Despite the fact that my first was one (I was so young and naive....), I am not in favour of building what are essentially copies. Building your own guitar is not, despite what common sense may dictate, necessarily a cheap alternative to buying a 'brand name' guitar, so if you want a 'name' guitar, then buy one rather than recreating it. Remember that there is a lot of snobbery in the guitar world, especially where names on headstocks are concerned. Building and playing your own guitar makes a statement about you, just as hanging a 'name' guitar around your neck does.

I like attention to detail in a design, and I like all aesthetic details (the way that the separate parts look when put together) to relate to and interact with each other. Headstocks should look 'right' with the  body shape, and details such as scratchplates and control positioning are just as important as the overall body shape.

When designing a body shape remember that a guitar usually needs to:

    •    Be balanced when played standing up;

    •    Sit on the knee when played sitting down;

    •    Allow access to upper frets;

    •    Allow palm muting of strings;

    •    Allow hanging from a strap;

    •    Be tuned from a playing position;

    •    Have controls that do not interfere with playing.

What the shape actually looks like is secondary (witness Bo Diddley's square Gretsch, or 1980s bodiless Steinbergers) as long as it does most, if not all of the above.