Take a second and give me a good vote when you get done reading. I'd like to move up in the review pecking order and that's the only way.

You know, I've been pondering starting up some guides now for several years. As a long time builder myself, I get probably 50-60 emails a day asking various questions on this and that. So, I figured, why not start putting up what I know from my own experience and see if it's helpful to anyone else out there.

First, eBay is absolutely a wonderful source of parts. In fact, about anything you can imagine when it comes to guitars can be found right here on good old eBay. It can take some patience and a fast Internet connection is nice, but it's pretty much all here. Before eBay, this hobby was pretty limited, with a handful of merchants and you had to take what they had. Not so these days.

Since this is my first article of this kind, I'd like to begin by just laying down a few basics. You guys that do this regularly may not get much of anything out of this, but you first time builders may.

1) You can build an excellent electric guitar from parts you gather up. Like a hunter from the stone age, you will  begin the hunt by first deciding what style you want. No sense in looking at auction after auction unless it's the style you like, right..? Unless, of course, you enjoy that kind of random browsing.  At my age, I find it tedious, but hey, I may not have may years left..! Write it down, keep a list of what you know you need and be organized.  Ask the sellers questions. Most all are helpful folk that know the guitar biz. I mean, to sell these goods, you really, really need to know your product. Novice builders have a lot of questions and when you ask a question of a seller, expect an answer, but give them a little time to respond. Never ask a technical question at an odd hour 5 minutes before auction end. Believe it of not, many of us sellers work regular business hours and do sometimes take a Sunday off...

2) You can build an excellent electric guitar from parts you gather up. Yes, you can. But you ask, "Uncle Willie, what are the secrets..?" Well, there are no secrets. The first advice I give you is, TAKE YOUR TIME. Before doing anything. Once you are satisfied that you have gathered the list of parts you made up and they are all compatable with each other...don't just sit down and expect to slap a guitar together and have it come out perfect. Not gonna happen, unless you are really lucky. Pay attention to little things that can become big problems. Like what..? The scale of the neck and body must match. You should not try and install a 24.75 scale neck on a 25.5 scale body. Make sure the neck pocket in the beautiful body you bought will accept that neck without protest. Sure, you can always modify stuff on the fly, but when you do your first or second build, spend the time it takes to get compatable parts. Unless you are a great woodworker.

3) You can build an excellent electric guitar from parts you gather up. You can also get EXACTLY what you want. When it's done, it's like a car or a motorcycle, you have made it your own. It's a one of a kind in many cases. If you've done it right, your friends will bow down to you.

4) You can build an excellent electric guitar from parts you gather up.  How excellent..?? You can build a guitar for under $350 that can rival a $3000 guitar. How's that possible..? Well, it's all in the details and the patience you are willing to take to get 'er done. Take installation of a neck. Sometimes, you may need to shim a neck to get a good backangle that just gives you that little extra bit of low action ...a piece of sandpaper close to the end of the neck gives you some extra backangle. Not a lot extra, but with instruments, less is sometimes more. You may need to install that neck two or three times to get it right. You may not need to shim it at all. Who knows. The point again is Patience.

5) You can build an excellent electric guitar from parts you gather up.  But, Uncle Willie, that neck I got for a great price is a nice neck, but the screw holes in the great body I snagged just don't line up. So what..? Get some dowels near the size of the neck screw holes, a drill and a bit that's about the same size as the holes and some good wood glue. Carefully drill down into the holes, don't drill to far, squirt some wood glue down in there, cut the dowels about the right length, insert into holes, let dry a day or two, cut off the excess dowel wood, sand smooth and use that great body as a template for the new holes. Voila. Pat yourself on the back.

6) You can build an excellent electric guitar from parts you gather up. It's absolutely a wonderful hobby. In fact, I've had customers over the years that turned it into a good business. You are not going to be able to quit the day job immediately, but I guarantee that it's not as hard as becoming a Rock Star.  No matter how far you take it, it is always satisfying, frustrating, relaxing, cool to tell your friends and family about, cheaper than building your own motorcycle, a great learning experience...and all of this at the same time.

I'm going to end this little article with this. I love guitars. They will never let you down, they do what you tell them to do, they come in an endless variety of choices, they will be your friend forever, with care, they will last forever, you can pass then along to your kids or grandkids, they curve like a womans shape, they are as good as your own talent and dedication, they can go wherever you go, other people love to hear a good player, they will make friends for you and with luck and real dedication, they can make you famous. What else is there that can do all that..?

Take care, be sure and give me a vote if you enjoyed this piece, and until next time, Uncle Willie