Norbertocaster, part 14: wiring and the final result

norbertocaster (build 1)

Started: July 15, 2025 • Ended: September 13, 2025

The final result

Once the electronics were wired up, it was time to join the neck and body, string the guitar, and see if everything worked. Despite a few cosmetic flaws, everything seemed fine… until I plugged it into my multi-effect for the first time and heard nothing but silence. Turned out a single wire had popped loose from a pot — an easy fix, thankfully.

On the second attempt, I plugged it in, turned up the volume, and oh my god — that was one of the most satisfying moments of my life. Two months earlier, I only had three raw pieces of wood, and now I was holding a fully playable instrument. And it sounded incredible. The whole body resonated beautifully, the sustain was amazing, and even with its little flaws, the guitar was fully functional, comfortable, well-balanced, and alive. At 3.7 kg it’s a bit on the heavy side (and well-balanced!), but honestly, I fell in love with it immediately. Three days of playing later, I can honestly say it’s the best guitar I’ve ever touched — better even than far more expensive ones. The journey of building my first guitar finally came to an end… and what an ending it was.

Here is the YouTube video with a clean sample recorded directly through the Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen:

I made a guitar. What's next?

That was one huge and deeply satisfying journey. In just two months, I turned a few raw pieces of wood into a playable instrument. I’ve always loved building things, and along the way, countless new ideas popped into my head. At first, the goal was simple — make a Telecaster copy (which, let’s be honest, turned out not to be an exact copy). Then I thought about doing a Stratocaster next… but now I already have some ideas to make something more unique and personal.

Before diving into the next build, though, I’ll take some time to experiment on scrap wood, invest in a router to be more precise (and faster), and maybe catch my breath for a moment. Because this isn’t the end of my guitar-building journey — it’s only the beginning.