What's The Current Scoop On Low Cost Guitar Kits?

[poptartpower]

Howdy, hi, hello! It's my first post here on the forum.

I am interested in getting a low cost guitar kit like what is being sold on BYOguitar.com. In particular, I am interested in something like a Les Paul or Explorer replica. The kits seem to run for $180 to $190 depending on who is selling them. What is the current opinion on these kits? Are they complete garbage or is there something to them?

I know it is possible to get a whole new guitar for $99 and lower, especially if shopping used. That was me 15 years ago. I had a chance to play everything from a real Explorer to a 69 Strat to a Jackson Dinky. It's been a whole since I played and I think that getting a kit would be a fun way to get back into the instrument. I'm not looking to recreate the experiences of before. Just looking for something fun to assemble, finish, and noodle around with.

I got some search results when looking for info about the Saga kits but the posts were from a few years back. It seems like the kits are more hit than miss. Ideally, I would like to have a guitar kit without the PUs and hardware. I know I would upgrade whatever the kit came with.

Any thoughts?

-- Boris

[WezV]

cant comment on the kits but i would be looking at what kind of bodies & necks you can get off ebay for the same money - because the hardware is always the weak link in these things and you just said you would be upgrading it anyway

[avengers63]

If you want a kit and can drop $400-$500, look into Carvin's kits. I have one, and everything about them is top quality - including the hardware. Mine was LITERALLY able to be screwed together and playable minutes after it got to my house.

From what I've seen/read, Saga kits are playable, but like Wez said, the hardware is cheap.

You might be just as well off getting the neck, body, hardware, and electronics separately. eBay always has bodies & necks that have been parted out, as well as factory hardware & pups. Most of the time there's nothing wrong with them, the owner just chose to upgrade to what they felt was a better part. The pickups are where the real bargains can be found. If you got all the parts separately, you could make one for the $250-$350 range.

[poptartpower]

I briefly thought about piecing together a guitar from separate neck and body parts off of eBay. My concern with that route is the compatibility of one body with another neck. Would the neck cut-out in the body be too deep or too shallow for a neck? And then there is the scale length, string spacing, etc. A kit would seem to have most of that figured out in theory. I am sort of anxious to put my own finish on the body so I would like to have a bare body + prep layer. I don't want to strip the finish off of an already perfectly well finished body.

Any thoughts on body/neck compatibility?

Also, with the Explorer kit, it looks like it is a set-neck system. Not sure if that is a can of worms I am ready to open.

My budget is a self imposed constraint. I know first hand that the sky is the limit until the wallet goes dry. That is why I put a self imposed limit of around $200 for a bare kit. The extra $$ spent isn't necessarily going to make a better player. I think I topped out on that skill already. :-)

-- Boris

[Muzz]

The kits at http://www.guitarfetish.com/ look good, anyone had any experience with these?

[poptartpower]

The kits at http://www.guitarfetish.com/ look good, anyone had any experience with these?

I have continued searching for more guitar kit sites. Guitar Fetish seems to have a pretty good reputation for fit and quality, maybe even better than Saga but it certainly doesn't have the reputation of the Warmoth or Carvin kits. I like GF's Mockingbird kit and it may be the one for me. My only concern is the potential lack of contours for the arm and body. I will contact them in the next few days to learn more about their kits.

-- Boris

[Wademeister]

I have continued searching for more guitar kit sites. Guitar Fetish seems to have a pretty good reputation for fit and quality, maybe even better than Saga but it certainly doesn't have the reputation of the Warmoth or Carvin kits. I like GF's Mockingbird kit and it may be the one for me. My only concern is the potential lack of contours for the arm and body. I will contact them in the next few days to learn more about their kits.

-- Boris

Pretty interesting! Since their kits are unfinished it looks like a great opportunity to add the contours you want and headstock shape the way you want it.

Let me encourage you with one I built not really as a "kit" but almost... I used a Carvin set neck that was complete, ready to glue in and all Carvin electronics. Made my own body out of hard maple, later covered with veneer.

Sorry I don't know about any of the kits out there but my experience with Carvin (in about 1981 or '82) was great and the one you linked looks like it has a lot of potential. Looks like the hardware is probably reasonable and I've read quite a few good reviews on GFS pickups so you may not feel like you need an upgrade once you get it all together. Best of luck, I hope you get into it and enjoy!

[Musiclogic]

Carvin Kits are definately very good quality, as are the kits from Grizzly(yes the machine company...the owner is a Luthier...Grizzly.com) The Saga Kits you can get on Ebay for around $110, and have a pretty good reputation. They do not feel like a $1500 instrument when finished, but they do play as good as a $350 mexi strat. I have played a few, and was really surprised after a good set-up, how well they played. With any kit, the main thing is to inspect the components first, make sure of fit and straightness, after that, have a ball.

[poptartpower]

Carvin Kits are definately very good quality, as are the kits from Grizzly(yes the machine company...the owner is a Luthier...Grizzly.com) The Saga Kits you can get on Ebay for around $110, and have a pretty good reputation. They do not feel like a $1500 instrument when finished, but they do play as good as a $350 mexi strat. I have played a few, and was really surprised after a good set-up, how well they played. With any kit, the main thing is to inspect the components first, make sure of fit and straightness, after that, have a ball.

Thanks for the pointer to Grizzly.com. Their kits seem to be priced comparably to the Carvin kits. I noticed that the headstocks have not been cut to shape. Cutting a headstock may be more than I am ready for though. I'm actually more afraid of screwing up the drilling of the tuner holes. Are headstocks easier than I think?

-- Boris

[Geo]

Cutting a headstock may be more than I am ready for though. I'm actually more afraid of screwing up the drilling of the tuner holes. Are headstocks easier than I think?

-- Boris

If you have a jigsaw, you should be good. I've never used a drill press for tuner holes, just a hand-held drill and some very careful eyeballing. I made mistakes at first but I'm good at it now.

[poptartpower]

I e-mailed GF asking about their exchange policy in case the neck/body fit is poor. It looks like they will accept an exchange in that case. I also asked where the neck and body are made. The reply was Asia, which is fine. It's all made with computer controlled equipment. The Mockingbird kit is looking real tempting!

-- Boris

[Muzz]

I e-mailed GF asking about their exchange policy in case the neck/body fit is poor. It looks like they will accept an exchange in that case. I also asked where the neck and body are made. The reply was Asia, which is fine. It's all made with computer controlled equipment. The Mockingbird kit is looking real tempting!

-- Boris

Yep the Mockingbird kit looks great.

[doug]

A kit can be a good place to start. You can learn a lot that way, and not worry about the pieces fitting (for the most part).

poptartpower is spot on with respects body/neck compatibility. I make a ton of necks for Warmoth, USA, and Carvin bodies. Those are consistent. The rest in my opinion... is anybodies guess. Because of that I've made it mandatory customers to send their body to me so I can verify the geometry before making a neck for it.

Have fun :o)

[Paul Vogt]

PopTartPower,

Regarding Kits, One thing to look at is the material they use. One thing I see alot of, is veneer tops. These

look good, but if you look closer, you'll see that the "carved" tops are pretty lame. They are simplified in such

a way that they can be nicely covered with a sheet of veneer.

You might like the solid wood kits I'm making. These can be seen at pvxguitars.com. In addition, I have three instructional videos on youtube. To find them, just go to youtube and search on PVXGuitars. I also send my own

finishing guide with every kit, in which I describe and illustrate the use of Behlen's nitrocelulose lacquer products.

These kits are basically PRS in style, although after a couple of letters and a conference call with PRS's legal

folks, we have agree on some subtle changes to avoid infringing on their design.

I love what I'm doing, and I try to make sure that every customer gets my best work.

Check It Out!

Best Regards,

Paul Vogt

PVXGuitars

Charlotte, NC

Howdy, hi, hello! It's my first post here on the forum.

I am interested in getting a low cost guitar kit like what is being sold on BYOguitar.com. In particular, I am interested in something like a Les Paul or Explorer replica. The kits seem to run for $180 to $190 depending on who is selling them. What is the current opinion on these kits? Are they complete garbage or is there something to them?

I know it is possible to get a whole new guitar for $99 and lower, especially if shopping used. That was me 15 years ago. I had a chance to play everything from a real Explorer to a 69 Strat to a Jackson Dinky. It's been a whole since I played and I think that getting a kit would be a fun way to get back into the instrument. I'm not looking to recreate the experiences of before. Just looking for something fun to assemble, finish, and noodle around with.

I got some search results when looking for info about the Saga kits but the posts were from a few years back. It seems like the kits are more hit than miss. Ideally, I would like to have a guitar kit without the PUs and hardware. I know I would upgrade whatever the kit came with.

Any thoughts?

-- Boris

[ae3]

I bought a floyd rose compatible body from Guitar Fetish. By far some of the worst quality I have ever seen. Big splintered hole between the rear floyd route and the bridge humbucker route and none of the routes are straight. Obviosly done by hand by someone who had no idea what they were doing. Paint wasn't even dry in some places.

Can't speak about their kits, but avoid their bodis.

[DC Ross]

A customer brought a box of Guitarfetish stuff ("floyd-compatible" body, floyd, neck, etc...) for me to assemble. In addition to a bunch of other problems, the bridge pickup route went too far south, so I had to add a shim to the bridge side of the route to be able to place the studs correctly. So much for a 'cheap' partscaster. He'd have been much better off getting a Carvin kit.

[maney]

I e-mailed GF asking about their exchange policy in case the neck/body fit is poor. It looks like they will accept an exchange in that case. I also asked where the neck and body are made. The reply was Asia, which is fine. It's all made with computer controlled equipment. The Mockingbird kit is looking real tempting!

-- Boris

HI, Boris.

I got a mocking bird kit yesterday, it looks decent and fits together well enough. Not sure about the hard ware but i am upgrading the pickups ASAP.

Hope this help, let me know if you want anymore details?

Maney

Edited August 18, 2010 by maney

[poptartpower]

HI, Boris.

I got a mocking bird kit yesterday, it looks decent and fits together well enough. Not sure about the hard ware but i am upgrading the pickups ASAP.

Hope this help, let me know if you want anymore details?

Maney

Hi Maney,

It sounds like the Mockingbird kit is getting good marks from you. That is encouraging. Do you think you would be able to post some pictures for us to see? I would be especially curious to see how well the neck fits into the body. Are there huge gaps? Does the neck seemingly line up straight with the body?

What do you think of the neck? Is it thick and clubby? I had a '79 Strat for a short while and the neck felt like a baseball bat. It was very uncomfortable to play.

I have read in forums that the pickups in kits like this are the first things to be set aside. Which pickups are you planning to upgrade to?

-- Boris

[RestorationAD]

Has anyone ever tried the kits from www.byoguitar.com?

[poptartpower]

Has anyone ever tried the kits from www.byoguitar.com?

The kits from BYO G seem a little bit more upscale. I was eying their Explorer kits. Compare it to the Guitar Fetish version. The knobs and switches are in different positions. I would go for the BYO G version because it looks closer to the real deal from Gibson.

-- Boris

[Two Dogs]

I got an SC from BYOGuitar about a week ago. It was a second cuz there was a slight crack on the rear bout that was easily fixed. I only paid 107.50 for it and it's pretty good quality. I would pay full price for another one.

I bought upgrade tuners, but the ones that came with it seem pretty good. I'm gonna replace the PUPs with some hotter ones but still use the stock electronics for now; also gut a Tusq nut.

I'll post pics when I'm done and let you know how it sounds

Hope this helps

Mark