Build # 1 - Surf Green Esquire

This was my first every build. I had no woodworking experience whatsoever, and so I wasn't just learning how to build a guitar but I also was learning how to work with wood at the most basic level. Talk about a steep learning curve!

This build was almost 100% hand tools. I took 2 days just to carve out the body with a saw, chisel and rather terrible file. The neck truss rod channel took 5 hours of chisel work, and the maple fretboard radius work took as much time. The hardest part was making the neck pocket with just a drill machine and then chisel. I am too embarrassed to reveal precisely how many total hours I invested on this project!

The project was completed within 3 months, just as the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down came to an end here in India.

Body

Build # 1 was inspired by the Fender Esquire that was introduced in 1950–holding the distinction of being Fender's first solid-body electric guitar. Designed by Leo Fender, it was revolutionary for its simplicity, featuring a single pickup and a solid pine body. The Esquire set the stage for Fender's later iconic models like the Telecaster and Stratocaster. Despite its initial release as a budget-friendly instrument, it quickly gained recognition for its bright, twangy tone and versatile sound, thanks to its innovative wiring and tone control options. Over the years, the Esquire has become a sought-after collector's item, cherished by players for its historical significance and unique tonal character.

Build #1's body was made with three pieces of European Ash that I sourced locally. It was not light though, because it was not dried like typical guitar hardwoods are. There is something about the simplicity of set up, and robustness of a hard tail bridge that really appeals to me. So, I designed the build to have a string-through-body bridge.

Neck and Fretboard

Build #1 was made with a 25.5-inch scale length, based on the vintage Fender Esquire. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge, defining the fret spacing and contributing to its bright tone and snappy response. This scale length has remained standard for most Fender guitars, including the Telecaster and Stratocaster, which share the Esquire's design lineage.The neck and fretboard were both made from locally sourced maple. The fretboard radius was 7.25, modelled on the vintage Esquire. I used vintage style small Fender frets that were pre-cut and radiused, and I deliberately left the fret marker dots out for a minimalistic design. The truss rod was the Allen key type that is adjusted from the bottom of the fretboard. The headstock was based on a 50s Esquire template that I printed out and stuck. Finally, I fit a bone nut, one string tree, and generic tuners.

Pickups

Nothing fancy here, just a generic $20 Tele style bridge pick up that did the job. My goal was just to see if I could actually build a functional guitar. Considering the fact that this was the first time I had ever made anything with wood, I was rather shocked by and quite pleased with the end result. It actually worked!

But my pride was short lived! I could see mistakes everywhere. The intonation was not great, the neck was not perfectly straight, the fret slots were not evenly spaced or precisely perpendicular, the body contouring was not ideal, the wood stain was too pale, etc. I decided to give up! I put the guitar aside, but this failure was eating away my peace of mind. After a break of 4-5 months, I decided to make things right. I would need to adapt my original design plans if I wished to resolve all the issues. I would need to adjust the bridge position dramatically, re-do the neck pocket, and make a new neck, among other smaller corrections. I needed to invest in tooling like a palm router, hand jig saw, shinto rasp, fret saw, neck template, etc. But, most importantly, I needed to buy properly dried and levelled wood for the neck and fretboard from Europe (since this was not available in my city). I was all set to embark on Build # 2 --> link.