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Guitar kits - easy or difficult?


toymaker
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I've only taken guitars apart and reassembled them, but if everything is there, why not ??

 

What about the finish Toymaker ?? .. That's probably the most involved part ..

 

Truthfully, I have no idea how they can charge only $299 for a doubleneck - the pickups, the tuners and hardware, the routed out wood, the necks with frets ..

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Yeah, I'd definitely need to learn a thing or two about dyes or spray painting and lacquers. But at that price, what does it matter if you screw up? That's what heat guns and power sanders are for...
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Included in Kit:

  • Basswood body with a poly sealant
  • Unfinished 12 string maple neck with maple fingerboard
  • Unfinished 6 string maple neck with maple fingerboard
  • Threaded hex bushings for 12-string neck (flat washers included)
  • Tuning machines for 12-string neck
  • Threaded hex bushings for 6-string neck (flat washers included)
  • Tuning machines for 6-string neck
  • Strings
  • 12-string 3 single coil Pickups
  • 6-string 3 single coil Pickups
  • 12-string Fixed Bridge
  • 6-string Vintage Tremolo Bridge
  • Hex Wrench
  • Strap Buttons
  • 12-string Neck Plate
  • 6-string Neck Plate
  • Back Plate
  • Pickguard
  • 5-Way Pickup Selector Toggle Switch (includes mounting nut and flat washer)
  • Control Knobs
  • Control Pots (2 capacitors included for Tone Pots)
  • Jack Plate with an Output Jack
  • All mounting screws are included
  • Cord
  • Tremolo Bar
  • Wires

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If you really think about it - and, for example, how Eddie Van Halen got the sound he did from spare parts he put together - assembling your own guitar would probably be a lot of fun and pretty satisfying once everything was working ..

 

I think the one thing that really helped Eddie was the old Gibson PAF pickup

 

Toymaker, you;ve got the wheels turning in me ... I'm going to read more about doing this !!

 

This is interesting too

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstrat

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Some aspects are difficult. I believe the project is a bargain for that price. The installation of the electronics are a leap of faith for some.

 

A friend of mine has a shop that several friends frequent to build assorted projects. (I used to have a sheet metal shop next door) Anyways ... we have built and/or modified several musical projects over the years including a Black Sabbath SG, an upright bass guitar we named Grizelda, an electrified Cajon and a one off six string slide guitar built on a 4 foot long piece of engineered hardwood tuned to open E and named Sweet Jane. They were all labours of love that give back when we get together to jam. I don't have a Facebook or photobucket account anymore to show them (tired of that scene) but I highly recommend an attempt at building a musical instrument regardless of the end result.

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Has anyone tried assembling one of these things? Cheap way to get a doubleneck, if it's doable . . .

 

https://www.solomusi...ck-guitar-kits/

 

Looks awesome! It should be a fun project, in any case. It's not much help, but my husband is into folk music and has built a hammered dulcimer and several lap dulcimers from kits from this place, Musicmakers, in Minnesota- https://www.harpkit.com The only kit they carry that is anything like the Solo web site is a mandolin, but you might want to look around to see what other kits are like. If nothing else, they sell a nice wipe on gel polyurethane that is a really nice finish if you wanted to go with natural wood on your finished axe. :)

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It may be worth getting in touch with them to see if the holes for everything are drilled or if you have to do that yourself.

 

It's done for you.

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I don't think the ease or difficulty should be your measure. More important is how it plays.

 

Look for reviews from people who have bought the kit. If you don't find any good reviews from third parties (not from the manufacturer) then I would steer clear, at least from that kit maker.

 

I'm skeptical you will get the playability of a properly setup $1000 [insert major maker here] guitar for $300 + labor. For one offs and oddities like tinwoodsman described, it might be worth the time and smallish investment. If anything it could be a quirky but fun instrument to play. But looking for a serious substitute for the real thing - I'd look in the used market first.

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Instead of worrying about paint finish, maybe just clearcoat it and leave it at that.

Maybe go one step above this. Shoot it up with a paintball gun and then clearcoat it.
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I've bought a doubleneck kit on ebay before. Make sure to replace most, if not all the electronics. They're buzzy and suck. Sand it well which will take a while. Take your time. I didn't and hate the way it turned out. Absolutely replace the machine heads and sand down the fret edges too. Otherwise, it's usable and reasonable for the price. If you plan to use it a ton then just save up for an epiphone doubleneck because it'll be way better quality.
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If you really think about it - and, for example, how Eddie Van Halen got the sound he did from spare parts he put together - assembling your own guitar would probably be a lot of fun and pretty satisfying once everything was working ..

 

I think the one thing that really helped Eddie was the old Gibson PAF pickup

 

Toymaker, you;ve got the wheels turning in me ... I'm going to read more about doing this !!

 

This is interesting too

 

https://en.wikipedia...ki/Frankenstrat

This is great:

 

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, many guitar companies tried to capitalize on Van Halen's popularity by manufacturing Frankenstrat replicas. In an attempt to mislead these companies, the guitarist installed a non-functional red single-coil pickup in the neck position of the Frankenstrat. To confuse imitators further, he also screwed a three-way switch into the empty middle-pickup slot on the guitar's body. Like the neck pickup, it was purely decorative. :LOL:

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Thanks for the advice, TFEman.

 

I've ordered the kit, and a buddy and I will work on it. I'll let you all know how it turns out (and post a picture or three) - but it won't be for a while.

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The box was sitting on my front porch when I got home today. Can't fault them for delivery speed!

 

Now that I have everything laid out, I'm wondering what I've got myself into.

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The box was sitting on my front porch when I got home today. Can't fault them for delivery speed!

 

Now that I have everything laid out, I'm wondering what I've got myself into.

 

It's a learning experience. You should check out the forum over on reranch.com if you've never been over there. Lots of people there building guitars.

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Here's what we have so far . . . still have to assemble some parts and then do the setup. The pickups seem to be working . . .

 

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170611_194322998_zpsxpfyedky.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170618_142105522_zps2mlkt61x.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170618_152729807_zps2kfvorry.jpg

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Here's what we have so far . . . still have to assemble some parts and then do the setup. The pickups seem to be working . . .

 

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170611_194322998_zpsxpfyedky.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170618_142105522_zps2mlkt61x.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170618_152729807_zps2kfvorry.jpg

 

Very cool !!!

 

TM, did the body come painted or did you do that - it looks great

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Body was bare wood. We wanted a red with gold fleck sort of thing, but it wasn't working out. So we sprayed it red and wrapped it in an old mesh soccer ball bag and sprayed it with gold. We did the reverse on the other side. It ain't perfect, but it's sort of unique, I guess.
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Here's what we have so far . . . still have to assemble some parts and then do the setup. The pickups seem to be working . . .

 

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170611_194322998_zpsxpfyedky.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170618_142105522_zps2mlkt61x.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w47/msspielm1/IMG_20170618_152729807_zps2kfvorry.jpg

 

Wow! You have been hard at work! It looks awesome.

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Body was bare wood. We wanted a red with gold fleck sort of thing, but it wasn't working out. So we sprayed it red and wrapped it in an old mesh soccer ball bag and sprayed it with gold. We did the reverse on the other side. It ain't perfect, but it's sort of unique, I guess.

 

I love it .. Not only does it look great, your resourcefulness is amazing !!

 

If I walked into a Guitar Center and saw that finish, I'd immediately gravitate to it and look

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