I am thinking of building a mandolin. I don’t have any experience building instruments but I can start with a kit where some of the more difficult parts are already completed. Once I get a feel for it then I might attempt starting more from scratch. Anyone else build instruments?
No, but i really want to build a hank drum soon.
THIS thread might interest you.
im making a guitar in shope class this year
My friend built his own electric guitar, but then scrapped it cause he used a horrible wood for the body.
I’ve always wanted to build my own, but I’m not skilled like that
I think anyone can do it with time and the right tools. That is my problem right now. I think that I will need to spend quite a bit of money to get the right tools as I don’t have much in the way of tools. I plan to take my time and go over and over things before I actually do any cutting or carving. There are a lot of resources and info online to help you out along the way.
Hey there
I have been for a few years now making my own Traditional Māori musical instruments, such as Koauau and Pūtorino.
These are made of wood. Really interesting to make. I cant find any good pictures online of them.
Dan
what about nose flutes?
in chronological order from left to right:
fretless 5-string bass, electric upright bass w midi triggers, 6-string bass w midi triggers, cajon.
I built two more instruments actually, but I don’t have them here now.
Needless to say, I enjoy instrument making a lot. For good results a well equipped workshop is a must, as well as some experience in woodworking.
If it works out well it can be a very rewarding experience! (It sucks if it all goes wrong and you spent a lot of your time on it)
in the kindergarden i built a rainmaker… 
One of my goals is to build a theremin. Someday perhaps
The upright bass in the center looks great, interesting design aesthetics. Could you write a bit more about the midi triggers or, rather, what look like several large button controls on the top panel? I’m trying to theorize what they do.
Thanx! I am quite happy with all of them:)
The large buttons are piezo triggers. I feed them into an alesis trigger IO interface, which turns the voltages into individual midi notes. I can then assign those to anything I want, basically. The main use is for triggering drum samples and special effects in ableton live.
I am currently learning to play bass and drums simultaneously on the six string bass guitar. It is a great way of improvising bass/drum grooves into the computer. Usually I have to correct some stuff afterwards…
there are some good kits out there to build theremins that essentially reduce it to a soldering exercise. Designing the boards for one yourslef would be pretty tricky without some fairly serious formal training in electronics.
Need some links?
http://home.att.net/~theremin1/
I’d like to build a theremin too sometime. I already have a musical saw, which can sound quite similar. Maybe I should learn to play it on the uni
I worked 2 years building eletric guitars and basses in a Luthier and Custom Guitars Shop.
A good link for eletronic diy stuff (including theremins): http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/
A good store (I think that they have Mandolin kits): http://www.stewmac.com/
StewMac is a great store. I bought with then in the past and didn`t had problems. I never bought wood, since I have easy Mahogany and other good woods here 
I made a Theremin for a friend in the past. I have the Eagle file of the board in my back up I think. I have some tube theremin projects too, but never built then…
If you have any questions just ask… I have LOTS of material from Eletronic stuff to fingerboard calculators and some plans…
i have built some goofy string instruments in my free time, but i have also mashed together some brass/woodwind instruments which have had an interesting outcome.
I am in the process of building getting a dulcimer kit soon so that should be fun to build once it is in
Those look fantastic. I’m a string bassist and I’d love to try that electric upright. Do you build them fo other people? How much did it cost you to build it?
I am planning on using a stewmac mandolin kit for my first one. They seem to have everything you would need.
Well thank you,
I am actually considering building more instruments and selling them. Being prototypes, these instruments took a lot of time designing and building. That and the investment into high quality tools would be the major part of production costs. Material costs are also not exactly low, if you buy such low quantities of high quality wood and hardware. Possibly I will get into CNC routing and be able to reduce the production costs in the long run. Right now I am more focused on practicing, composing, playing gigs and teaching though… And of course unicycling.
Sometime I might make a website showcasing my instruments with the option to order them…