Quote:
Originally Posted by TimmyO_UK
Indeed - I think I'd just lost touch with just how 'tight' my budget would be - I certainly have no concern about the rightness of fantastic people making a living doing something that we all appreciate.
I'll concentrate on things a little more mainstream - maybe one day in the future for something like this...
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I think that is wise at present. Please take this from an old git who has made every mistake in the book (plus one or two).
To have a succesful hand made guitar, you REALLY need to know absolute every possible variable, and what you need to make it perfect for you.
That goes further than knowing the ideal fretboard dimensions - scale, nut width, string spacing, profile radius etc., its also about your knowledge /preference of tonewoods, frets, bracing, finishing, presentation etc.
Effectively you need to know everything that a luthier needs to know.
There are also different approaches that one man luthiers use.
Some will make only certain designs, (standardised body moulds etc) which can be moderately customised, while others would design something totally based on your input.
An OM simply means the Martin style 000 14 fret guitar with an over 25" scale length, and that's fine - but a difference of opinion of fretboard width, or neck profile can turn your dream into a nightmare.
All the custom builds I've had were failures, and mostly because I didn't know exactly what I wanted.
I'm not knocking those brave, wonderful independent builders out there but they can only work on the information you give them.
If it takes, maybe 200 hours to build a custom guitar, think about the cost even at minimum wage (£11.40) that is £2300 ish plus materials, but why would a skilled luthier work for minimum wage?