guitar building kits

[pie_man_25]

so, basically, as july rolls to an end, I'vfe grown bored of the joys of waking up without purpose and being bored all day and decided to build a guitar, I basically looked online for some good deals on guitar kits (necks, unfinished bodies, everything needed to build a guitar) and have decided to ask the wise people at the fret on some good names for this stuff.

 

[ted s]

I contemplated building one, more like assembling one I suppose, I thought about a Carvin kit.

www.carvin.com

 

[Bloozcat]

I suppose it all depends on just how good a guitar you want when you're through. Kit's like the Saga will get you a guitar, but the components aren't the best, so you'll end up with a mediocre guitar when finished.

The other route is to list all of the parts necessary for a build, and then spec out the exact parts you want. This way you'll get a quality guitar that in effect will be customized to your own specs. This is definitely the more expensive route, but as they say, you get what you pay for.

Some of the better kits I've seen are from this company:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/searchresults.aspx?q=guitar+kit

While not the best parts all around, these kits offer better basic components IMHO. Check 'em out....R

 

[pie_man_25]

/\ I checked out that website, everything looks good, but I don't know if they ship to Canada.

 

[Bloozcat]

/\ I checked out that website, everything looks good, but I don't know if they ship to Canada.

E-mail them. They ship world wide, I can't see why they wouldn't ship to Canada.

BTW: Those PRS looking Heirloom kits for $375.00 and $395.00 USD, are set neck guitar kits.

 

[pie_man_25]

/\ good point,

also: I'd have to agree on the quality of those saga kits, they just look cheap to me, and they give you barely any information, I often find that the best equipment usually is proud enough to give you enough info, and these guys barely gave me any. I've also found a good looking kit here:

http://www.internationalluthiers.com/electrickits.php.

I was thinking of getting the strat-type in swamp ash, but i don't know about all the hardware, but the grizzly stuff looks good.

 

[Bloozcat]

The kit by International Luthiers does offer better features than many, but in order to keep costs down they have to cut somewhere. The body seems good, the neck seems pretty good, so that's a step in the right direction.

The areas I'd then be concerned about are:

The Bridge, the tuners...and the electronics - which is usually the biggest potential can of worms.

The trouble with trying to get a kit - any kit - with better parts is that the costs add up quickly.

Here's a good case in point. GFS offers some of the best bang-for-the-buck pickups out there. To get a completely wired pickguard for a Strat type guitar is $135.00 USD. And that's with your choice of GFS pickups and decent ALPHA large size pots.
http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsusacushha.html
What you'll end up with is sure to satisfy, but it's costlier.

So, I guess to sum it all up, you'll have to decide what level of quality is your bare minimum, and how much you're willing to spend. Decent/good quality components to build a Strat clone would probably cost $400.00 at a bare minimum. Higher for better quality, lower for lesser quality.

It's all up to you and your comfort level....

 

[pie_man_25]

The kit by International Luthiers does offer better features than many, but in order to keep costs down they have to cut somewhere. The body seems good, the neck seems pretty good, so that's a step in the right direction.

The areas I'd then be concerned about are:

The Bridge, the tuners...and the electronics - which is usually the biggest potential can of worms.

The trouble with trying to get a kit - any kit - with better parts is that the costs add up quickly.

Here's a good case in point. GFS offers some of the best bang-for-the-buck pickups out there. To get a completely wired pickguard for a Strat type guitar is $135.00 USD. And that's with your choice of GFS pickups and decent ALPHA large size pots.
http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsusacushha.html
What you'll end up with is sure to satisfy, but it's costlier.

So, I guess to sum it all up, you'll have to decide what level of quality is your bare minimum, and how much you're willing to spend. Decent/good quality components to build a Strat clone would probably cost $400.00 at a bare minimum. Higher for better quality, lower for lesser quality.

It's all up to you and your comfort level....

wow, premium ALNICO II as a STANDARD pickup, those guys know how to please a discerning guitarist, those are definately good, but unfortunately, I only have $400 Canadian, and I really like the swamp ash body because I love natural finish, so I'm just gonna have to deal with mediocre for a few months and then buy one of those pickguards, they look like a great deal, and I make $50 a month, so I could just wait until about december and then order one if the hardware is crap, which gives me time to judge the hardware.

 

[Bloozcat]

Ok then, you’re limited by price as to what you can buy. So, you need to get the most for your money. You can always upgrade later if you're happy with the basic guitar and how it feels/plays.

I'd be inclined to get the Grizzly Heirloom Strat kit, except that it comes with an alder body with a curly maple veneer top, and you want ash. The pickups are better (Alnico), and I suspect that the tuners are better as well. As to the tremolo, I'd probably want to call both companies and as some questions, like, string spread width, mounting screw pattern size (like the Asian imports/Mexican/Squire, or std. American size).

The assembled pickguard that GFS offers is a pretty good deal, but you could upgrade either pickguard from the kit with alnico pickups, ALPHA 250k pots, a CRL 5-way switch, a Switchcraft input jack, cloth covered vintage hook up wire, and some better caps, all for under $95.00 USD (about $100.00 USD with CTS pots). Of course, if you were to do this, you'd have to install/wire/solder all the components yourself (but that's half the fun!).

If the body is drilled for a std. American mounting screw spread, GFS has a great Wilkinson vintage style replacement tremolo with a steel block as seen here on my blue ash Strat (about $42.95 USD):

So, get what you can afford now, and I'm sure that I speak for most here when I say that we'll be more than happy to help you through the mods at a later date as you can afford them. We're always delighted to welcome others to share in our affliction...

To shamelessly borrow from Shakespeare (with a slight "modification")...

Modding is "A madness most discreet."

 

[pie_man_25]

Ok then, you’re limited by price as to what you can buy. So, you need to get the most for your money. You can always upgrade later if you're happy with the basic guitar and how it feels/plays.

I'd be inclined to get the Grizzly Heirloom Strat kit, except that it comes with an alder body with a curly maple veneer top, and you want ash. The pickups are better (Alnico), and I suspect that the tuners are better as well. As to the tremolo, I'd probably want to call both companies and as some questions, like, string spread width, mounting screw pattern size (like the Asian imports/Mexican/Squire, or std. American size).

The assembled pickguard that GFS offers is a pretty good deal, but you could upgrade either pickguard from the kit with alnico pickups, ALPHA 250k pots, a CRL 5-way switch, a Switchcraft input jack, cloth covered vintage hook up wire, and some better caps, all for under $95.00 USD (about $100.00 USD with CTS pots). Of course, if you were to do this, you'd have to install/wire/solder all the components yourself (but that's half the fun!).

If the body is drilled for a std. American mounting screw spread, GFS has a great Wilkinson vintage style replacement tremolo with a steel block as seen here on my blue ash Strat (about $42.95 USD):

So, get what you can afford now, and I'm sure that I speak for most here when I say that we'll be more than happy to help you through the mods at a later date as you can afford them. We're always delighted to welcome others to share in our affliction...

To shamelessly borrow from Shakespeare (with a slight "modification")...

Modding is "A madness most discreet."

once again, you make a lot of good points, you've been a great help so far, and I appreciate that you've taken the time out of your daily life to help me and give some good advice to somebody who needs it.

I've found a place nearby that sells saga kits, which I know aren't the best, but I got to look at the strat kit, and it doesn't look too bad, but the basswood body just looks horrible! But at the same time, I could upgrade it after a while with swamp ash the way I love it, or give it a 1/2" maple top!
As for the pickguard, like you said, I could go to the GFS site and get ALNICO p-ups and 250 or 500K pots, and use some old chickenhead knobs my father scrapped from an old transformer station (he works for the city, and they were updating the old stations for digital equipment). If I go ahead with all this stuff, I'll give you guys updates.

ps: you have a point about the soldering and wiring being half the fun, and you have a killer-looking stratocaster, if it were your daughter, I'd be asking her out by now (or being my usual over-shy self)!

 

[Bloozcat]

If you're going to buy a kit with the intention of upgrading and modding it later, start with a basic foundation that you'll be able to live with throughout the mods. In other words, get a decent or good body and neck as the central part of your guitar. All of the other stuff can be changed a piece at a time for reasonable costs, but the body and neck are the major (and usually most costly) basic parts.

If you want a swamp ash body, then buy the International Luthiers kit. Not many reasonably priced kits out there come with a swamp ash body, let alone one that is machined in the US. If they went that far with the body, it's probably a safe bet that the neck is decent too. So there's the heart of your project. Another good thing about this kit, is the option of choosing a maple or rosewood fretboard. You could make a real snappy 50's/60's Strat clone with a swamp ash body and a maple/maple neck. That's something to consider as well.

It's a good idea to go and look at the Saga kit. If nothing else, it might convince you to go with the better kit. And at $224.95 USD for the International Luthiers kit, IMHO it's a better value than the Saga.

In the end, it's your decision. Making the right decision in the beginning will save you a lot of unnecessary (and expensive) changes down the road. Most people who have modded a few guitars, have their regrets about certain decisions they've made regarding parts...I know I have. The more of these that you can avoid, the more money you'll have in your pocket for other mods...

 

[pie_man_25]

well, I called the international luthiers phone, and they said that they were all out of swamp ash and it would take a week to get in and after that it would take about two weeks for the kit to arrive anyways, so I got a Saga at the local shop, I looked at the kit and everything looked fine, the bridge seemed sub-fender and the pickguard had a layer of protective plastic on it, the body was this ugly ultra-laminated basswood, so I painted it with some automotive acrylic metallic green and gave it the clear coat, we've also carved out the headstock and painted it, we're waiting for the clear coat to set in and it isn't too bad yet, we've done the dry-run before anything else and everything fits nicely so far. Of course I'm going to do a few upgrades on the pickups and the tuners, maybe with gotohs or something.

 

[chordshredder]

My second guitar is a Saga kit. Learned a lot about guitars putting it together. Especially how to flatten a fretboard. I painted it Olympic White. Played it non stop for over a year, enough that the frets need work. The neck pickup is really nice. The body is better than SX brand sst57. The pots and switch will eventually get scratchy. The Low E string tuner is too close to the nut and offset which causes the tremelo not to return to tune. The straighter the strings break across the nut the better. I like the extra width of the neck; its wider than the fender squires and SX and for that matter the AGILE GG1 that I have. But the kit really got me going with modds. Let the paint cure out well and finish her up I think you will like it.

 

[elavd]

Take a look at this:
http://www.thomann.de/gr/harley_benton_eguitar_kit.htm

It costs only 79€ !!!

 

[chordshredder]

Gee looks identical to the SAGA kit and converting euro to us dollars is almost same price.