coil two leaving the start of coil one and the end of coil two as your two "Normal" wires, same as what you have with the single coils. Tapped coils have wires at the start and finish of each coil giving you coil one start, coil one finish, coil two start, coil two finish.
legitimately the coolest guitar build out there, there's an honesty to the materials and construction that I haven't found anywhere else. I keep coming back to this video.
super cool project man. totally love the super grungy look, but SUPER sad you didnt put that dinosaur to the outside!!! that would have been the cherry on top
yeah i goofed that up, i meant it to face out. but now its just our little secret
Yes, that would have been great, putting the dinosaur on the outside. I wondered why he was hiding his artwork. It looked good to me.
Note to self: Dinosaur out.
Shards -And feel it, by god.
WOW only in America. good old Yankee ingenuity, very interesting video, most I don't watch all the way thru, but I did this one, good job.
By far the most unique & cool entry to the challenge yet! Awesome build & your voiceover is hilarious as always!
haha thanks jonny, I had to hold back at one point to keep it PG13!
Ironically the homemade pickup sounds better than some of the other guitar builds i watched where they bought expensive ones.
TRUE STORY: When I was about 14, I was at the local guitar shop. Some guy comes busting into the place and slams his case down on the front desk. The owner says, "Hey man, what seems to be the problem?" This guy looks him straight in his eye sockets and says, "I busted a nut on my guitar."
I damn near died laughing.
hahahahahahaha yeah i would have died on the spot
thats kindah like that joke about the pinguin walking intoo the autostore and trowing a waterpump on the counter , the autostore owner looks at him and sais : think you blew a seal ,,,, after wish the pinguin franticly tries to wipe his beak
It's not the first video I see about building guitars, but the pickup ... and functional! In this you surpassed all the others.
I'm sure you can find awesome woodworking plans on woodprix
Really nice I think. Thanks a lot for that idea. woodprix is good
Super cool! You should have a luthier add a better floating bridge and nut and intonate it properly.
A perfect "try not to cringe" for Luthiers! Well done!
if you're looking at this project as a guitar, then, well... if you're looking at it as a piece of art, it's a masterpiece.
"Wait for my nut to dry" got a massive laugh out of me
I gotta say this was incredible, I had just started learning about building my own DIY electric guitar, and this came right at the right time, it taught me so much. I think I'll likely go with a kit for my first time but this did incredible for teaching me the basics of what a electric guitar needs, thanks!
thanks, and im so glad I could help! Good luck with your build!
Ali Then you’ll love his bagpipe video.
I swear, this was one of the most entertaining videos I've seen on the internet. Great work!
Awesome build! That Dinosaur wanted to face out, though.
I'm fucking pissed off you wasted that dianasaur, you not funny dude that was mental what a waste it was beautiful
@@briantrend6675 True, that is one wasted dinosaur...poor dinosaur.
I truly love the textures behind this guitar. And it's a conversational piece of art to show to friends.
The purpose of the ground wire to the bridge is to ground the strings, which will generate an electric charge as they vibrate in the magnetic field of the pickup.
To bleed this charge off, it's grounded, with a metal to metal connection from the strings to your ground circuit. It looks like your bridge is wood, which will insulate the strings from the wire and prevent the strings from grounding.
When I built my electric guitar I also used a wooden bridge, so I grounded the strings through the tail piece, which was metal. I just ran a piece of wire to the mounting screw and tightened it down. Piece of cake.
Excellent. I loved the whole thing. You are the true guitarist. Thank you for sharing.
since you are using a hinge - you could just slide a spring under it and attach something as an arm to create a floating trem.....
thats a great idea! I'm adding it to the list of modifications for the future
brilliant. I love the pickup.
You did an amazing job on this, but my only complaint is that you didn’t have the dinosaur on the outside! He deserves to be seen by all
Not a woodworker, not a musician and definitely not a guitar maker, but I am an artist (painter), and that my friend is a beautiful piece of work. You have a good sense of shape color and texture.
thank you!
He said nut... :)
tee hee
Smh
john D: u hab to punch me now
should've lubed it though ;)
crabbtrixexp yeah it was really rough going in
I built a few guitars and I don't think your doing to bad. I admire your perseverance. Your design is killer. True Americana art.
I know nothing about building or playing guitars but that one is awesome! For sure the dinosaur would be great on the outside. Really nice man!
I know this is from 4 years ago but in the small chance that you end up seeing this, I wanna thank you for making this video. You approached this project with some badass ingenuity and makes me wanna try to build my own instrument as well (most likely a simple 3-string slider but it’s a start) you fkn rock dude, I love how it turned out!
Thank you. I really appreciate that. Good luck on your build!
Very cool! My only constructive critique is it would have been cool to leave the dinosaur 🦖 painting facing outward on the back. Good job!
that was my original intent, but i traced it backwards and only realized after i cut it out :(
Keith Decent It happens to the best of us... at least it’ll be safe & fossilized inside 👍🏽
This inspired me in many ways from woodworking craftsmanship to musical instrument building to pick up winding. Speaking as an amateur musician or woodworker I can overlook any imperfections and just see the pure inspiration. I am going to do something with that spark.
I like how you show little clips even if it’s just one or two seconds long that tell a complete story for example the hinge to hold the strings down, you were buffing it away with some kind of spinning disk to restore a little shine on it and as somebody who doesn’t intuitively know to do that, it just gives me all kinds of ideas of what is possible. No detail went unnoticed for me.
Including how the pick guard mountain peak wood area kind of looks like a super Mario back drop. Or is that just me.
awesome! I'm super glad to hear that. Get to it and have fun!
You're just the best. This is the most creative, complete and simple explanation of electric guitar construction I've seen out there. Can't believe you made something so cool without any excessively sophisticated carpentry, welding or electronics skills.
Theres not enough words to describe the depth of kewlness.
Bravo 👏
Thanks Bill!
Keith that looks amazing!!! Love the character this thing has. Great job !!!
I’m a man of my word.
HOW DID YOU FIND THIS?!? lol thanks for watching buddy
Keith Decent @jackman works sent me
Nice video. What I like the most is the lack of annoying music that others use. The narration was recorded at one level and sounded good. The guitar build itself was more that I expected. Diy dream.
A scrap guitar is the kind of project I think Ben from the Crimson Guitar channel would like to give a try. He's an amazing guitar builder, but he seems quite attracted to the more experimental stuff. I'm citing Ben because all the crap stuck on your guitar reminded me of his oxidized copper projects. And it actually turned out quite nice, aesthetically at least.
thanks! I'll have to go check out his channel.
Ayy i watch him lol
Ben's MF kit build is turning out awesome.
The kind of scrap Ben has lying around would probably make a bunch of high-end guitars.
Ben's great, very often he will stop and you see his creative process at work in front of you.
By far one of the best videos I’ve seen on YT. You are super creative, and like me, probably like to put way more into every project that you do (hence the “overachiever” part haha). Love your personality too, man.
I have zero complaints, other than maybe the main consensus of putting the Dino on the outside. Idk if anyone has said it already, but you technically built a “Reptar”. Part Reptile, part Guitar. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🔥🔥 Keep killin it dude!
90% of the comments: should've showed the dinosaur.
10% nice guitar...
Looks like shit
Sounds like shit
The bridge is kinda cool, but that's about it.
Bryan May is pretty good i have been told and he doesn't even have a guitar pedal and he builds his own 1 pickup guitar and he made the pickups and all too. LOTS of guitar brands asked to be his sponsor but no one could get it right so he just continued building every guitar he played.
Incredible man!
yeah i did a podcast episode all about Bryan May's guitar build. It's incredibly fascinating. Check out ftgupodcast.com if you're curious!
@@KeithDecent wow thanks man, I'm definitely going to watch it
You have 2800 subs and you only have 60-something likes on this video...what’s wrong with people?!? Keith, this is the most awesome thing. I don’t know how to play guitar, and I know even less about how they’re made, so it was awesome to see you build it from scratch. There’s not a single detail I don’t love...EXCEPT...you should’ve kept the dinosaur showing 😂 Awesome job, I love the waffle pattern...the old hinge...everything. Great work! 👍🏻
haha man if i could figure out how to get people to see my content, i totally would! I like to say I'm "youtubes best kept secret." As for the dino, i meant to leave him on the outside but didnt realize until i had it cut out that i screwed up! ugh. Anyway, thanks a ton for the kind words and for watching!
I couldn’t agree more.
I am impressed... just your patience and determination alone are inspirational. Sound not too bad either. Great job!
Very unique, and it sounds decent.
hahaha nice. thanks!
The aesthetic is so good. Others may not like it but tbh I love how it turned out looking, like a Borderlands item
Just FYI... neck through guitars still typically have a trussrod... still really cool build though.
yeah, im seeing where this one will almost certainly warp in the future, so im thinking ill do another video down the road where i install a truss rod, a tone knob, and maybe turn the pickup into a humbucker.
@@KeithDecent I know this is very old now but I wanted to let you know that your neck has extra protection against warping. When you aligned the layers of the plywood the way you did to make the neck you inadvertently replicated some very infamous/famous neck designs. The issue won't be warping, laminate necks are very strong. It's that without a truss rid you won't be able to adjust the action. You're basically stuck with however the neck turns out. Most necks are one piece because a certain amount of flex is desired. Laminated necks are so strong, even if you had put a truss rod in there it might not have been able to bend the neck.
None of this detracts from how great your build is. Most people talk and don't do. I hope you kept on building guitars.
I've been working on a project like this on and off for a while. This is beautiful, thanks for the ideas
Well done . Its a one off classic. Amazing that the intonation is as good as it seems to be , considering that you didn’t account for scale length ,distance between frets , saddle & bridge placement etc. Or did you?
And i dig the pyramids. The only thing i would have like to is see different is the dinosaur on the outside.
I love how you don't really know what you're doing but you're going for and it's working out really well, Helped inspire me to be getting back onto learning to build guitars
Could you make another video and give this guita to a professional guita player to try?
That's the most punk rock guitar I've ever seen, been thinking about building a guitar myself thus why I viewed yours alot of work it seems
top tier tonewood
Love it thanks for showing this build, great project , not using $ thousands of CNC gear and totally do able. Bless you. sounds pretty good too!
Dude! This is an awesome video and the guitar came out fantastic. Bravo ma' man...Bravo!
That was awesome. really enjoyed the video
great project man! but I must say, neck-through means that the neck continues into the body of the guitar. it has nothing to do with if it has a trusrod or not.
yeah, haha, these are the things you learn when graduating from cigar box builds to full six string electrics, thanks!
I've been playing guitar since the early 80s and have had over 20 guitars (a couple rare and high end) . If this one was mine it would be one of my favorites yet . Pretty cool stuff man .
Looks like Mac DeMarco's old guitar hahaha nice work on this
Bravo. Love the spirit with which it was made - reminds of a guitar I built with my Dad back in the late seventies.
How to make a guitar from plywood:
Step 1 : apply wood
Thanks for hearting! 😊 Too kind of you! 😊
Great- I have buildeth 3 guitars now and Plan to build a DOBRO, A person learns so much with each project... Also, Thank you for all the Mistakes you posted... We are not perfect but we are working on it. Love all the Neat tools you have.
The real question is...
Does it djent?
Luka Horvat 😞
Took the words right out of my mouth
Luka Horvat it does
9:42
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
What is djent?
Enjoyed the video. I have been building guitars over 30 years now. When I see brand name guitars priced in the thousands and telling people all about the tone wood that comes from magic music trees I just got to laugh that people fall for that. I use hardwoods cut right here on the farm in East Texas. They are just as good as anything cut in the rain forest of Bongo Congo.
I dig it ! But seriously, the dinosaur should have been facing out, not hidden within !
I really like that textured bit of plywood you made with the pyramids. Really cool and very uncommon.
Wait you didn't tap on the neck blank while dangling it between your for finger and thumb, how will we know if it's tone woodable haha. Just kidding this is a great video, I build guitars too and love up cycling materials too they usually sound really good. Great job.
piece of art, you have inspired me. I have collected and planned to built a guitar from junks for over 35 years but don't know how to start. SOON !
huh so that's how Dan electro get their sound :P
This is the roughest guitar I've ever seen, and the funnest guitar build video!
its insane it sounds at all thats the coolest shittiest guitar ive ever seen... great job!
What a nice build man! Is more about the possibilities than the actual guitar, I cannot believe you even build the pick up and of course the hinge is king. When I was starting at music I would have loved to have one like this homemade by me, I would have learned a lot more. Nice video too!
I'm no rickenbacker neither, but I reckon the bridge should 've been made with a denser material such as iron or glass, in order to achieve a longer vibration on the strings, thus getting more sustain, other than that it's quite a cool project.
Eri Galarraga Montes thanks! Luckily it’s just a floating bridge and I can pop a better one in there anytime.
Well i am a total Rickenbacker. And that guitar sucks ass. It looks like a piece of poopie.
You did great, you weren't ashamed of what you accomplished it sounded good enough to be great with a band of other instruments, way to go dude! Like the pickup especially where the bobbin wire came from!
I think it's called a tailpiece. You're welcome.
I think YOU'RE called a tailpiece!
he's right
No a saddle davebauerart
To be completely accurate the part to strings are are fitter through is the tailpiece, and the part that they lay on is the saddle. In some cases like this one they are both on the same part
@@maxwellcollier5335 A bit late, but the bridge is the system that holds the strings off the body. A saddle is part of the bridge which makes contact with the string. A tailpiece holds the ends of the string to the body. A guitar may have just a bridge and tailpiece, or all three parts. They can be three separate parts, or just one unit. A guitar with a string through body will use the body as a tailpiece.
I have to say this project was pretty cool and entertaining to watch. Nice work.
Hundreds of pounds of tools to make a guitar that cost about £40 (tuners etc) LOL. I just wish I had you're equipment and workspace ;0)
I'd guess he didn't buy them just to make a guitar.
Great Job. My favorite part is the pyramid design. Very original.
Given some of the terms used are wrong, the building techniques for a guitar are toe curling and it hasn't got the best sound in the world...... I love it! We all have to start somewhere and if you're self taught then you done good.
You have no idea how inspirational this is for me to try and make a guitar and I ALREADY HAVE a few guitars!
10:58 tom delonge used that setup too.
as a lover of luthierism, all i can say is BRAVO!!! the idea is awesome, and the fact that you have done it in such a short period is amazing. I love the idea you come up with the tailpiece. Regarding the "floating bridge" as you called it, i would recommend a harder material. That wood seems to be soft, therefore the strings will get constricted in that ditch and it will fade the brightness of the strings.
ah, and the pickups screws are supposed to be straight under the strings.
ok sorry for the critics... I really love what you have achieved.
The guitar looks awful lol but at the same time I love it lol it was really awesome
Ive been wanting to build my own guitar after watching epoxy guitars, but i really like this guitar build out of all the guitar build videos ive watched. This one is unique and makes me realize you dont need to have insane building ability and experience
hahahaha look like a guitar from junkyard haha
No way!?!? You mean garbage wood looks like garbage? Who would have ever guessed that!!!
you know, you not being a Luther made this more fun to watch and it also shows what you CAN do without training for anyone just starting out that is worried about the difficulty of wood projects.
Umm...
Good job...
(I'm a luthier. I lost my mind in this vid. sorry.)
That is utterly awesome! I have built a fretless bass for myself a few years back when I had access to a workshop and I do certainly share your enthusiasm for the process!
but does it djent?
I was going to comment that...
I love how crude this is, from the body work, to the frets slightly crooked, it’s giving me a vibe that I would love to rock, so bad. it’s inspiring to watch. Now I wanna build my own even if it’s Bad and crude, that’s the joy of it
The old door hinge looks so cool! Great work
I really like the look with all the reclaimed pieces, and making your own pickup was awesome. Never even occurred to me that was possible. Looking forward to your video on more details about it!
thanks man! Yeah im putting that video together as we speak (type)
Ive always wanted a guitar that looks like it was battle forged from a junk yard cause im super into that look and my god the fact that you were able to make a guitar out of the things you did is awesome, ima take inspiration and try this myself, best case ill have a new guitar, worst case, ill have a new guitar decoration
I take my hat off to you dude. It’s a funky looking guitar and most certainly unique. It certainly gives me confidence to have a go at one myself 👍
Nice build! I've built a couple cigar box instruments and know how challenging it is, especially putting in frets. Well done!
There is not a thing wrong with your guitar playing. I liked what you were playing. I love that you made everything yourself or used what you had. I especially love that old hinge. It was a great choice to use.
Well, it certainly has its own distinctive tone that's for sure :)
Dude, this is truly amazing. The fact that you made this out of scrap and fashioned literally everything but the tuners by hand is nothing short of brilliant. I know it's difficult, but ignore the haters, this is something you should be proud of and thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more!
I love the character this guitar has!! Very nice build.. especially on your own pickups.. Just WOWWWW
Actually it sounds really good in the end (which is all that matters) and its really impressive to see what someone can do without a fully stocked lutherie workshop
I think using the hinge for the bridge is such a cool idea. Can even get some tremolo with it.
This is one of the coolest guitars I have ever seen
I build guitars, usually posh ones out of woods like wenge, bubinga and mahogany, and I’ve got to say I love yours mate! The old workbench top looked great, I’ve actually been looking for an old school desk top with lots of writing and graffiti on it to use as a top. Dinosaur should definitely have been facing out lol
It's definitely a one of a kind and it's yours! That's pretty cool!