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Where to Build Your Own Guitar Online

Richard Shankenhauser

Wanna design your own guitar and buy it?

There’s a few companies that let you do just that – but the quality of said guitars isn’t always up to par. You don’t want to spend hundreds or even thousands on a nice new custom guitar only to have some shambolic mess built from assorted Chinese bargain parts arrive in the mail.

Obviously, we’ve taken the quality of the instruments into account when doing research for this article, and we also take into account the quality of the website, variety of options, and general ease of the design process.

We also take into account that the word “custom” gets thrown around a lot as a buzzword that actually means “a couple options on our flagship model”. We don’t care for marketing obfuscation – when we say custom, we mean fully custom.

 

Here are the best sites to build your own guitar on:

Halo Guitars

https://www.haloguitars.com/

If you haven’t heard of Halo Guitars yet, you’re out of the loop. This is hands down the most comprehensive custom guitar building tool you’ll find on the web, with over 1 octillion possible models (that’s a real number). The user interface is sleek and easy to use, and when you’re finished designing, it takes you straight through the ordering process. Halo goes the extra mile by stocking a wide range of pickups, from bigger brands to boutique hand-wound pickup companies. And in case you were wondering, their instruments receive excellent quality reviews. If you check out just one of these sites, it should definitely be this one.
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Aviator Guitars

https://www.aviator-guitars.com

Aviator Guitars come all the way from the Czech Republic, and their site is extremely impressive. After Moniker Guitars died off, it seemed like there weren’t any contenders for Halo, but these guys are on their way up. Their guitar configuration process is super smooth, prices are updated live and you’re given a proper quote at the end before ordering.  The only point where they lose a couple points (particularly in comparison to Halo) is on variety – 8 bodies and 5 headstocks to choose from. Most of the bodies are offsets, and one is a V, but all of them seem to be originals. The headstocks tend toward the pointy side. Aside from that, there’s an excellent selection of hardware and configuration options for your construction choices. Definitely worth checking them out.
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Balaguer Guitars

https://www.balaguerguitars.com

Another well-made custom guitar configuration tool, this time from Balaguer Guitars, located in Pennsylvania, USA. While their selection size is only a tad larger than Aviator’s, it’s important to note that their models strive for a different aesthetic. No sharp edges or anything you’d describe as mean – especially in contrast to Aviator’s designs. So, in that sense, it’s the perfect complement – if you don’t like one, you’ll probably find something up your alley on the other. Orders have a 5-6 month completion time – I’ve seen worse!
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Moniker Guitars [RIP]

https://monikerguitars.com/

Unfortunately, Moniker Guitars quietly closed up shop and sold off all their stock and tools. They will not be returning :[
This site most definitely doesn’t even come close to the previous in terms of variation, but the company has some cool bodies and headstocks available, so you’re bound to find something worth tuning up. The level of customization and ease of use is pretty impressive as well. It’s worth noting that of the three guitar series available for customization, only the Custom Series seems to have a worthwhile amount of options and body shapes. After you’ve finished editing your guitar, you can add it straight to your shopping cart – but there’s a step in between finalizing the order that some people may find frustrating, as the company has to call you to confirm the details. A minor issue with all things considered.
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Fender Mod Shop

http://shop.fender.com/

If you’re a fan of Fender’s guitars, you’ll be pleased to know that they have a fully interactive customization tool to help you build your own guitar online with ease. The body shapes are limited to Stratocasters, Telecasters, and Jaguars – along with Precision and Jazz basses. Further modification is just as limited, so if you’re wanting something truly unique, you may be better off putting in an order with the Fender Custom Shop’s luthiers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build some beautiful looking guitars here, as the wood and finish options make up for the lack of pickups and hardware. The tool itself is high quality, as you’d expect from a company with deep pockets. The buying process is as simple as adding your finished guitar to your cart and checking out.
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Schecter Guitar Configurator

http://schecterguitars.com/

Schecter’s guitar configurator, while not as sophisticated as Halo’s or Fender’s, seems to have had a fair amount of effort put into it. The cool thing about this is that Schecter uses a lot of familiar body styles, and they offer 20 of them as a base point for further customization. The bodies look like an assembly of Ibanez S-Series models, Telecasters, Stratocasters, and Les Pauls – along with a couple original designs. The hardware options are quite limited, but the finishes and fretboard inlays offer a lot of flexibility. There’s a number of pickup options, but unfortunately, you’re limited to Schecter’s brands. Again, the UI is as good as you’d expect from a bigger company. Unfortunately, the order process is completely disconnected from the configurator – you’ll have to navigate back to the custom shop page and send their builders a quote (using this form).
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ESP Guitar Configurator

http://www.espguitars.com/

I have to make it clear that while the interface is nice and there’s some cool natural top wood & stain options, this is really just a little tool for aesthetics. You won’t get much in the way of models (limited to 8), pickups (ESP actives or passive Seymour Duncans), or hardware options. But if you like ESP’s guitar models, the finish options come out looking very cool. Unfortunately, like Schecter’s site, the order process is completely disconnected. But somehow, they’ve managed to go even further back into the stone age by making it so you have to save a PDF order form that you can either print or email to an ESP dealer after you’ve filled it out. You have to navigate to yet another area of the site to find a dealer near you to fulfill your custom order. If you’re still reading this, here’s the final nail in the coffin:

Minimum custom order time is 8 months.

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If you’re looking for something a little more hands-on (but not too much), this guitar kit article is for you.

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