Building a Partscaster Guitar

Mixing-and-matching guitar bodies, necks, and parts can lead to some unique creations. In this video, Andy walks us through an alternative to custom commissioning that is not only cost effective but helps us develop great skills along the way.

[markaochoa]

Just a hint of advice. Always sell part casters in parts never as a whole. You’ll never get anywhere near your money back.

[soulagent]

I recently put a Fender Jaguar neck and tremolo on a Squier body and was surprised how well it all fits together.

[Casey_J]

Highly recommend building a partscaster! Built my first one a few years ago with a lot of parts ordered from reverb sellers and it’s loads of fun and you learn a lot.

[Nektopoulo]

There are solder-less wiring kits out there, I used one when I changed the pups in my Squier J-Bass.

[joermnyc]

My Parts-Jag is my favorite, 1994 Japan body, diamond anniversary neck, Duncan pickups, and original 1960s bridge and tailpiece. (the “Floating” system is Fender’s best invention, I can dive bomb on this thing and it’s like magic the way it stays in tune... without locking tuners!)

[word]

I've got two unique "partscasters" Better than anything I could have bought. Warmouth, Tele plus body. 68 Les Paul mini humbucker. Joe Barden. Jumbo Warmouth neck ( shaved down to perfection by my tech friend) etc etc etc Worth every dollar and every hour.

[pvdguitars]

Bodies are pretty easy to make (necks are challenging). 3 of my 4 parts casters have hand built bodies (tele, super strat and a V). Easy way to start is buying a kit (done 4 so far, great results). Lastly, buy a beat up, broken or damaged guitar from a pawn shop and start replacing parts, doing upgrades. A very good way to learn.

[quintinpace]

I've made two guitars (the bodies I mean, I'm not good enough to make a neck) and I learned a lot. They're even mostly playable. I'm almost finished with a Fender Deluxe 8 lap steel build with plans for more. It's fun. Soldiering isn't hard, give it a try. I put a half out of phase switch in a 5 way tele mod. Thanks to TDPRI for having the diagrams. I put a six way switch in my jazzmaster build (I'm going to make a new body out of swamp ash for both weight and finish reasons [swamp ash has the coolest finish options])

[JohnnyGuitarRocks]

I've made numerous purchases from Stratosphere and Warmoth and created some terrific super-Strats with their parts. Highly recommend them to all.

[mikeadams]

I built a great Partscaster from Stratosphere. American Special body, a maple neck with a Seymor Duncan SS-1, A Texas Special and Eric Johnson Neck pickup. It's the easiest way to get a great strat for under $1000

[Joe-mzdc]

Usually partscasters sell for a loss. I've got a few, and I'm pretty sure I would not get back the money I put into them if I sold them as a complete guitar. You're usually better off parting them out because people aren't quick to buy them for fair value. As a buyer, you can get some incredibly good deals on craigslist for this reason. Check out the price of the partscaster guitar vs. the cost of all the parts. Point is, when you decide to jump in and create a partscaster, you are taking a gamble on whether you will like it or not once it's complete. You may find it does not have the "mojo" you thought all the great parts you chose would give it. When you walk through a guitar store and pull them off the wall and try them, you can tell right away if you like them or not. You can't do that when you build your own. You have to do the research and choose your parts based on availability, taste and budget, then hope that you will like playing the final product. More often than not you may find you have to adjust/change/remove a part that doesn't fit in so well. That's why Teles are so easy to work with. My best advice is, build a partscaster that you plan on KEEPING and using, never selling. And stay realistic about how good the final product will be. Just because the mix of all the great parts in your head and in your spreadsheet seem to make sense, once it's a completed guitar it may not feel or look or sound as good as you hoped, so be ready to make adjustments where necessary.

[rickmaynard]

I've done a strat and a tele from purchases at Stratosphere. Loved hearing you recommend them. They've always sent me high quality stuff, and the one time I sent something back, they took it with no questions asked even though it was no fault of theirs.

[scottwaace]

I would like to see some recommendations for EU based shops, the tax on US product make it a bit unpredictable when shipping to EU.

[ianchappell]

Good fun putting a partscaster together, one big tip, in planning and shopping for parts, keep an eye on the overall weight, I learned that for the second build!

[colindowdy]

absolute legend just soloed for 40 seconds at the top of the video. unclockable

[mikefenton]

If you go the rout of a custom body I'd highly recommend getting a "swimming pool" or "universal" style routing. So you can mix and match pickups and control styles.

[lyleanderson]

Switching out pickups makes a huge difference. Locking tuners are cheap and a nice addition. Upgrades to hardware in general is a positive gain on most guitars. If I planned on changing out the neck I would look for a plek'ed replacement. Don't go crazy on the mods unless you truly know this is your number #1 for long term, otherwise don't expect up recoup your investment including time spent. Keep all your old parts in the event you decide to sell as original.

[dinein]

It is FUN to build a partscaster and you can slowly gather your parts, looking for the best deals. Then truly spec it out. Im building a black lima "super strat" with a reverse headstock, cocobolo 12"-16" radius fretboard and 80s Ultrasonic Pickups.

[siavashmassoudi]

My first partscaster was my Fender Standard Jazzmaster HH. It was the Olympic white one with the zebra blacktop pickups and the only original parts left is the body!

[jenso]

i’m literally doing this right now... reverb read my mind lol