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First Kit Guitar Done


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I bought this kit from BYOGuitar.com. It took a lot of work to make everything fit together, but I knew that going into it so it was kinda fun. I'd definitely buy another one from them. I plan on replacing the p/u's, plus I don't really dig the white instead of cream. Seamrog is Celtic for shamrock and the serial number is "The plug-in date" so I got pretty lucky with this one since I actually got it done on Sunday. Thanks to Mender for helping with the wiring or I'd be a liar, lol. I put that on there over a month ago anticipating the curing time and a couple days of scratching my head when it didn't work. I named the the Custom 360 degrees because it's a copy of the EVH Ernie Ball Axis or something like that. A circle or ball is 360 degrees so I thought what the heck, that'll work. The knob is from Q-Parts.

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Jonny

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Yeah, I have pretty much no woodworking experience. The only thing that I really had to do was fill in 90% of the screw holes with toothpicks and dowel rods and drill new holes since not a single piece matched up. Also had to fill and redrill the mounting holes in the neck. I had a buddy redrill them with his drill press so I knew they were straight. About the only other thing was shaving about a 32nd off the heel (is that the right word?) of the neck because it was sitting too proud of the body.

Jonny

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Yep, that looks cool and classy, beautiful blue finish on the top. I hope you gave Mender some beers for his help :D It seems there are some great kits available these days, and for people without a workshop or who live in flats or apartments and can't make a lot of noise, a kit is a fantastic way to have some fun and end up with a unique instrument.

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Yep, they usually get backordered then when they arrive they go quickly. I bought this in March. You can contact them and ask if they are getting more in and they will ask if you want a "heads up" notice when they arrive. They had 5 or 6 more different kits than they are showing now. You'll most likely have to replace the p/u's, they're pretty bad.

Jonny

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I think you did an excellent job on it.That is a first class instrument and if you think about it you gave some potentially abused wood a great chance at a new life...most guys buying a kit would have just thrown it together and strung it up.I thin kit looks every bit as good as a real Ernie Ball..not that I am an expert in those..but great job.

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Thanks for the comments!

I got the bridge p/u switched out, sounds MUCH better now. I couldn't even play it before, those p/u's were so bad. New strings too, so now it's totally playable and fun.

Important note that I forgot to mention to any who might purchase this kit: The p/u screws provided are too long! Guess how I found out!? Glad the hole will be covered by the tremolo spring cover.

Jonny

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Ok, the rundown... First off I already replaced the bridge p/u with the Fred and moved the original bridge p/u to the neck position. Now it's a least playable from a listening standpoint. The fine-tuners on the tremolo are not the greatest, the E's bind up a bit. The neck was surprisingly good right from the start except for one fault which could have turned out much worse. That was that the 12th fret had about 1/4" of bent tang on the end and they went ahead and pressed it in anyway. So I pulled it out, tried to bend the tang back but it broke off, so I just put the fret back on the neck with the little end piece missing. The little dent that was left on the face of the FB was covered by it so it's not noticeable. The frets themselves need dressing. I did the best I could with the minimal tools I have, it could be better, but it's working with no dead spots or buzzing. The action itself is nice and low and the overall playability is pretty good. I'll probably replace the pot and the 3-way next. The 3-way is super hard to switch and the pot doesn't really drop off any sound until about 3 or lower. Any suggestions on the "k" to replace it with? I play mostly classic/hard rock.

How do you guys get the "smooth as butter" neck? I used T.O. but it's not quite butter yet.

Thanks,

Jonny

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