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Build Your Own Guitar – BYO 351 – Mike McGregor
Bookmatched Jarrah cap and headstock veneer
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- Marking out the neck
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- Cutting out the neck
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- Carving the neck
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- Half way there!
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- Flamed Jarrah Cap – custom f-hole
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- Headstock matches body
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- This could be you!
Mike lives in Scotland but a bit too far to come on our one day workshop sessions, and at the time he was also working shifts which made coming to build in one go difficult – when we discussed his ideal spec it was also clear that it was a bigger project than a standard first guitar build. So Mike came for two long weekends to fulfill a long held ambition and create something unique.
I based my guitar on an [existing] semi hollow guitar..but I changed the shape and sound hole to my own design. The body is cedrella and the neck is cedrella, rosewood fingerboard and jarrah front plate [bookmatched cap] and headstock veneer. Chrome machine heads, black Wilkinson humbuckers,..and chrome wrap bridge. The strings are 9s at the moment. Dark red burst …nice satin finish…plays EXTRAORDINARILY..what can I say ? Loved the whole experience…Thank you!
Want to Build a Custom Guitar ?
Whatever your experience, there are several ways to make your custom guitar a reality – if you want to come to Ayrshire only once to design and build the guitar you have in your head…then the Custom BYO course is the one for you. These courses run over a total of 8 days consecutively (with a day of rest in the middle!) ONLY in the summer months – late June/early July and again at the end of August/start of Sept (including the Bank Holiday weekend), and this course starts with a full scale design session to create a working drawing for the build. The course fee is higher but includes all the materials to make a high spec custom electric (upgrades and extras are also available ..POA) There are still a couple of places left for this year, but we are also taking bookings for 2016
If the one hit summer course doesn’t appeal, then there are still options… a Custom Design one to one with Mark, or Design your own guitar course – both here at the workshop, or take a look at our online How to Design Your Own course…this a great way to get a clear design, spec and quote before you come to build.
Or you can pick dates from our Build Your Own Guitar Programme – weekends, and longer to fit around you and the guitar you want to create
Build Your Own Guitar – BYO 350 – Doug Parry
Carved to Perfection – the Bandsman CT
Doug was one of the first students to put a carve on our Standard Bandsman…having seen our special carve top…he had a picture in his own mind of what he wanted to build
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- Doug day 1
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- Carved top
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- Set neck
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- Satin Finish
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- Gotoh 510 bridge
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- Custom headstock logo
Doug describes his creation
Alder body, mahogany neck with alder veneered headstock, ebony fretboard, 2 Bareknuckle Abraxas humbuckers…22 frets, 4 pots and 2 Cool Knobs [Rothwell] plus switch. Set neck. Finished with a satin spray- beautiful !! All black hardware – Gotoh 510 bridge, basically Alder and Black !
A carve adds extra time to a build and isn’t possible on a standard BYOF guitar course… but if this shape appeals then get in touch – with little other customisation it may be posssible to make the guitar in one trip- please ask for more information
Build Your First Guitar in 5 Days ?
Whatever your level of inexperience, it is possible to build anything from a basic electric with a few tweaks in 5 days, through to a more customised (even self designed ) instrument on one of our courses – the Build Your First Guitar course runs over 6 consecutive days (which means only ONE trip), and the next course starts May 1 2015 … we have only one place left… if that’s too soon there are other courses throughout the year.
Whatever guitar you have in mind, we have other courses, in different time frames to suit…
Melisa Kelly
Go Mel!
Melisa Kelly is a young singer songwriter from Ayrshire who plays and writes outstanding songs on her very own Bailey Sweet P acoustic guitar. I know a lot of you have seen her at our Acoustic Bliss nights and were blown away like the rest of us.
I really hope that if any of you love her music as much as we do that you will find it in your blissful hearts to contribute something – every little helps. We all know it is not easy trying to make a living in the music business and if anyone deserves it Mel does – a wise man once told me ‘to be a successful musician you have to have nothing to fall back on’ – in other words you have to make it work or die a lonely death in a gutter somewhere…please let’s not let that happen…be generous!
Here is a link to Mel’s Indiegogo campaign…
Build Your Own First Guitar – BYO 349 – Joe McClean
Blonde and beautiful
Joe came to build his first guitar at Bailey’s for a special birthday. Born in Scotland Joe lived in South Africa until he came back to the UK with his family. Making a guitar was something he always wanted to do…. and he chose the Build your First Guitar course. On this course we build a guitar based on the Bailey Bandsman but Joe wanted a few modifications to the standard spec. The Thru body bridge adds a bit of extra work – mainly to drill all those holes for the strings and ferrules…
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- Alder body
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- Joe with girls
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- Two Humbuckers
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- Thru body stringing
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- String ferrules
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- BYO 349
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- custom headstock
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- Build Your First Guitar
In Joe’s own words
It was supposed to be a BYO first [a Bandsman] but I wanted a bit of custom…but keep-it-simple with a hard-tail, alder body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard with a slight custom shape to the body and headstock…set neck, short scale and only 22 frets -again to keep it simple. Twin humbuckers with a coil tap switch for some variation without complicating it too much. I also wanted no paint job, just oil for that raw look.
Build Your First Guitar in 5 Days ?
Whatever your level of inexperience, it is possible to build anything from a basic electric with a few tweaks in 5 days, through to a more customised (even self designed ) instrument on one of our courses – the Build Your First Guitar course runs over 6 consecutive days (which means only ONE trip), and the next course starts May 1 2015 … we have only one place left… if that’s too soon there are other courses throughout the year.
If a Bandsman style guitar doesn’t take your fancy then we have other courses, in different time frames to suit…
Custom Bass and Guitar Build – Gordon
Gordon is one of our regulars down at Acoustic Bliss and can often be found bashing out tunes for us on acoustic guitar just for fun – but really he plays bass in the band Preacher who are due to support the mighty Status Quo very soon.
I have a deadline for the bass to be finished (in time for the big gig) so I will have to make sure that happens but the guitar can take a little longer as it is not needed for the live show…will post progress here as it happens…
Making an acoustic guitar- how to bend the sides by hand
…Side bending…….
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- left to right: cocobolo, ziricote, maple and mahogany
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- not yet trimmed to length
In a Nutshell
Most guitar shapes have only 3 bends to cope with. The lower bout, the waist, and the upper bout. All the bits in between are usually straight lines. There are only really two skills involved:
- finding where it needs bending
- bending
You will need: Your sides, a pattern, a bending iron clamped to your bench, and a container big enough to soak the sides in. I use a plant tray from a gardening centre. You could stick them in the bath if nobody minds.
Preparing the sides for bending
The sides should be thicknessed to .090″ (about 2.3 mm) and cut to size. They are then marked at the end where they will join at the back of the body (where the strap stud will eventually be).Try it all ways to find the best match. Also make a mark on the edge that will glue down to the soundboard. This is to avoid making two left sides….it has happened. Then the wood is soaked in water for 10-20 mins before bending.
There are 3 methods commonly used to bend the sides
Which method you use would normally depend on how many you want to make.
How to bend the sides by hand:
Start with the lower bout – this is the easiest as the curve is not too tight. Leave a small flat section for the tail block and start the curve. Rock the side back and forward over the bending iron and apply pressure till you feel it start to bend. Make a short hop sliding the side forward and keeping the pressure on to increase the length of the bend. Continue like this and you should see the bend start to emerge.
You will have to decide if you are over bending or underbending or if you are just right and adjust your technique to suit. Shorter hops and more heat make a tighter curve. Compare your side to the pattern to check how you are getting on.
You can straighten out an overbend by heating and applying pressure the other way. Try to avoid kinks.
It takes a while to get the hang of it so you should practice on scrap before mangling an expensive piece of tonewood.
Do all 3 bends roughly first then go over them again to further refine them. You can touch them up dry before assembling the guitar.
Using a mould
You could decide to make a mould which makes life slightly easier or if you are making more than one.
Roughly bend by hand until you can fit them into the mould, dampen them and then apply heat all the way round using the bending iron or a heat lamp, and clamp into position. When left to cool, preferably overnight, the sides take up the shape of the mould. They may spring back slightly when removed but you can always touch them up before assembly.
Fox side bender
You should know about these even if you don’t intend to use one. They cost money but save time and effort especially if you want to make a lot of guitars.
Eclipse Flower
Solar Eclipse over Bailey Workshop!
Three things happened today which led me to a new idea for a guitar:
1. I managed to shoot this video of the solar eclipse over Ayr this morning
2. The Heathergem material has arrived
3. I heard about the Eclipse Flower
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- Heathergem – Jewellery
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- Heathergem Thistle
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- How it is made
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- My very own pieces
I discovered Heathergems while on a visit and instantly fell in love with the material. It is a natural product and made here in Scotland so I thought it would be a great and unique idea for a guitar rosette. I took details and tracked down the owners to ask if they would sell me some. I am reliably informed that they do not usually allow anybody else to use their product and have refused hundreds of requests so I am very honoured that they have allowed me to use it.
Today I learned that in Italy it is thought that if you plant a seed during an eclipse then the flowers will grow more colourful.
That gave me the idea for a guitar – it will be a ‘Moonshiner’ with the precious Heathergem Rosette and since I had the idea during the event, I hereby name it the ‘Eclipse Flower’. There…the seed has been sown – let’s see how it comes out.
Acoustic Bliss
Acoustic Bliss and Bailey Guitars
Acoustic Bliss is the name of our ‘open mic’ night which is now over 7 years old.
I always wanted to make guitars by day and play them at night and Carol loves singing so it was our escape from work – a night out and a bit of fun. We never took it very seriously as we don’t consider ourselves professional musicians by any means but it is great fun!
Over the years we have made lots (hundreds) of friends who have all supported our ‘special night’ either by sharing their wonderful music or just cheering us on from the sidelines (or helping to lug the gear).
Until now we have always kept Bailey Guitars separate from Acoustic Bliss as it was our ‘bit of fun’ but truthfully we have always ‘sponsored’ AB (for want of a better word). Most people use my guitar when they play – or bring their own Bailey I have built for them (it is not compulsory:) and all the rest of the gear is ours.
It has often been said that we should film ‘Bliss’ as we all seem to have such a merry old time and wouldn’t it be great for some of our amazing musicians and singers to reach a wider audience…and I would love you all to share my enjoyment watching and hearing my guitars ‘used in anger’ LIVE and onstage!
So – after a lot of thought and not a little expense we bring you:
Acoustic Bliss – The Late Show
with Mark and Carol
Every Thursday 11:30-12:30pm GMT
Live from The Twa Dugs – Ayr
Sponsored by Bailey Guitars
‘Twas in that place o’ Scotland’s isle,
That bears the name o’ auld King Coil,
Upon a bonie day in June,
When wearin’ thro’ the afternoon,
Twa dogs, that were na thrang at hame,
Forgather’d ance upon a time. – Robert Burns