looking for a DIY flying v kit, best quality, suggestions appreciated

[fastforded]

looking for a DIY flying v kit, best quality, suggestions appreciated

heard some companies are selling crap so any suggestions o a quality company would be apreciated,

thanks

[curtisa]

Might take a look at Fast Guitars kit section. If their LP kit is anything to go by (see RADs build thread ) it is probably the best you can get for the price.

[Prostheta]

Got there before I could. Yes! Fast Guitars are putting out kits which you could easily compare to Gibson. Just imagine one without the finish or components and unassembled. Ready to glue and paint. I'm very impressed with what those guys are doing. I'm usually very cynical about kits, and in many ways I don't think the term "kit" really describes the level of what Fast Guitars are putting out.

Let us know what you're planning on. Would love to see what you have in mind.

[fastforded]

Thanks. I saw the website

http://www.fastguitars.com/index.php/guitar-parts/standard-guitar-kits.html

Kits look really nice...

I was debating making my own body and neck vs a kit. Kind of wanted to make it myself but probably better results if I get a kit

Some of these companies just sell such crap. Fast guitars looked like they have nice stuff

Anyone here try one yet?

[Tim37]

Check out the in progress section there is a thread by restoratioad called fast lp. He is an experienced builder and is very happy with the kit.

[Prostheta]

Indeed. You're right about a lot of companies making crap. I'd like to build up a Flying V myself one day in the style of Jim Martin's chromed-out 70s Gibson with a Kahler retrofit. Fast Guitars would be top of my list.

[fastforded]

Not sure I like the kahlers. Haven't used one yet always the Floyd rose trems...

Had a chance to get an explorer but it had a kahler so I passed... Didn't seem to like the way it was set up... To each their own.

If I was building one I would definitely go with a Floyd rose. This kind I reminds me of VHS vs Betamax. Almost every guitar I see with a trem is a Floyd rose so that says something to me

And as a note, when I called Floyd rose about a problem they bent over backwards to help me as that by itself speaks volumes (to me)

[fastforded]

[Prostheta]

That's all cool. If Fast Guitars can't rout the body for a Floyd-Rose, curtisa wrote a great tutorial on how to do this yourself.

[fastforded]

Thanks in was looking at that last night. I made a template a few years ago for when I did my strat but infant find it.

Appreciate the thoughts

[RestorationAD]

Talk to Kevin at FastGuitars I am sure he can do a Floyd Route on a V for you. Tell him you are from Project Guitar.

[fastforded]

Thanks I talked to him already. I didn't mention project guitar though. He was kind enough to answer my questions and offer some good suggestions too

I don't think he can do that Floyd rose without the set up costs involved. Guess I just rout it myself and enjoy the experience

[RestorationAD]

Thanks I talked to him already. I didn't mention project guitar though. He was kind enough to answer my questions and offer some good suggestions too

I don't think he can do that Floyd rose without the set up costs involved. Guess I just rout it myself and enjoy the experience

Floyd Rose routes are fun... and easy enough with curtisa how to article.

I would ping him and tell him you are from Project Guitar.

[fastforded]

Thanks. Appreciate the time. And thoughts...

[Prostheta]

No problem at all. I'd love to see what you come up with in your project. Certainly, just ask for any help you need with the Floyd Rose stuff. I'm very impressed with what Fast Guitars did with RAD's Les Paul, so I would expect that a Flying V would be a dream to work on too. Damn, you've got me GASing for one now. ;-)

[fastforded]

Yep been waiting years for one. Like 25 or so... Finally got around to making room in the shop

Not ever enough time you know?

[Prostheta]

I hear you on that one. I've wanted a modified 70s Flying V for what, 22yrs myself now? Whilst I could either purchase a genuine Gibson Flying V and roll the dice on it or simply build one from scratch, I am genuinely interested in a Flying V kit from Fast Guitars myself. The tight tolerances and perfect work on RAD's Les Paul kit was more than enough to convince me that would be the correct way forward. I guess I just need to get my painting chops down and figure out where to get ahold of a chromed pickguard....and the money for a Kahler....

[fastforded]

Yep same here. Found one I liked but had some cracks in the finsh by the neck. And for what they were asking ($2500) that's way too much of a gamble..

I understand it's vintage but that just crazy. Guess

That's why it's still for sale...

And I would rather make my own with a nice burl wood sunburst finish and use a Floyd rose tremolo system and have something one of a kind...

[Prostheta]

I'm sure they can do that as well. RAD's kit was modified from stock. Ping 'em an email and tell them we sent you :-)

[fastforded]

Thanks

Doesn't ever seem like enough time to get everything done I need to do. Been restoring some picture frames lately and that turned into quite a project taking up way more time than I thought. Usually im working with metal but seems like I'm getting a lot I f wood repairs now

Makes me really want the Flying V though

[Prostheta]

Reminds me a lot of my own work, except I need to learn the metal side. That is, the material and not the music.

[fastforded]

Yep I was intimidated until I learned that with wood when you make a mistake you are basically at starting over but with metal you can just cut out the mistake and weld in another piece and the mistakes gone

[Prostheta]

More or less, yes. If the mistake is cosmetic you can usually find some way to fix it so it looks less of a disaster. Structurally, maybe less so. When an instrument is going under solid paint, any kind of filler does the trick. You'd be shocked how many of the "big names" fill mistakes or inconsistencies in the wood with fillers, only to hide it "forever" with paint.

I milled a brass bridge for a repro bass way back when, and I mistakenly trusted the guy overseeing my work to do a couple of movements on the Y axis, causing one of my saddle slots to overrun. Cutting and peening a small bit of brass into that was surprisingly satisfying and invisible. I can't weld (that's my son's area of expertise) but I'm always up for doing something new and extending my knowledge. That's what it's all about isn't it?

[fastforded]

Yep I pretty much learned everything I know from makin a mistake and learning...

True about the paint. I am more into the colored stained wood finishes rather than just throwing a coat of poly on the instruments. I like that violen type finish much more than any solid color

I stripped a strat once and found all the crap

Filler under the paint. It was a really good strat to so that doesn't surprise me at all... Always liked the Gibson sun burst finishes too. Been thinking something like that for the v. Also thinking about maybe an explorer body I got I should finish first before the v but I'll probably end up doing both at the same time... And not ever enough time for that either.

Shame how much more guitars cost and how much worse the quality is for the money. It's all backwards now. If you pay more you should get a better instrument not one that's actually worse from te quality point of view...

[Prostheta]

It's just hard to maintain it, being leader of the pack with all the wolves snapping at your heels. Either you reduce standards to stay less costly internally or you increase the cost externally. I'm not particularly an expert as to why Gibson have so many clangers in their history, however none of this surprises me with Fender. It isn't as though they have ever been churning out gallery-quality gear as their bread and butter.

If you're willing to pay top dollar, there are many excellent companies out there putting out quality instruments with what I would call a appropriate price tag. You pay for so much more than just the instrument. I guess this is why we're all so fired up about Fast Guitars at the moment and want to see more of their gear being built up. When I eventually can afford to spring on a Flying V kit myself, I'll be confident in the quality of what'll land being better than what I would expect from a Gibson these days. A distilled perfect kit of what a Flying V should be. Finishwise, I am sure I can screw that up more than Gibson could ever hope to. *cough*

Funny. I was thinking of price vs. quality in the commercial instrument market again and realised that Yamaha basses have always seemed to fly under the radar yet are of consistently high standard. I just asked my wife whether she had any service issues (manager of a music store years ago) and she agreed.

Ah, I'm rambling now. I doubt that you want this thread turning into a pro-Japanese quality rant! *cough* Caparison