Drilling

     The next step in building your dream guitar would be to drill all the holes (about 18). It was extremely difficult to drill these holes perfectly straight by hand so I used a small version of a drill press. However, the guitar is not flat so I had nothing to rest the unit on. Therefore, I made a small contraption to lay an adjustable 1"x 2" across the guitar so I can rest the press on it. You really have to think ahead about what needs to be drilled because there is no going back once the final paint is applied. Out of all, the hardest one to drill was a 1ft. 1/4" hole on a specific angle going right through the middle of the guitar! I'm not going to lie, this actually gave me nightmares because one flinch and the project would be destroyed since there would be a bursting hole on the top. Thankfully I did it. This hole is where the wires from all sections of the guitar will be running through to reach the volume and tone knobs at the other end.

Routing

To make the necessary holes and spaces for all of the parts to go, such as the pickups, a router is needed. To use a router for carving something other than the edges of your wood you would need to make a template. I did this by carefully measuring the distances from the 12th fret to the front of where I want each pickup to go. This took a long time because I had to do a few test cuts to make sure I was in the right spot. The part that was most tedious would definitely have to be routing out multiple layers within the hole for electronics to rest on. Then there is the thin 1/4" thick cut to lay the plate to cover the parts. This had a magnanimous amount of risk involved but somehow it worked.

Shaping

    

To start, the first step would be to draw and cut out the shape of the body. Ordinarily you would have the exact measurements of every angle but I was smart and just traced one from Guitar Center. Then you would take a jig saw like in the picture and slowly cut through this massive chunk of wood. It will take about an hour because Maple is an extremely hard wood unlike Pine which is easily breakable. The purpose of using Maple is because it has been proven to have the most sustain from the strings. The exactness of this cut is not so important because you will sand down the excess later.

     Additionally, to make this cut proper I recommend making a brace to hold it in place. If not, you will end up chasing it all over the work bench. For safety, always keep someone near so if you accidently cut yourself there is always help. A rule when using any power tool is to always unplug whatever you were using when you stop. This is because it is easy to pick it up again not knowing it’s on and end up dropping it and cutting a limb off which is never fun.

The Dream

     In Spring 2008, I felt like I needed an outstanding project to complete. I am what you could say a handy man when working with wood, paint, and mechanics. My dad and I came up with the idea of building a 1957 Gibson Gold Top Les Paul because it is one of our favorite guitars plus it's one of the most expensive to buy. This is the kind of thing that requires patients, skill, and a whole lot of measuring.

     This particular guitar is arguably the hardest to build from scratch because of the arced top of it. Most guitars are flat but since the Les Paul is curved, all the cutting and levelness has to compensate for the curve. The supplies for this project are almost endless so the basic materials which are VITAL are a 2'x1' block of pure Maple that is 2" thick, router, jig saw, belt sander, drill/drill press, 15 different grades of sand paper, stain, and a special mixture of gold paint.

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Judging Your Own Music

   

Often the musicians hear their music differently than others. Mainly because they are the ones who created it and they notice every little detail. To eliminate the bias musicians have toward their music they can do a few things. First it is important to always listen to your music through monitors rather than speakers. This is because the monitors are brutal in the way that they show every intricate mistake. Even with professionals it almost never gets to the point where the song is perfect on the monitors because they always amplify faults. The main goal when doing this is to edit it until it’s the best it can be, and then hope that when it’s played through regular speakers it will sound much better. Speakers improve the sound quality because they contain bass, middle, and treble which evens out the sound.
     If it's just too hard to quibble over your own songs, then just ask a neutral friend or neighbor to listen to it and give you some feedback. After hours of listening to the same song a million times, it is likely that one could not even hear what is actually being played since the origional version is now etched into your brain forever.

Networking Your Music

Once the final recording has been made, all the band members are satisfied, and you've mastered your music then the next step is to market your music. It’s important to advertise your music otherwise no one will know that it even exists. The first method you could use would be to create a preview with only a couple songs and put it on a CD. Then you could distribute it by either selling it for about two dollars or just giving it away free as a promotional item. If making CDs is inconvenient, there another option.

     Social Networking sites are infested with millions of people a day which makes it the perfect way to get your music out there. Sites like MySpace Music and Reverb Nation are perfect for creating a page for your band where you and your fans can check you out at any time. On the page it will allow you to have a music player to holster your songs. Facebook is probably the most used site these days; however, it lacks the band page feature. The way to get around this is to make a group with the link to your page. Also people will definitely check it out if the link is posted as your status often enough.