Quote:
Originally Posted by BEJ
Colby, sounds like you are getting it worked out.
You mentioned you want to be perfect in your results. While this is desirable might be hard to build a perfect guitar. I'll bet of you asked any of the master builders on this site "Have you build the "perfect" guitar yet, most would say close but not there yet."
I too wanted to be perfect in my builds but soon found out I wasn't up to it, just didn't have skills and knowledge need. Was a little discouraging but after a while I had to accept my results and try not to make the same mistakes over and over. Some mistakes are too baked in and you just have to do what you can with that guitar and move on to the next one.
I think starting out one doesn't know what to do and possibly how to do it. So you read books, watch vids, look for any source of info. And thus jump in for your first build or two. Build some need tools and jigs with info from others cause you don't know jack. Use their work methods for the how, which for the most part worked but for somethings I found different ways to get where I need to be that worked better for me. I think I've rebuilt/moded every guitar specific tool I've made at least 2-3 times each time getting much better.
One of the great builders on this site, suggested one starting out should build 11-12 examples of a model, by the time you get to #12 your skills will improve and you will know if you want to keep doing given the stress(good stress) that comes with guitar building. There are somethings I really hate doing but you got to do them to have a guitar. I've built 11, maybe 10 because one(#3) went into the fireplace, it was a glorious fire!
It's good you can talk to Steve and Ryan for some heads up and guidance, I would think the better preped a student is (hopefully without some bad habits/work methods) would make their teachings much more effective.
Bruce,
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Hey Bruce,
Thank you for your advice. I like your advice about having around 10-11 builds of a model and then beginning to assess where you're at. I bought a good amount of Padauk for pretty cheap, and it's about enough for me to get in approx. 12 guitars. I would like to use the same woods for my first half-dozen or so guitars, so I can tweak each one with as much constants as possible, and see what works and what doesn't.
For right now, I'm really pumped, but also feeling really patient about things. It all takes time, and I have plenty of other things on my plate. But I'm eager to learn and figure things out, and experience what it's like to actually complete a guitar from the bottom up.
Perfectionism has always been a part of me, but I know it's never attainable. I just want to feel satisfied with the guitars I build, that they will do exactly what they're meant to -- make great music, and look beautiful doing it. I hope with a lot of help I can get there. Thank you so much for your thoughts.
- Colby