Where to buy my electronics?

[cghoyt]

Hey guys,
It's me again with another question to bother you with. I was curious as to where you all would recommend where to buy all the electronics and some hardware for the guitar I'm building.

Right now I'm looking at a site called www.guitarelectronics.com which seems to be a fairly nice site. I know some of you are going to say allparts.com, but for some reason i'm not too fond of that site. I think it's just their organization.

Just slap me with your input and I'll gladly take it.

Christopher

[wolf]

cghoyt

I have ordered from guitar electronics and found them satisfactory.
There is a message board thread that lists a great many guitar resources.
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=coffee&action=display&thread=1129956856

Rather than have it a message board thread which keeps getting buried I think it should be made into a web page.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

cghoyt said:

Hey guys, It's me again with another question to bother you with.

No bother; "The only 'stupid' question is the one that goes unasked, Grasshopper."

I was curious as to where you all would recommend where to buy all the electronics and some hardware for the guitar I'm building.

For "guitar-specific" parts, there are a bunch of suppliers out there, and some stuff can even be found via eBay auctions. I'll throw in a list below.
For things that are useful in guitar projects but available from any electronics supplier, I'll usually go with Allied, Digi-Key, Mouser, or someplace similar.
For things you "need right now" and aren't picky as to tolerances, Radio Shack is okay, but I prefer the selection at the big places. (Even if I have to wait for the parts to arrive in the mail.)

Right now I'm looking at a site called www.guitarelectronics.com which seems to be a fairly nice site.

I just received some stuff I ordered from them, my first-but-not-last with them. The prices were pretty good, and the shipping was fast. Being able to use PayPal to order is a plus. And now that I own an LP copy, I can wear that Einstein t-shirt. ;D

I know some of you are going to say allparts.com, but for some reason i'm not too fond of that site. I think it's just their organization.

I think you'll find a lot of the aftermarket parts from various dealers will turn out to be Allparts stuff. Then again, electronic components like pots and switches are probably made by CTS, Oak Grigsby, (both now part of Electroswitch), etc., but sold by Allparts and all the other guys. You can shop around for the best price.

Okay, some places I've ordered from and am happy with (some make me happier than others, but I'm not going to get into that):

• Superior Sound Designs (Monte Allums), for copper shields to go under Strat-type pickguards. (Wire and other misc. items, too.)
  
• HAS Sound, for caps, pots, and shielded wire.
  
• Stewart-MacDonald: tools and how-to books.
  
• Dancing Dragon Guitars: Pickguard (a Coloriffic).
  
• GuitarPartsResource LLC: Shielded wire.
  
• MusicLandCentral (eBay store): Set of red control knobs for Strat.
  

Now here's a page with a whole list of suppliers and their links: www.projectguitar.com/ref/supply.htm. I gotta go back and check out some that I haven't seen yet. Also, Project Guitar has a buyer's club, Universal Jems. That might be worth looking into.

Just slap me with your input and I'll gladly take it.

Consider yerself slapped with this reader's not-so-humble opinions.

[jimplaysguitar]

I live in the UK, so I'm very limited for choice of electronics suppliers.

I use Allparts UK, it's all I've ever used, so I can't really compare. ;D

Jim

[Runewalker]

I find the houses that specialize in selling guitar electronics are also fond of their higher per item margin.

If you know what you want then Mouser is a good source, especially for the more comodity type items, eg, pots, caps, etc. They are very fast on order fulfillment and delivery.

I routinely go to their first level discount for pots - $0.96 each, 10 minimum. They have an extensive range of Alpha pots, and the large pots have a nice postive viscosity to them.

Two issues with the real electronic houses: Most of the pots are for real electronic panels, meaning their bushings are 1/4 to 3/16". That is fine for the "toneplastic" of strats, but for back routed guitars you need longer bushings, or if your are skilled and precise, drill out the cavity floor with a forstner bit, or routing with a router is required for short bushings. This is where the speciallty houses have it over the electronic guys. longer bushings.

The other issue is that if you want the oddball parts, eg, center detented dual gang pots, or concentric pots, etc, you are almost forced to go to the guitar E houses.

RW

[UnklMickey]

runewalker said:

I find the houses that specialize in selling guitar electronics are also fond of their higher per item margin....

i understand that small volume outfits need to have a higher per item markup than the big boys. (it's a reality of economics.)

none the less, my first reaction to their prices is the same as one would have to the thought of a prostrate exam.