Guitar build from kit - anyone done it?
Discussion
I'm very tempted by a telecaster-style self- build kit, possibly semi-hollow or slimline; keen for a 'traditional' tele twang, however.
About £80-£90-£100 gets a complete box of bits (with ash or alder body) which I will customise with (possibly) different pups or maybe active circuitry. It also gives me a chance to oil/paint/stain it to my choice of finish.
Any hints, tips or warnings? Any recommendations for vendors?
About £80-£90-£100 gets a complete box of bits (with ash or alder body) which I will customise with (possibly) different pups or maybe active circuitry. It also gives me a chance to oil/paint/stain it to my choice of finish.
Any hints, tips or warnings? Any recommendations for vendors?
I've got two kits ( strat & P Bass ) under construction from these guys http://www.pitbullguitars.com/ more than happy with the quality, they have a rather active builders forum and ship all over the world.
The service has been excellent, the strat was ordered on the weekend post christmas and turned up 4 working days later.
The service has been excellent, the strat was ordered on the weekend post christmas and turned up 4 working days later.
suthol said:
I've got two kits ( strat & P Bass ) under construction from these guys http://www.pitbullguitars.com/ more than happy with the quality, they have a rather active builders forum and ship all over the world.
The service has been excellent, the strat was ordered on the weekend post christmas and turned up 4 working days later.
How much is shipping to UK?The service has been excellent, the strat was ordered on the weekend post christmas and turned up 4 working days later.
I built a Tele kit from here http://www.diyguitarshop.co.uk/
The website hasn't been updated for a long time so don't know whether they are still going.
Anyway, it went together nicely, no issues with fit of anything. The biggest challenge to me was that it came with a 'paddle' headstock to cut as required. I found a template on the net and with a bit of work was quite happy with the result.
I wasn't confident about spraying it so the body was finished with Danish oil and then waxed.
I was pleased with the finished look and it played fine but was never happy with the sound. It was a bit generic electric guitar lacking the Tele character.
It came set up for through the bridge stringing but after a while I modified it for through the body.
That was the last incarnation.
Is now in bits for fitting a Filtertron (style) p'up at the neck, Bigsby (style) tailpiece, tortoiseshell pickguard and a refinish in Butterscotch nitrocellulose.
Its not a cheap way to get a guitar though. Even if you build it straight from the box by the time you add the materials for finishing etc. you have soon spent enough for a nice Squier.
That's not the point for me though, its a fun project that gives a lot of satisfaction
The website hasn't been updated for a long time so don't know whether they are still going.
Anyway, it went together nicely, no issues with fit of anything. The biggest challenge to me was that it came with a 'paddle' headstock to cut as required. I found a template on the net and with a bit of work was quite happy with the result.
I wasn't confident about spraying it so the body was finished with Danish oil and then waxed.
I was pleased with the finished look and it played fine but was never happy with the sound. It was a bit generic electric guitar lacking the Tele character.
It came set up for through the bridge stringing but after a while I modified it for through the body.
That was the last incarnation.
Is now in bits for fitting a Filtertron (style) p'up at the neck, Bigsby (style) tailpiece, tortoiseshell pickguard and a refinish in Butterscotch nitrocellulose.
Its not a cheap way to get a guitar though. Even if you build it straight from the box by the time you add the materials for finishing etc. you have soon spent enough for a nice Squier.
That's not the point for me though, its a fun project that gives a lot of satisfaction
Pothole said:
suthol said:
I've got two kits ( strat & P Bass ) under construction from these guys http://www.pitbullguitars.com/ more than happy with the quality, they have a rather active builders forum and ship all over the world.
The service has been excellent, the strat was ordered on the weekend post christmas and turned up 4 working days later.
How much is shipping to UK?The service has been excellent, the strat was ordered on the weekend post christmas and turned up 4 working days later.
It was the build forum and the range of semi acoustic kits that attracted me, I am keen to do their Grestch kit after I get through the ones I have in progress.
I can't comment on the standard pickups because I'm not up to assembly yet and the P Bass is getting GFS pups and the Strat Seymour Duncans.
The forum guitar of the month and guitar of the year entries are stunning.
All the usual disclaimers apply, no connections just a satisfied customer.
Don't discount looking for a used Telecaster on Gumtree/eBay/preloved/local paper. I picked up a barely used 50s Classic Telecaster in lacquer finish with a little Orange practice amp, Boss TU3 tuner, Fender strap, iPad cables and the hard tweed case all for £450. All items were like new and would have totalled about £1,000 six months earlier when bought. I was going to sell the excess parts but decided that I like the tuner and the small practice amp comes in handy if another guitarist comes round otherwise I probably would have got back maybe £80-100 making the guitar itself only £350-370. Not bad for a guitar that retailed at about £750 new.
The plus point being that if I want to sell it in future I'm sure I'd be able to get back £450 just for the guitar/case. Used partscasters may not hold their value so well, though if you don't plan to sell it doesn't really matter I suppose, but you never know.
The plus point being that if I want to sell it in future I'm sure I'd be able to get back £450 just for the guitar/case. Used partscasters may not hold their value so well, though if you don't plan to sell it doesn't really matter I suppose, but you never know.
garybezz said:
I built a Tele kit from here http://www.diyguitarshop.co.uk/
The website hasn't been updated for a long time so don't know whether they are still going.
Anyway, it went together nicely, no issues with fit of anything. The biggest challenge to me was that it came with a 'paddle' headstock to cut as required. I found a template on the net and with a bit of work was quite happy with the result.
I wasn't confident about spraying it so the body was finished with Danish oil and then waxed.
I was pleased with the finished look and it played fine but was never happy with the sound. It was a bit generic electric guitar lacking the Tele character.
It came set up for through the bridge stringing but after a while I modified it for through the body.
That's almost exactly what I want to end up with! I have an 'ashtray' bridge and some alnico pups stashed away somewhere which I will probably recycle as I know they sounded good in the last guitar.The website hasn't been updated for a long time so don't know whether they are still going.
Anyway, it went together nicely, no issues with fit of anything. The biggest challenge to me was that it came with a 'paddle' headstock to cut as required. I found a template on the net and with a bit of work was quite happy with the result.
I wasn't confident about spraying it so the body was finished with Danish oil and then waxed.
I was pleased with the finished look and it played fine but was never happy with the sound. It was a bit generic electric guitar lacking the Tele character.
It came set up for through the bridge stringing but after a while I modified it for through the body.
garybezz said:
Its not a cheap way to get a guitar though. Even if you build it straight from the box by the time you add the materials for finishing etc. you have soon spent enough for a nice Squier.
That's not the point for me though, its a fun project that gives a lot of satisfaction
...and that is my motivation, too. To be able to say "I built that" must be a very satisfying feeling. I have bought and sold dozens of guitars in the past 50 years (still have 6 parked next to my desk now!) but have never made one myself.That's not the point for me though, its a fun project that gives a lot of satisfaction
I rather like the look and reputation of the Pitbull stuff from Oz - looks like P & P add about £35, so still not bad.
Watch this space...!
I got a Stretton Payne kit for Xmas, still trying to decide what finish to put on the body. It was pretty cheap from amazon so I am not expecting great things.
http://strettonpayne.com/kits/SPKITST.pdf
http://strettonpayne.com/kits/SPKITST.pdf
I started with a cheapish kit as per that link, threw away all except the body and neck and went to town on it. Bare Knuckle pickups, Locking tuners, my own design electronics, coil tapping pots etc....
Ended up with a reasonably decent guitar which I use for gigs now.. plays well and sounds great - I just should have been a little more sensible on the paint job...
Ended up with a reasonably decent guitar which I use for gigs now.. plays well and sounds great - I just should have been a little more sensible on the paint job...
Ive done a couple of self builds now ( a partscaster, and a cheap chinese kit) ....just ordered a new kit from these guys in Canada ....came with very high recomendations from the www.projectguitar.com forums...... - http://www.fastguitars.com/index.php/guitar-parts/...
will flash up some pics when the kit arrives .....
will flash up some pics when the kit arrives .....
Hi, just finished my tele self build and happy with the results. Body, neck, electrics, hardware were all sourced on the net and assembled at home. I started as a retirement project and was a professional guitarist for many years so I knew my way about. You asked for tips and pointers so here's what I came up against during my build.
1. Always protect the finish from slipping tools etc, so easy to do, even just dropping a screw on your body can waste a finish.
2.. Measure 4 times and drill once .
Check headstock thickness before buying tuners.
3. If spraying over a decal, always spray light and many rather than heavy and few.
Mask off areas, even a tiny amount of overspray can be A pain to remove.
4. Make sure bridge assembly is aligned properly with neck and pickup poles before screwing down.
Leave lacquer to dry for a few days before buffing.
Good luck, it is rewarding and mine came out as I wanted it.. I was lucky with a few stupid blunders which were concealed or redone..
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Vv4FJzBt.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/tmYTcWdU" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/t/tmYTcWdU.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/HVEkEwaH" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/t/HVEkEwaH.jpg)
1. Always protect the finish from slipping tools etc, so easy to do, even just dropping a screw on your body can waste a finish.
2.. Measure 4 times and drill once .
Check headstock thickness before buying tuners.
3. If spraying over a decal, always spray light and many rather than heavy and few.
Mask off areas, even a tiny amount of overspray can be A pain to remove.
4. Make sure bridge assembly is aligned properly with neck and pickup poles before screwing down.
Leave lacquer to dry for a few days before buffing.
Good luck, it is rewarding and mine came out as I wanted it.. I was lucky with a few stupid blunders which were concealed or redone..
Hi, just finished my tele self build and happy with the results. Body, neck, electrics, hardware were all sourced on the net and assembled at home. I started as a retirement project and was a professional guitarist for many years so I knew my way about. You asked for tips and pointers so here's what I came up against during my build.
1. Always protect the finish from slipping tools etc, so easy to do, even just dropping a screw on your body can waste a finish.
2.. Measure 4 times and drill once .
Check headstock thickness before buying tuners.
3. If spraying over a decal, always spray light and many rather than heavy and few.
Mask off areas, even a tiny amount of overspray can be A pain to remove.
4. Make sure bridge assembly is aligned properly with neck and pickup poles before screwing down.
Leave lacquer to dry for a few days before buffing.
Good luck, it is rewarding and mine came out as I wanted it.. I was lucky with a few stupid blunders which were concealed or redone..
Should be more pics but I don't know where they went ...
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Vv4FJzBt.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/tmYTcWdU" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/t/tmYTcWdU.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/HVEkEwaH" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/t/HVEkEwaH.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/tmYTcWdU" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/t/tmYTcWdU.jpg)
1. Always protect the finish from slipping tools etc, so easy to do, even just dropping a screw on your body can waste a finish.
2.. Measure 4 times and drill once .
Check headstock thickness before buying tuners.
3. If spraying over a decal, always spray light and many rather than heavy and few.
Mask off areas, even a tiny amount of overspray can be A pain to remove.
4. Make sure bridge assembly is aligned properly with neck and pickup poles before screwing down.
Leave lacquer to dry for a few days before buffing.
Good luck, it is rewarding and mine came out as I wanted it.. I was lucky with a few stupid blunders which were concealed or redone..
Should be more pics but I don't know where they went ...
Edited by Gerry p on Friday 14th October 14:39
I've completed two DIY guitar builds in the last year. The one is a Telecaster kit and the other a Les Paul kit. I'd have to admit that some of the components namely the pickups, pots and tuning pegs are pretty bad in most kits. But, the body and neck are great! So with a few upgrades, a DIY guitar can compete with some really good production models out there. I'll upload some pictures of my two builds soon 
If you're thinking of building a Telecaster kit specifically, here is a great resource to check out: http://guitarpickzone.com/telecaster-kits-for-sale...
If you're thinking of building a Telecaster kit specifically, here is a great resource to check out: http://guitarpickzone.com/telecaster-kits-for-sale...
Stan the Bat said:
A direct link to the builders sub forum http://www.tdpri.com/forums/finely-finished.47/
Here's a tribute to the Merle Haggard " Tuff Dog " Telecaster I finished a couple of months ago
justinlevitt said:
I've completed two DIY guitar builds in the last year. The one is a Telecaster kit and the other a Les Paul kit. I'd have to admit that some of the components namely the pickups, pots and tuning pegs are pretty bad in most kits. But, the body and neck are great! So with a few upgrades, a DIY guitar can compete with some really good production models out there. I'll upload some pictures of my two builds soon
If you're thinking of building a Telecaster kit specifically, here is a great resource to check out: http://guitarpickzone.com/telecaster-kits-for-sale...
I see a couple of those kits have proper Tele shaped head stocks. What put me off a Tele was the idea of trying to cut the slab to a decent facsimile of the real thing. If I'd known about those kits I'd have gone for one of those instead of a Les Paul.If you're thinking of building a Telecaster kit specifically, here is a great resource to check out: http://guitarpickzone.com/telecaster-kits-for-sale...
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