My Homebuilt Guitar

MY HOMEBUILT GUITAR

    My homebuilt guitar was created using an article from Popular Mechanics magazine (Sept. 1990 issue) as a guide. The guitar in the magazine was based loosely on a Fender Telecaster. My guitar is also inspired somewhat by Queen guitarist Brian May's homebuilt guitar, The Red Special. Also, my Fender Stratocaster was a very important reference during the project.
     The body of my guitar is mahogany, and the neck is made of maple. I chose to use two Seymour Duncan "Distortion" humbucking pickups. One feature which makes my guitar very unique is the pickup switching system. Each of the 2 humbuckers has its own brass 6-way rotary dial for switching to the following positions:

1. Series (In Phase)
2. Parallel (In Phase)
3. Coil #1 only
4. Coil #2 only
5. Series - Out of Phase
6. Parallel - Out of Phase

These different switching positions, coupled with a regular 3-way toggle switch for switching between the pickups, provide a very wide array of different electric guitar sounds.
     To finish the look of the guitar, I chose a black pickguard, a brass bridge and brass tuning machines.
     If you have any questions about this guitar or about building guitars in general, feel free to e-mail me.

GUITAR BODY CLOSE-UP

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM FROM POPULAR MECHANICS

FOR A CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE PICKUP SWITCHING CONTROLS

MY GUITAR vs.
BRIAN MAY'S GUITAR

MY HOMEBUILT GUITAR

BRIAN MAY'S HOMEBUILT RED SPECIAL

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