MASTERCLASS WITH CHRISTOPH NOE


Christoph Noe is an expert designer and luthier from Munich, where he builds electric guitars and electric basses under his brand On Guitars.

Guitar Design and Construction


"I’m a music lover. For me, the centre of guitar making is the music, around which everything revolves." In this four-part video series, Christoph takes you into his workshop and provides insight into his craft - from design to building specialized guitar jigs and templates. The passion and joy with which he approaches his work is sure to inspire you in your own work.

Lessons in this Masterclass

Lesson 01 | Guitar Body Design

Learn about the basic design considerations like wood species, ergonomics and the process to go from design to MDF prototype.

Lesson 02 | Cutting the Body

Using two Shaper Workstations, Christoph creates a large Origin bench to route, flip, and route again the guitar body.

Lesson 03 | Neck Contour Jig

Christoph explains the ideal settings for cutting fret slots with Origin and treating oak with ammonia to darken the fretboard.

Lesson 04 | Cutting Fret Slots

Cut the rounded profiles for the neck of a guitar using a traditional router using this Origin-made jig. Free files available!

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Lessons in this Masterclass

01 | Guitar Body Design

02 | Cutting the Body

03 | Neck Contour Jig

04 | Cutting Fret Slots

Guitar Neck Contour Jig

My interpretation of a neck contour jig inspired by the original Idea of Bill Scheltema. I wanted to have a version which is easily adaptable for different scale lengths and also one which does not take too much space in my shop if it is not needed. Using a carriage which supports a plunge router, the depth of the router bit can be adjusted easily and - even more important - precisely.

Get the Plans on ShaperHub

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