I made a guitar out of IKEA furniture. How does it sound?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- In this video I'm gonna show you how I managed to make a guitar using my Ikea furniture as a primary source of material.
This idea came to me while I was making a Brian May's Red Special replica: while I was following the footsteps of Dr. May, like anyone who's ever made a Red Special I guess, I kept asking myself the following questions: "what the ....?", "how did he ...?", "wait a minute ...", "no way, that's brilliant!".
Having access to the plans felt a little bit like cheating so I started wondering how I would personally do it in 2022 ? e.g design and build a guitar from scratch, using nothing but what's available around me.
Truth is, ever since the "Electric Shelf 335" became viral (4 million views, thank you), I've been wanting to make something like this. In my original design, I was trying to emulate an actual solid body guitar, so I had to find a way to make bent sides, which is not an easy thing to do when all you have is stuff from Ikea. Another problem I had was that, to my knowledge, the only tone wood that Ikea uses is acacia, which they use in some of their outdoor furniture (and I don't have any of those at home). Anyway, I kept finding excuses not to make the final jump, but the Red Special really opened up my eyes: Brian May taught me that they are no rules, as he demonstrated by making a legendary guitar with a body that is essentially pine and oak.
The guitar started out as a joke. I remember going upstairs and telling my wife "I'm gonna make a guitar out of Zoé's old bed". She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and asked me "why". Then I immediately thought "This is the way".
Now I could have done everything differently. For example, I could have glued all the bars together, routed the whole thing and make a generic shape like a tele or an SG. Or, I could have used some solid pine tabletop or a chopping board and call it a day. But it's not 2019 anymore !
Today, the tone wood myth definitely lost another believer.
Why Vecna you might ask ? Well, why not. I think it's suiting for some reason.
The pickup is the only thing that I bought for this build, I took the bridge from build VII (the wenge neckthrough), and the tuners from build XI (the ocean blue top), I had spare frets and electronic parts. So in the end the guitar only cost me the price of the pickup !
OK, enough rambling. Here are the specs
Neck : STUVA cot
Body: HENRIKSDAL chair, LACK shelf
Fretboard: MÅLERÅS picture ledge
Knobs: APTILIG chopping board
Jack output plate: LILANGEN door handle
Strap buttons: KALLAX insert knob
24 frets - Lace Alumitone pickup - Split coil push/push (turns on an LED when engaged)
Hope you enjoy the video.
I'm always making something, so follow me @ / tchiksguitars
Bisous !
If guitarists talked about IKEA pieces the way they talk about tonewood:
I personally prefer UTESPELARE for the body, HENRIKSDAL is too dark for a 24.75" scale length while UTESPELARE is nice and sparkly and very resonant, especially when paired with a 5 piece EKENABBEN neck.
Ahaha. This is totally a pinned comment
Don't forget that masking tape tone to the Ekenabben neck. You know, those upper mid frequencies ;-)
@@arnobilder3475 hahaha, I forgot about that one; since the tutorial came out, I actually made a Masking Tape Tone pedal :D (of course it's a mid-boost pedal)
@@tchiksguitars Haha that's great! At least as long as the pedal itself isn't made out of masking tape :')
But it's the VECNA that gives it the demonic growl. 👹
clicked for the meme guitar build,
stayed for the beautiful piece made with incredibly meaningful wood that literally supported you and your family for years
Thanks :) didn't see it that way
That demo sounded amazing! I'm glad IKEA only uses hand selected tone wood for their furniture, because it really shows here!
Ahahaha
NO man. Sound is like shit:))
Tonewood is a fake idea to make guitarist pay more for nothing.
ikea build with no instructions?!?!? genuinely dead impressive man, got a nice sound and looks gorgeous
This just has everything, creativity , craftsmanship , looks , sounds … you’re an artist and I’m happy that TH-cam recommended this video !
Thank youuu
Totally agree
Really impressive. Traditional skills married to a great understanding of mass production techniques. Fascinating to watch and the guitar looks so cool, original design but not outlandish, traditional but not derivative. Inspiring, thank you.
Thank you :!
I love how this build is both silly AND sensible at the same time.
Wow.. great job. Great design and really creative use of materials within the design.
That's it. I peaked at 35.
Stewmac commented one of my videos.
If you really think so then why doesn't stew mac sell particle board guitar woods??? You don't really work there.
Outstanding! It's a thing of beauty
Thanks man !
Apart from that spare screw at the completion of the guitar
Creativity, craftmanship and your sense of Humor is terrific. Well done Sir, well done
Thanks !
Interesting and very creative build. Reminiscent of the construction of the 1950s Danelectros from New Jersey, USA, which used Masonite (countertop material) for the body, with a plywood frame and center block; mostly hollow inside. I like the re-use of the honeycomb paper/cardboard stiffener/filler.
Great idea for recycling all those junky but useful Ikea furnitures after they start to wear out...
In a word: Funky! Plus you've got the mojo of your kid's crib, your old study chair, and cutting board, all amalgamated in there somehow, not to mention all the other bits and pieces you 'appropriated'...
I just went and read the Wikipedia page about that guitar, fascinating !
@@tchiksguitars Yes, Danelectro was a very successful post-war manufacturing concern that was created to fulfill a very real need for inexpensive yet decent quality student level electric guitars that could compete favorably with fender and Gibson with very affordable catalog pricing, yet quality that was good enough that even icons like Jimmy Page of led Zeppelin chose to use a Danelectro model U2 for a lot of the Led Zeppelin shows where he had to have a second guitar that was in the alternate tuning known as Dadgad. That company was later resurrected in the '90s by a concern that reissued many of the original models to fairly accurate original specifications, or in many cases with some improvements. Even those 1990s made in Korea versions are considered to be both desirable and collectible today.
Another item worth looking into was the silvertone/danelectro tube amplifier that was actually built into the guitar case! Those things absolutely rocked and sounded amazing, the only issue being that these days finding good clean working models has become very difficult. At one point in the '70s the Peavey company even released a similar version that was based on solid state designs and that actually sounded fairly good. Could be another interesting project for you, to build some sort of amplifier into a guitar case, out of all recycled/repurposed materials, such as perhaps an old radio or television set, and more IKEA debris, or suitcases etc... ;-)
i own a 1956 danelectro, truly beautiful instrument
I have a '63 reissue, they used white tape to.cover the.sides.
This guitar actually has a damn nice tone.....well done
Thanks :)
no it doesnt.. guitars themselves dont have tones.
It has nice pickups....
@sirspongadoodle lmao yes they do... u will notice the difference on unplugged elecs and acoustic n semi hollows they all have different tones
Part of it being cuz frets on diff model guitars are diff.. and second being wood n the sound cavity
well yeah, it's an electric guitar - the "wood" has nothing to do with tone on electric guitar
As always, amazing in all aspects: the build, the creativity, the cinematography, the jokes. Keep it up, man! You make the rest of us look bad in all the best ways.
Thanks for the kind words !
I liked how he also said building a guitar is easy.
Narrator's voice: only carefully chosen few looked bad, the rest of them looked just fine.
"All you have to do is Fall in love and play the game"... i love it. Cant wait to see your Red Special Ikea...
Amazing and talented work! When it comes to electric guitars i always will say that in terms of sound skill of musician is significantly more important than materials guitar is made of.
Thanks !
One of the most satisfying videos I have ever watched on TH-cam.
Oh no you'll make my other videos jealous
I was not expecting you to make such a beautiful guitar to be honest. Great job!
Just shows you are a craftsman and not just a CNC operator
in many videos about "making a guitar using ikea stuff", yours are literally "ikea stuff". what i meant to say is that most videos they used real wood from ikea, yours are different. you literally use ikea's furniture for this build.
here's a sub and you really did motivate me to do my own guitar. thanks
Hehe thanks.
Cool project. And a Red Special replica in the works. That sounds like an awesome build.
This is so incredibly cool!
I am posting this comment half way through the video... the fact that you made this guitar out of your daughter's crib, this was labor of love that your daughter will have forever to keep and know that her dad loved her and made something for her. Hopefully it does sound beautifully, but whatever the sound, this video is AMAZING!
Haha thank you. My children are in a phase where they're unaffected by the things I do, but hopefully someday they will remember all of the memories I'm crafting for them/Us :) that's the thing that keeps me going
@@tchiksguitars 😂 and BTW it does sound amazing! 👍❤
Amazing video and I got that Queen lyric at the end there 😂
Haha I bet you did :p
Your inventiveness and problem solving abilities are an inspiration. Another great build, you really are one of the best channels on TH-cam. Thanks for sharing your passion for this hobby.
Thank you so much for watching !
"And what ever this is called". In sweden we call it massonit ;)
Awesome build. This project gave me joy As a swedish guitarbuilder :D
Haha awesome !
"If you ask me if there's a truss rod... " 😂
I had to. This needs to stop
This thing is both beautiful and can make adult man cry, especially if he is guitar snob. That's the true art and I love it.
Thanks !
Awesome build: looks, tone and… playing 👍🏻 This guy’s a genius: you should ask IKEA to mass-produce it 🤣 just kidding 🎸 greets from France 🇫🇷
The CNC and Midwest Emo joke was priceless. I've seen a lot of those videos.
perfect, I've been trapped in an IKEA for months now and I've been wanting to make something to pass the time, thanks for the tutorial!
diy guitar kits from ikea would be pretty cool
I was really waiting for "This stick came from the tree I was conceived under, it means a lot to me" LOL.
Seriously, awesome build. I wish I could build my own instruments like that. Also, as a person with spine, neck, and shoulder injuries, weight is a major consideration now a days in terms of what I like to play live. As much as I love playing my Les Paul's at home sitting down, putting a strap on (ha) and putting it around my neck and shoulder is an absolute pain filled nightmare. It's all strats, and under 9 lbs for me for the most part. Anything over 10 gets to be a bit too much over time.
loved the queen pun at the end. Great video!
You got a like and subscribe from me after reading the truss rod message. Hilarious and amazing build! Glad I found the channel. Your production quality is fantastic as well.
Haha
One of the few times I've actually seen someone build the entire guitar and not just the body with a random Squier bridge attached to it. Props to you!
Beautiful! I want one! A guitar made out of recycled materials is a great idea, extremely light too
Inspiring. Creative. Absolutely AMAZING TONE.
I’m really surprised that this guitar actually sounds good. I’m really impressed by the final product and your process in building this instrument. 10/10
Thanks !
Not only was this impressive but the video is just beautiful. The filming is cinema quality.
Living on a dying planet, this should win the GGBO without even entering
Haha, won't participate this time
The planet's survived a catalogue of major cataclysmic events in it's history far worse than any current problems. Trust me, it'll survive this one. I'd be more worried about tbe footprint of the electronic device you're using to watch this. 😀 Are you prepared to live without your phone or laptop? Or the amplification you use for your eco friendly guitar.(Nah, didn't think so!)
Breaking: A person genuinely thought that surviving without cell phones and powering guitar amps is the biggest problem we have facing the globe. Source? “Just trust me on this one.”
He basicly builded an American house wich even sounded realy good. Respect!
Elle est magnifique. J'ai besoin de construire quelque chose de réel de mes mains pour fuir mon monde numérique, et travailler le bois est quelque chose dont j'ai toujours eu envie. Je me met cette guitare en todolist ! Merci pour tout ce que tu fais sur cette chaine et l'inspiration qui en découle.
So nice to watch a crafting video without any music.
I like the totally useless LED, althought it lets you know if you're split or not. The finish on the chipboard or whatever you call it is nice. Not sure about the "experimental value of the paper stuff, but OK. I've never built anything guitar related, so this looks really cool
What a great work on the neck, so beautiful ! the best transition from Body to Neck i ever saw, more beautiful than on PRS and ES 335
Awesome build and sounds pretty good, for what it is made from. Lace do make nice pickups! Can't wait to see the red special video.
In the years I've watched hundreds/thousands of guitar build videos, but this one is something very different - enjoyed every single second of it. Outstanding.
Well thanks :) I have 9 other videos haha
Daughter: I'm almost 6 Daddy, this crib is for Baby, I don't need it anymore.
Dad: Ok, I need it.
Great work as always my friend!
Exactly !
This guitar sounds way better than you'd initially think it would sound, it's amazing. Your cat is twin of mine.
Truly fabulous work! Love the design and execution.
Thanks !
Genius man! The total No Waste Guitar. What craftsmanship can create out of the smallest piece of wood is so amzing. Like baking real bread - flour, water and salt. That's all it takes. Grandpa was a Carpenter and some of his self build furniture ist still in use (He was born 1914) so some of this art turns to be a century. A shame he didn't build guitars. Thank You for sharing and keep in rocking and building. And don't forget to share Your knowledge. Chears Markus
So cool! Who knew that cardboard was such a fine tone wood. 😉
Danelectro
I love that you have added commentary! That little detail really makes the video so much more interesting and complete!
Erm, thanks :)
Considering how great the final product sounds I suggest covering or lacquering the exposed paper honeycomb. I realize an artistic statement is being made but durability is an issue. Also, if the body is left unsealed wouldn't it be more affected by changes in humidity?
Durability would be an issue if I used that guitar to gig, which won't be the case. It's more like a quirky looking guitar that I can play at home when I want
"All you have to do is fall in love and play the game."
The wisest words I've ever heard on a TH-cam video. Thank you.
I love your work, the guitar is beautiful.
Thanks !
Dear Tchiks Guitars, here's a little letter for You from young man from Ukraine, who's pretty much inspired with those videos of yours. Recently I turned 19 years old, I study psychology, but videos of making guitars - that's what I call an Intermezzo for my soul.
I have a huge dream to make it come true, I want to make guitars. And You're probably one of the most important people who set this dream in me.
Thank You pretty much, you're an awesome luthier. Your work makes me realise that everything is possible!
Hope things are going ok?
@@probablyBigT Kind of! I'm waiting for a chance to leave a country and start new life. I still dream of making guitar and I did my very first refret! Gosh, it was awful, gladly its only mine guitar. :D
@@Amorous578 awesome. I have faith in you.
Really outstanding work! I like how you actually built the body and not drowned everything in epoxy, like the dozens of other videos click-baiting the audience by calling it LEGO/Coffee/pencil-guitar. Congrats!
Haha thank you. I hate those. Check out Cranmer guitars channel, he made one of those without using a single drop of epoxy, love his work !
That's easily the most hilarious guitar building video on the internet! Thanks for sharing this crazy idea. It turned out great!
Thanks for saying that :)
I love to see the kryptonian mode.. (Fast camera).. 👍👍🇪🇸🇪🇸
You've truly outdone yourself. Impressive way of repurposing material and also that cardboard hex insulation. GREAT WORK! And an awesome guitar as a result. I love your work, keep it up!
Thanks !!
King of yt guitar builders. Even with a crazy idea like this, your craftsmanship brought a beautiful and good sounding instrument into the world. Well done.
Hehe thank you !
Great guitar, its a shame that it doesnt have a truss rod tho. (Its a joke please dont burn my house)
Love the connection from the neck and body
AWESOME work... 👍🏻 ...love it! 🤘🏻
the string bar above the nut being made of an old hex key is so awesome...
Et en plus ça sonne ! Merci pour ces vidéos 😉
On en veut encore plus ! Bravo pour ce travail exceptionnel 👏👏👏
wow your guitar is made up of personal memories I just love that I will never look at a piece of IKEA furniture in the same way again. Now when I go IKEA shopping I will be asking myself "mmm would that make a good guitar" you have changed my view forever when i walk into my local guitar shop called IKEA
Absolutely stunning! I really love your channel, really inspiring and definitely something I'm going to get around to doing, following your lead. Really looking forward to the red special too, I'd go as far as saying the red special has had me thinking about making my own guitar since I was about 12, which was a long time ago! Just one thing though, does this guitar have a truss rod?! Many thanks man, one day we'll get ikea here in nz and the streets will be full of these guitars! Chur!
Haha hopefully !
I wondered the same thing. Truss rod isn't specially shown, I don't think, but you can see the channel for it under the fretboard here th-cam.com/video/zkj93O-x9VA/w-d-xo.html
This is such a therapeutic watch. Thanks for the upload.
tone wood is a myth. the wood doesnt make any meaningful translation to the pickups, its just a magnetic field. you dont even hear the guitar when you play, when you play electric instruments you are hearing a speaker. thats your biggest source of tone.
While I do agree with you, different materials do sound different, don’t ask me why, but my friend and I were bored in our workshop and fitted the same pickups to several different guitars and they did sound different, same strings same amps etc. but yes all the cork sniffing with Honduras mahogany vs sapele , they’re just different, not better or worse.
Tonewood is also more commonly used and emphasized when making acoustic guitars
@@okiwatashi2349There's a video by Jim Lill where he tested this two years ago. He eventually ended up testing the same components on a 2x4, and then suspended in air with no guitar body, and it actually had the same tone as all of the different guitars tested. What did have a massive impact on tone was the pickup height in relation to the strings, so from guitar to guitar the pickup height had to be matched extremely precisely for the tests to be accurate.
@@jimbojimson I don’t doubt it. I definitely could hear slight differences between the various things we used, one of which was a 2x4! We were very careful about string height etc. when you see guys making perfectly good sounding electric guitars out of lego it kind of ends the argument as far as electric guitars go. I’m a violin and mandolins maker and there are so many things that affect the sound to say it’s the wood is to over simplify what’s going on.
@@okiwatashi2349 I honestly wish that wasn't the result, I used to be a tone wood guy 😂 I'd still like to believe it makes a difference, but if it does it's very minor
This is absolutely amazing in every way! ❤
i need song name on 0:01
Waow super cool man ! Bisous bisous from Liège !
Merci :))
15:11 But that sounds like all I’ve ever wanted😭
This is one awesome and insane build project. Thanks for taking time to film and also share you experience with everyone.
Breaking the myth of Tone Wood for Electric guitars with magnetic pickups 🙂
I recently picked up watch guitar building from old wood. I've seen all non contemporary builds. This one is unique, love it
This is my first video of yours that I have seen, and was surprised when you said you're from Belgium as your accent is so unlike what I'm used to here. VERY clear english. VERY cool guitars!
That is a great Job.
I did that with 'lost wood' a time ago
and I got
my own electrik guitar for my life.
That song ❤
This is amazing!! Very talented 😎
That build and video, was brilliant on every level - including using the cat as a glue clamp. CA glue on the fingerboard before fretting will strengthen, even, the softest woods. Thanks for sharing.
Your videos used to have almost everything: craftsmanship, inspiration, art, impeccable filming, excellent video editing, humor, your daughter's laughter and stunning guitars. With this video - truly bringing "reclaimed" to a whole new level - you have outdone yourself. Bravo! Absolutely love it!
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention the superbly, subtle messages to all your watchers (and colleagues and family). Priceless!
Ha thank you !!
I'm mesmerized every time I watch your channel
Good :)
I made a small bodied electric guitar with beech as the body wood. Wonderful wood to work with. Great job on this.
appreciate all the quiet in this video, very nice!
This is like a love letter to understanding underlying principles.
Tu idea de hacer una guitarra electrica de calidad con muebles de IKEA es fantastica
Bonita y con buen sonido
Felicidades
Making sure the theft is shown near the end of the video was s smart move. Amazing work, thank you!
About to take on a Red Special for my first guitar build. Super excited about the next video!
Comme d'habitude, du très beau boulot, très bien filmé, avec la touche d'humour qui va bien et des nouvelles de la petite. C'est juste parfait.
Merci :)
Always been fun to create someting from anything available around.
Love the matching stompbox!
Sounds excellent. I like lace sensor pu's. Thank you for sharing. Have a blessed day.
I wanted to build my own guitar when I was 18-20, I remember I bought some mahogany wood from a carpenter friend, then Gibson hardware and pickups, but in the end I felt overwhelmed and sold everything.
This is really inspiring! Thanks
I hope you'll get back to it
Awesome!
Ik moest lachen wanneer ik net mijn arm aan het leunen was op dat stuk hout waar jij de body van ging uitzagen :D! Zalig!!!
Ik heb de guitaar voor dat precies moment gebouwd :D
Yeah, I watched the Brian May Red Special build and that is what turned me on to your channel. Your Finishes are as sick as your builds. I know it's all in the sanding but Bravo brother,,, Bravo. \m/
Absolutely love your guitars. Would be interesting to see a series in which you build a guitar and every video you do one more thing on the guitar.