The cost of building a Pro Mod from scratch

[DonP]

I thought I'd throw this out in case someone else gets the foolish idea to build one from parts. Sure, I have some upgrades snuck in there, but I got what I thought are good prices (including shipping) but it still added up. I already had the Floyd and the pickups so I guestimated the costs of those parts.

jack plate $5.00
Switch and pot $10.54
strap buttons $11.45
Floyd Posts $11.99
Black Knob $22.00
Big Brass Block $28.94 (upgrade)
Backplates $29.98
Neck plate $39.00
Tuners $46.99
Bridge $100.00 (OFR)
Pickups $100.00 (Seymour Duncan Sreamin Demon neck and TB4 w/ A2 mag bridge)
Body $154.50 (White San Dimas with pickup rings)
Neck $206.05 (Flamed Maple)

Total: $766.44

And I still don't have a case!

So those guys buying these whole for $600 and parting out necks for $300 and bodies for $250 are making a killing.

[Sharkfin]

That's a nice guitar you have built for yourself. Good info too

[straycat]

Try building one from scratch, much cheaper to buy one used.

[VanHoosen]

I thought about doing this as well, but knew I'd be in pretty deep just after the neck, body, Floyd and pickups. I like that yours has black hardware though. That's a nice touch.

[plon]

That came out really nice.

[ginsambo]

I don't think you'd be making a killing, as Ebay fees top 10% for a start and shipping and bum deals and sitting on stuff all adds up. Although USA necks are going for over $300 and I saw a pro mod USA neck plate make over $100 recently....WTF???? I think if you had bought a load of more desirable USA's at the end of 2010 or floor models from 2011 and sat on them you may have made a small profit, although knock $90 off for every $700 sold in Ebay/Paypal fees.

Yeah I've added it up and worked that out two years ago , I can buy a nice USA or Japanese Pro Mod over here in the UK for £400-£500 ~($620-$750) it seems crazy to buy parts and make one, especially with neck heel tolerances all over the shop on them, but I have...plenty. Maybe because I had a USA neck off something already, maybe because I wanted a German Floyd and different hardware and pups and couldn't be assed selling them on. I don't know, but whatever it is it always breaks even the same as a whole one. That Reliable Fender is a very clever guy/girl, his business acumen is wasted on Ebay. He reads the market and does discounts after similar items have sold and lures you in hook line and sinker. The thing for me is that including postage I got some colours that are not commonly available here....finally getting my white pro mod together like you and then one appears on Ebay.uk for £390.....still that one did have a small lump out of it...still you can just about get a tiny bargain of you are patient and know exactly what you want and your plans don't change.

If I had to include shipping forget it, as his stuff is express international postage, so the customs will pick it up every time, and you are paying 20% over the total of shipping + item together with a £13 UK customs handling charge.

You put together a nice guitar there with part payments.... I'm making mine creme pups with creme rings and a bit of brass and silver, in fact, if I'm honest, I totally ripped off the 'It had to be done post' in the USA Charvel section.

Nice flame on that neck BTW. I just think its knid of funto put them together, they are like adult lego or something...

[gerryl98]

Nice job Don. IMO building a parts guitar has nothing to do with saving money. To me it's just pure enjoyment. I've only changed paint, pickups, and the bridges on some of mine....finding all the part to but it together from scratch seems pretty cool.

[Axewielder]

Cool, but yeah you take a bath on mutt projects unless you have some big-ticket items in your closet already. The upside is that you can essentially build a "Poor Man's Custom Shop" guitar with the exact features you want.