If you’re building a guitar then one of the most important parts is the guitar body. Guitar bodies can be bought either as blanks – which are basically just slabs of wood ready to be shaped – or pre shaped – which is where the wood is already shaped like a guitar. You’ll have to choose which type of wood to buy (Brazilian mahogany and Swamp Ash are two examples) and, if you go for the pre shaped option, which shape you want. You’ll also need to decide whether you want to buy finished guitar bodies or unfinished. This section provides a quick overview of how to choose a guitar body as well as some of the latest guitar bodies for sale at the moment.
 Unfinished Les Paul Flame top body with binding  US $339.59
|
Type And Size of Wood
Whether you buy a 1 piece, glued two piece or glued three piece guitar body you’ll need to choose the type of wood. Alder and ash are popular choices, as is mahogany. The wood will obviously have an effect on tone, so this is an important decision. Alder, for example, is a light wood that tends to retain highs better than woods such as basswood. Mahogany, on the other hand, has large pores and is open grained. This leads to compressed mids but decent lows. You can read more about the different types of guitar woods at Jemsite.
Pre Shaped Or Blanks
If you want to create your own guitar from scratch then choosing a blank guitar body is probably the best option. Pre shaped guitar bodies are a lot easier to work with, however, and are available in a variety of different shapes. You can buy guitar bodies shaped like starts, firebirds, mustangs and a number of other famous models. Ultimately, this choice comes down to how much work you want to put into making the guitar and how confident you are of designing an attractive shape.
The Cost
In general, higher quality woods produce the best sound but are also the most expensive. To all but the most trained ear, however, the difference is often negligible. For this reason, if you’re building your first guitar then it may be worth avoiding the most expensive types of wood such as mahogany and opting for a basic tonewood. Blank guitar bodies often cost around $100-$250, but this can increase for the higher quality woods. It also depends on the size of the blank body.
