Electric Guitar Kits - any good?

[donnyjaguar]

I was thinking of trying one of these kits to build a lefty guitar to be used by any visiting player that uses such an axe. The price is certainly right and I don't mind adding some elbow-grease and custom paint job, but I don't know if the end result will be any good. I can't seem to find any (believable) testimonials. Looking for any opinions.

The guitars are available from a few places, this is one of the lower-cost suppliers: http://www.3gmusicandsound.com/category/KitGuitar/Electric-Guitar

 

[Wake911]

i bought a fairly cheap kit from a now out of the business of kits company, for like $350 plus some upgraded parts i did on my own. took it to like $550 total. I was mainly doing it as a way to learn how guitars really go together, how to fix issues, how to level and crown frets, wire up pickups, etc, since i'd never done it.

I was blown away with the fit and finish of the body to the neck, and it sounds gods, plays good.

I would say these are mainly hit or miss opportunities. I would think the more you spend, the better it'd be, but really you don't know. I got lucky and scored a winner, but will not guarantee every one will be a winner.

But for your situation, I'd just as soon try to find a used guitar at a music store or on craigslist or something, you'll get more for your money probably, and won't risk the possibility of getting a dud.

 

[Dale]

Carvin's kits are pretty decent.

 

[Baxtercat]

We bought a few for our band. The Saga Strats were only $85 + shipping then.
If you're handy these will work. You have to cut a headstock, paint it, and so on.

I had to level the frets; they were pretty out-of-wack. Changed a few p/ups and I love it now. Gig w/ it often.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I'm kind of curious about the Mark Jenny MJT kits. They look pretty nice and some of them use Musikraft necks.

 

[bsahin]

I've seen a kit made by Gotoh and it was pretty cool. BTW, not first hand experience but i had some friends had bought kits from Carvin and they were satisfied with that... They are made in us and has nice hardware.

 

[donnyjaguar]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I may have been roping all these kits into the same paddock. It would appear they are not all created equal. My buddy went to check out the kits at the local supplier and said a lot more work would be required to make a useable instrument than what is implied. For instance the holes on the neck didn't line up with the body. The neck was also too tight to fit into the neck pocket so much chiseling/sanding would be needed. The pick-guard would need trimming too. The hardware quality was the lowest quality, which isn't too much of a surprise I guess. He also noted that the one of the boards in the body had a knot hole in it that would have to be filled. This wouldn't be a problem, unless you wanted a natural finish of course. The hole for the pickup wasn't big enough for the pickup itself either which would be a problem if you didn't own a router. He said he played one that was built already and although it played pretty good it kept going out of tune. This could've been a setup issue he admits but thought it a little dubious.

 

[Darkness]

Carvin's kits are pretty decent.

Built two. Both are seriously righteous for the dough. Main dislike was pups. Drop in pickguard wired up with your choice of armament and you'll be slinging sweet tones like a busy newspaper man on his morning route.

 

[Dale]

Carvin kits ...

Built two. Both are seriously righteous for the dough. Main dislike was pups. Drop in pickguard wired up with your choice of armament and you'll be slinging sweet tones like a busy newspaper man on his morning route.

I swapped out the pickups as well (I went HH).