Learning guitar: Advice/Tips.

[gladaki]

There are few Guitar lessons on torrent

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by rbochan

Your world frightens and confuses me.

An SG should be neck-through. That's the beauty of them.

The SG isn't a neck-through though. It has, with the exception of some experimental models, been a set neck guitar.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Reaper

The SG isn't a neck-through though. It has, with the exception of some experimental models, been a set neck guitar.

I ordered the set-neck kit.

[troutman]

Kit arrived:


Going for this:


No instructions included - anyone know where I can get a manual? I'm piecing together a few articles and blogs, but nothing specific for this SG Kit . . .

Found these:
http://diyguitarkits.net/Site/PDF/Gu...embly%20SG.pdf

[opendoor]

This manual will probably have most of what you need:

http://byoguitar.com/Images/products...structions.pdf


There are really 2 important things in the assembly that will greatly affect the playability. One would be making sure the neck is glued properly so it has the correct angle. Normally that's taken care of if it's milled correctly, but you never know with a lower end kit so it wouldn't hurt to double check. That manual above outlines how to check for the correct centering and angle of the neck. I'd also look at other tutorials and/or videos of people assembling set neck guitars; whether they're SGs or not the process will be pretty similar.

The other big thing is going to be the setup, and it can sometimes be tough with a cheaper kit, but with enough patience it can work. Again, the manual above outlines that but also look at other info. Basically you'll have to install bridge and the nut, maybe even filing the latter down to get the action low enough. You might have to adjust the truss rod if there's any bow in the neck, and the frets might need leveling (though hopefully not). Here's a rough guide on setting up a Les Paul, and most of it should apply to an SG:

http://diystrat.blogspot.de/2012/09/...aul-style.html

Other than those things though, it's mostly just aesthetics. Finishing can be tough and frustrating but there isn't much that isn't reversible if it comes to that. The translucent green finish won't really look the same as that picture though because the SG is mahogany while your kit looks like Paulownia or Ash. It'd probably look more like this:

http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitarg...ll/pb4-tpg.jpg

Probably the most important thing regardless of which part of assembly you're doing is to take your time. Break it down into a bunch of small steps and really think about each process before you do it.

[troutman]

Thank you very much! I will print that manual.

Correct, I have an ash body - didn't plan on showing the grain, that's just the color I'm going for. Might do a color coat with acrylic lacquer, not a clear coat.

I assume you paint first, but some instructions seem to build first.

[Hanna Sniper]

I would say paint first but tape the neck cavity so that you have a clean wood to wood contact when you attach the neck... just my opinion and not based on experience

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by troutman

Thank you very much! I will print that manual.

Correct, I have an ash body - didn't plan on showing the grain, that's just the color I'm going for. Might do a color coat with acrylic lacquer, not a clear coat.

I assume you paint first, but some instructions seem to build first.

Technically for the best results you glue first and then apply the finish, but it's going to be way easier the other way so I'd finish first.

And if you're doing a solid color you might as well use some primer under it. Shellac based stuff like this is pretty standard for guitars:

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/369g...r-spray/978744

It builds well, sands easily, and is compatible with pretty much any other finish.

It's also worth keeping in mind that ash is a really open grained wood so the finish will sink into the grain on the body a fair bit. It doesn't necessarily look bad, but it won't be a totally smooth finish, as you'll still see the grain lines as slight indentations in the finish. Here's an extreme example with ash painted black:

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...1354592126.jpg

The way around that is to use grain filler but that can be kind of tough to track down in Canada. There are other ways like epoxy or even drywall compound, but the process is basically the same. You spread whatever you're using as filler into the grain lines, let it dry, and sand flat. There's lots of info out there if you want to do that or if you're OK with that look then you don't need to worry about it.

And yeah as mentioned above, tape the joints on the neck and the body so the wood to wood contact remains. And just remember that if you use too little tape you can always scrape or sand some finish off where the joint is, but if you tape too far you're going to have a visible unfinished spot that'll be tough to fix.

[rbochan]

Put it together and play it!
You can always paint it later.