Fawkes Posted October 6, 2003 Report Share Posted October 6, 2003 I'm looking at building my first guitar, and have been looking at some of the various kits around. I've been looking at some of the Strat and Tele kits. I realize that the wood quality is not the best on most of these, but are they worth even trying? Would I be better off buying a better body/neck from better sources? I'm working on a tight budget, but I also don't want junk. For about the same price as some of the lowend kits I could just buy a Squire Strat. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DividedByJames Posted October 7, 2003 Report Share Posted October 7, 2003 Being someone who is always trying to save money on a project, I always end up spending more money than it would have cost to buy the factory guitar. The only upside is that I have a guitar that I customized and it has everything that I want, and I'm not stuck with extra parts. My recommendation to you is to stay away from kits unless you don't mind about quality or unless you get hooked up with a good deal. IMO they are really low end (use maple or basswood bodies) and for maybe another $100 you could get better quality. Also search ebay's Parts & Accessories pages. Usually if all you want is a Tele or Start clone, you can get the parts pretty cheap. I usually stick to Mighty Mite because they are Fender licensed and should retro fit any Fender parts. If you are buying a body make sure that you measure the heel of the neck and match them up as I have found some Japanese Fenders are slightly smaller. Check Warmoth for neck specs too since they are also licensed. But if your budget is under $200, I'd just buy a Squire because they are usually good quality if not better than the kits (go to Fender's website for body specs--Affinity's are alder). Then search for a Fender decal on ebay if the Squire name is leaving a bad tase in your mouth. Upgrade pickups and tuners if need be. You can always strip the body if your plan was to paint it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawkes Posted October 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2003 Thank you for your input. I was leaning the same way on the quality of some of the box kits. I also came to the same conclusion about the Squire, as I can pick one up for about the same price as the kit, if I shop hard. I am sersiously leaning towards digging out the tools, and trying my hand at making my own body, and buying a neck. I just need to do more homework (and bugging everyone here) to make a logical plan. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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