It’s been a while, but this page’s list has finally been updated. Virtual guitar building websites seem to come and go as different companies try them out. Hopefully, the list below will stay active for a while to come. I personally love the concept of seeing a virtual instance of the guitar you’d love to build.
You may be wondering, “Who is this guy to tell me about virtual guitar builders?”. Great question. Luckily for me, I have some experience with using virtual guitar builders to design and build custom websites. Before they closed shop, I used the virtual guitar builder that Moniker Guitars had on their website. You can see that guitar in the first video on my SWOLA riff challenge post.
So, having pointed that out, let’s get into my current list (in no particular preference order).
Table of Contents
Virtual guitar-building websites with history
The following virtual guitar builders have been around for years and have proven themselves to be a good service for both the guitar builders and the fans who are looking for a custom guitar build.
ESP Guitars
The ESP Configurator is still around and lets you choose from their existing model range in a way that begins with the model type/shape that you’re interested in and from there allows you to customise features including wood type, hardware, pickups, paint finish, and orientation.
It’s a basic virtual guitar builder, but it allows for some awesome creations. Creations like this.
Halo Guitars
The virtual guitar builder by Halo Guitars remains one of the most impressive online guitar-building offerings. The opportunities here are nearly endless. As with Schecter and ESP, you start with a base model shape, but from there, the customisation options are much greater.
There are options to change features in the body, neck, headstock, and components sections of the guitar. These are on top of the general and special options sections. Hours of fun are to be had on this site. Be warned, you may end up creating a near-perfect guitar for your own needs that you’re very tempted to then purchase.
Kiesel Guitars
It’s taken me too long to update this list, but ages ago, Mark P (in the comments below) informed me that Kiesel Guitars also had a virtual guitar builder. Conveniently labeled as Builder on the Kiesel website, their offering is seriously impressive.
This virtual guitar-builder knows so much about the models and their variations that it lets you know when you can’t do things like to remove a scratchplate, use a dark logo on the headstock, or apply paint finishes that don’t make sense.
The finish options are plentiful on this site as well. There are so many neck, body and fretboard options to choose from. When you add to that the options for finishing these woods, you really start to see the reason that the Kiesel Guitars brand is as strong as it is in the guitar-loving community.
If I were ever allowed to buy another guitar, I would seriously consider this build of the Aries model. That’s one sexy guitar. Maybe one day when the Australian dollar and US dollar are once again closer to parity.
Fender Guitars
Yes, Fender Guitars also has a virtual guitar builder. You can create your own custom Mod Shop Fender. This is something I’d seriously love to do. I love the Fender Stratocaster but have always wanted one that had a couple of basic modifications—a hardtail bridge and a humbucker pickup in the bridge position.
Add to that the ability to also have a reversed Fender Stratocaster headstock and you’ll see that even something as iconic as the Stratocaster can have some cool customisation added to it.
Alternate virtual guitar builders
Ruokangas Guitars
Yay! The Ruokangas Guitars guitar creator is back! There was a time where the functionality went offline unless you used an app they had developed. Although that was cool, seeing the web-based option back is exciting.
The guitar creator is simple to use and allows you to see what the different setup options will look like across their existing range of electric guitars. Lots of fun to be had here.
Warmoth Guitars
The Warmoth virtual guitar builder doesn’t seem to have changed. You can build a custom body and you can build a custom neck. If you know what you’re looking for, this is a great place. If you need to see the pieces together on one screen, the Warmoth custom builder may not be the best solution for you.
Balaguer Guitars
The Balaguer Guitars virtual guitar builder is very similar to the Halo Guitars system. I’d say it’s near-identical. That’s a good thing. There’s now another option to highly customise a seriously impressive guitar right in your own bedroom. Or study. I don’t know where you keep your computer.
Here’s the kind of guitar I created online.
Summary
There you have it. Seven virtual guitar-building websites to enjoy. Hours of enjoyment to be had. Thousands of dollars to potentially spend. Now to just find thousands of spare dollars!
Enjoy!
Kiesel also has a good one: https://www.kieselguitars.com/builder/guitar
Oooh. That’s cool. I didn’t know that. Thank you for sharing. I’ll have to update this post.