Building Acoustic Guitar: How Long & Is it Hard? (Vs Electric)

Building an acoustic guitar is hard and expensive, but if you want a professional-sounding guitar, then building an acoustic guitar is absolutely worth it. You can save some money on many parts, but on average you would need at least $150 for building a guitar. 

To build a guitar, you would have some knowledge of the parts of the guitar and the type of wood used for making a guitar. There are different grades of wood in the market ranging from AA to master grade wood. Wood can be pretty expensive especially if you are considering buying exotic wood.

My friends and I have made some guitars from scratch and guitar kits, and I can say that the guitars I made from scratch are the best ones. 

Guitar kits can be used to make a guitar in your home, but they would not sound that good and it would also cost you a lot. If you are thinking about making a guitar on your own then we are going to discuss this topic further in detail.

We would further dive into this topic and answer some of these questions in this article:

1. How hard is it to build an acoustic guitar?
2. How long does it take to build an acoustic guitar?
3. Is it easier to build an acoustic guitar using a guitar kit?
4. How do you make an acoustic guitar from scratch?
5. Is it easier to build an acoustic or electric guitar?
6. How does the finished guitar compare to a new factory guitar?

It is usually very hard to make an acoustic guitar from scratch. You would have to acquire a lot of knowledge about the materials used in the guitar and then learn some carpentry skills. 

If you are a beginner then your first choice should be to just buy a factory-made guitar which is great to learn at and produce good tones. If you are thinking about building a guitar from scratch then you would have heard about two ways to make a guitar: build from scratch and build with a guitar kit.

Now you can build a guitar with a guitar kit which usually has all of the essential guitar components and you just have to put things together. Although it is easier and time-saving, it does not fulfill the satisfaction of building a guitar from scratch. We would further discuss guitar kits in the dedicated guitar kits portion.

Now if you are an expert player and you want to build a guitar that really suits your use and style, then building a guitar is a great option. If you build a guitar from scratch and carve the woods nicely, then this guitar would easily compete with more than $1,000 guitar and some even more.

However, it is really hard building a guitar from scratch. You would have to get knowledge of these things, Wood, types, Neck, Fretboard, Headstock, etc.

Now, if you have bought all of the essential parts, then you would have to build the guitar which is itself a very difficult task. It can take days and even months to build a guitar. One thing is for sure and it is that you would have to work really hard for this guitar.

Using a guitar kit is the best way to get into guitar building.

It can take from two weeks to almost a month to build a guitar. Some people build their guitars in even more than a month. 

Building a guitar is a hectic and long process and it can take even more than a month for some people. it is a highly relative process. Some people have built their guitars in even one week and some take up to one or two months.

You would have to place your order and then wait for days for parts to reach your home. If you want to visit the market and then buy the parts, then this would also take some time.

Once, all things are at your place, you would have to carve the woods and then nail things together which is a long and tiring process. Even if you know how to do most of the things, it would take weeks to build a guitar.

However, it is still a worth it process and when done, you would absolutely love your guitar and this would even last many years.

It is easier to build an acoustic guitar using the guitar kit as compared to building it from scratch. However, it is still an effort to build one from a guitar kit as compared to just buying one from the market. 

There are many companies offering guitar kits nowadays which are pretty good. The guitars built from guitar kits are definitely better than low-range guitars. Guitar kits come in different prices ranging from $100 to $300 and they would have all of the essential parts used to make a guitar.

The companies which make these guitar kits have done most of the difficult parts like carving and body shaping and you would have to just put the thing together like Lego. All of this process can be done in a week or even less than a week. Some even build it on a weekend.

However, it would still be time-consuming and you would have to do some tasks like drilling or using a hammer to build the guitar.

The end product would not be comparable to the guitar built from scratch, but this is a great alternative and if you want to DIY your guitar and you are not an expert, then this is definitely for you.

The bright side is that you can build many guitars using guitar kits and test with the hardware as much as possible.

The process to building a guitar is very hard and long, but it is usually worth it. You would need many parts in their raw form and then you would have to carve the wood and place things together using many carpentry tools. 

If you are past making the guitar kits or you are on an expert level, then you might be a thing of building a guitar from scratch cause why not? It sounds perfect and you can set some things according to your need and style. The end product is often great and even comparable to highly professional guitars.

So, the question is how? For starters, you would have to choose among different types of woods. Choosing the type of wood is really important because wood affects the overall sound quality.

Furthermore, because the wood affects most of the quality of sound, so, it is also one of the most expensive things in the guitar. You would have to choose two types of woods for the top and backs of the guitar.

These are the different woods available in the market and they all have their own characteristics:

1. Mahogany
2. Maple
3. Sitka spruce
4. Rosewood
5. Walnut
6. Sinker Cedar

Once you are done with the wood, then you would have to focus on getting different carpentry products like wood glue, rotary tools, sandpaper, circle cutter, and clamps. When all of these things are gathered, then you would get on the tough part.

You would have to trim the wood, drill the holes into the wood, bend the wood, and then attach most of the parts together. It is easier said than done, but you can find a lot of videos online and you can also some books on how to build an acoustic guitar from scratch.

Related articles:

• Unfinished maple neck: Is It Bad? (How To Clean & Treat)
• Relicing Maple Neck To Darken Yellow: How To (Poly & Nitro)

Maple necks are the most popular because they still look good even when aged.

It is easier to build an electric guitar as compared to an acoustic guitar. This is highly because hollow guitars are more difficult to make than solid body guitars.

The hollow or semi-hollow body of an acoustic guitar is much difficult to make because it requires carving the wood and then bending and attaching the wood. This is a tough task and also pretty time-consuming.

On the other hand, building an electric guitar is relatively easy, but it is still not a piece of cake. You would have to spend many hours on both of these guitars and in the end, it is on the player which guitar they prefer.  

Related Article: Hollow Body Guitar 101: Usage, Cost, Pros & Cons (Worth It?)

Guitars with hollow body are more expensive and much harder to build.

A finished custom-made guitar sounds better than many factory-made guitars. Customs guitars out far the low or mid-range guitars and depending upon your skills, you can even make guitar comparable to more than $1,000 guitars. 

The basic goal of making a guitar from scratch is customization. If you make yourself a guitar, then you are going to focus on things that matter to you and your audience. Many factory-made guitars are pretty much standard in their sounds, but if you make a custom guitar, then it will sound the way you want it to sound.

The quality of the parts would also be great if you use the best quality parts. There is also a lot of false marketing and some companies sell guitars made of cheap wood quality. You can make a guitar for your own and use the best quality wood which suits you. In the end, the guitar built from scratch would certainly sound and age better than the factory-made guitars.

Building a guitar is surely a difficult and tiring process and it would also cost a lot if you are planning to use the best quality products. However, it will last forever and sound amazing when it will be finished.

To build a guitar, you would certainly have to get the full knowledge about the parts and also buy or borrow carpentry products like a rotary tool, sandpaper, etc.

The guitars I made sound perfect and they are according to my usage. Building an electric guitar is also pretty hard and it would also take a lot of your time, but it is still easier than building an acoustic guitar.

In the end, it is the player’s choice what to choose, but it is definitely hard to make. Therefore, if you are a beginner, then try to buy one of those guitar kits and make one guitar for yourself and it will also sound great.