Kit guitars?

[Turi]

Who's crankin' a guitar they've made from a kit?
Decent?

I'm sussing out what's local and I've found a heap of kits. Some dude makes em and sells em on eBay.
Cheap too. $149aud + postage.

Obviously the electronics are probably shite but that can be sorted at a later date.

How long does it usually take to make a kit guitar up?
Just stick it all together and we're sweet, yeah?

Slap some finish or w/e I want for some colour and job done?

Could be a cool project or something fun to do.

Keen to see if anyone's bought a DIY kit, made it up and we're happy with it.
Just sounds cool.

Cheers fellas. Pics would be epic.

 

[Hulakatt]

Built a BYOGuitars kit. Wood was decent, hardware and electronics were crap. Needs a complete fret job like nobody's business. Painting in nitro took forever and I F***ed it up in the end anyway. It hangs on my wall, partially as art and partially as a reminder to not cheap out.

 

[Imperial_Tone]

Don't own a set necked kit. But I've thought about doing a Bulldog or Precision Guitar Kits LP Jr, or a 57' GT. But then I remember just how little time I have to devote to projects outside of work.. But one day I'll make it happen.

 

[Semitone]

I put together a Carvin strat style guitar about 15 years ago. I upgraded to a number of higher quality components like Wilkinson trem and locking Sperzel tuners. I use it as my beater guitar that I keep on my boat ( which is a pretty hostile environment for a guitar). It stays in tune ( somewhat) and plays well but nowadays I would probably just buy a cheaper Squire product. The curves/ carve on the body aren't nearly as nice as my Fender Am Deluxe. The body is also a bit smaller than a Fender.

I've stripped it down and refinished it 3 or 4 times. Something I probably wouldn't do with a nicer guitar.

 

[Sirloin]

 

[Baxtercat]

One of my best Strats [$100 Saga kit].
Great tone from the basswood body, decent bridge too.
I swapped a few pickups of course.

Be warned: the frets were uneven. Not a difficult fix for me since I have a long file, a few other tools.

The hard maple paddle headstock provided wasn't all that easy to shape/cut. A friend had a bandsaw, thankfully.

 

[megawzrd]

Most kit guitars will skimp on the parts to make profit.

A long while back I saw a guy list a saga strat kit for $40. I gave him $30 for it, then when I got it home and started looking at the cheap parts i quickly relisted and got my money back.

I have a BYO LP jr that I built the hell out of. None of the electronics or hardware are from the kit. The body a 4 piece cracked along a mineral streak on the back...wood not dried properly. It plays great after a full setup, level, etc...I learned a lot of good lutherie skills on it. Would I go cheap kit again...heck no.

I think the adage that you get what you pay for definitely applies. If you are doing it for the learning experience though, go for it.

This is my byo lp jr build.

 

[VaughnC]

The thing is that any guitar you put together will seldom be "bolt & play". Important things like getting the nut slots cut to the proper width & height and getting the frets leveled & crowned need special tools and practice to get right. Then there's the issue of proper soldering skills...I've seen so many soldering hack jobs. Done properly, you can end up with a decent home built guitar...BUT, you don't know what you have until that first note is played. Wood is funny, inconsistent stuff...and you just never know. I've built several guitars and they came out decent...BUT the best one's in my harem are the gems I found by "running the racks". However, I learned a lot in the building process too. So, I guess it boils down to whether or not you want to throw several hundred dollars into the wind and hope for the best and maybe learn something in the process, or run the racks for what you want before putting down your money and get a warranty.

 

[Kombi_king]

I'm sussing out what's local

I tried to find a good kit locally (Aus). A mate made a "guitarAust" kit and it was decent enough for the price.
I decided to go a bit more expensive and have built a warmoth strat (US) and a Precision Guitar Kit LP (Canada). I'd recommend both...but love my PGK.