guitar kits

[Mattt0192]

Hey guys,

 

I'm thinking about getting one of these two...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150296536484&category=47067&_trksid=p3907.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D15%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350143300432&category=47067&_trksid=p3907.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D15%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54

 

 

Is this a good idea?

 

Should i strip the finish and paint it/stain it instead of keeping it natural? if so what color?

[Canine]

I don't know about quality, but I've seen similar kits selling for a lot more.... I guess you get different woods and different electronics, not sure about the details. I tested my skills many years ago with the first strat-like guitar I ever owned, and I can tell you it's fun but way more complicated than it seems.

[generation zero]

At least for the PRS style one, I would definitely either stain it or keep it natural... but I think they are unfinished. Even keeping it natural, you would still have to spray it with a clear coat of some kind. Or you could paint it. It would be a shame to cover up that pretty flame with a solid color though... just my 2 cents. Seems like a decent price for the kit, you couldn't buy the body alone from Warmoth for that price. I'm sure the pickups and hardware are junk, but slap some decent electronics and hardware on it, you'll probably come out with a fine instrument for a decent price. Assuming you are handy with a spraycan or spray rig, and can assemble it properly. Best of luck... be sure to post pics of before, during and after assembly if you do go for it! We'd love to follow your progress!

[pohatu771]

The kits aren't finished at all, you'll want to seal it, or bad things will happen.

[snookelputz]

Why don't you PM Twang and see if he's got anything. He sometimes completely upgrades those kits, and then sells them. They mostly look better (and have better specs) than the rest of the ebay stuff in this entry level price range, though I've never bought one myself.

[Bender 4 Life]

These Saga, or Saiga kits (depending on which country you're buying it in) are notoriously poor quality

poor wood, poor electronics, poor pre-fitting, etc. etc.

There are much better kits out there, but they cost a bit more also.

 

you might want to try WD musics "virtual guitar builders kits".

these are a little higher quality.

[ICH]

I built the HT-10.

 

It came sealed, so I just put a stain on. 3 coats on back, sides and neck, only one coat on the front. I put a poly varnish on over the top.

 

Have a look here The Manchester Guitar Tech gives some good tips.

 

I put Kent Armstrong's take on open coil PAFs in and it rocks. Originally the bridge was very high, so I shimmed the neck slightly. I had heard that the tuners would be rubbish, but so far I have not had a problem with that, it stays in tune nicely. The pickups that came with the kit were horribly mismatched volume wise, but as I planned to put the KAs in that was not an issue. It would be though, with only one volume pot, so you would not be able to balance them.

 

Value for money wise, it is OK but not brilliant. You would have to spend a lot more to get a guitar of the same quality, but it is not top notch. The fun is having a guitar that you have built (or at least put together) yourself, rather than having a brilliant instrument. You need patience to get a good finish, but the wiring is dead simple.

 

Would I get another one? -- I have the slimline tele on order.

 

ICH

[layboomo]

These Saga' date=' or Saiga kits (depending on which country you're buying it in) are notoriously poor quality

poor wood, poor electronics, poor pre-fitting, etc. etc.

There are much better kits out there, but they cost a bit more also.

 

you might want to try WD musics "virtual guitar builders kits".

these are a little higher quality.[/quote']

 

+1 the Saga kits are junk! By the time you swap out all of the garbage parts and do all of the finish work just buy one of these http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-CLASSIC-VIBE-Telecaster-50s-Electric-Guitar-?sku=519376&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=201015553 . I don't know what your time is worth but I can't build one as nice for less. Best tele value out there IMHO.

[Mattt0192]

These Saga' date=' or Saiga kits (depending on which country you're buying it in) are notoriously poor quality

poor wood, poor electronics, poor pre-fitting, etc. etc.

There are much better kits out there, but they cost a bit more also.

 

you might want to try WD musics "virtual guitar builders kits".

these are a little higher quality.[/quote']

 

i was kinda wanting to get a cheap one for my first try just incase i screw up on the finish

[Bender 4 Life]

 

i was kinda wanting to get a cheap one for my first try just incase i screw up on the finish

 

Sounds like a plan to me!!

Best of luck, and post some pics while you're in the process of building it.

[Stevie Nazarenie]

http://line6.com/variaxWorkbench/movies.html

 

get one of these!:P

[TWANG]

ALERT:

I sell them. I've sold many. I build them. I've built many.

I have two TC 10s in stock, right now.

 

they come sealed. You sand them smooth and shoot them with clear or paint.

The tuners are junk. I've never sold one with stock tuners. I have a whole box of them.

 

I put import 16:1 sealed tuners on.

I clean the fretboards which takes about three times.

I go over the frets so that they play really really sweet, though they are as good as most 300.00 guitars right out of the box.

 

The neck pickup on the TC10 is it's weak spot. I put in a top adjust strat import pickup. .. much much better!

 

The bridge and control plate are nice, they stay.

I add orange drop capacitors, otherwise they stay the same.

I shield paint control and pup cavitys, or add copper foil shielding.

 

Now down to brass tacks.

Headstock adjustable truss rod. one piece solid maple neck. one piece solid rosewood board with dot inlays.

 

The two I have were held back because out of about twenty they had the best bodys and necks.

The bodys are both two piece. Some of these are up to four pieces.

The necks were really good looking rosewood, and had excellent fretwork.

 

The first one I had painted by a local guy. Paint being my real weakness.

It's done in Ford F100 pearlescent white. It's not great, but I'd bet it's better than most do at home by a long shot.

It's top quality paint, with a clear coat.

It's got a usa flag pickguard, reverse control plate with fender style black ufo knobs, numbered. *they matched

the bridge pup black bezels and looked better to me than white*

black switch tip.

It still has the stock neck pup in.. I'll switch that to a strat style, top adjust, free.

It comes with a very nice gig bag, black.

150.00.

 

No saga kit has ever been returned to me. I do a very nice job on these. the guard costs 40.00 alone.

you also get the gig bag, and the better tuners, not to mention all the other stuff above.

*I think I sheild painted this one.. get the new free neck pup and I'll check*

 

The other one was painted by the same guy. it got a clear coat. You'd swear it was one piece. very nice

wood grain on this. and the clear coated basswood looks sweet.

It's not finished beyond that.

the other guy wants 90.00 plus 25.00 shipping.. I'll go 130.00 plus actual shipping. about twelve bucks.

I'll throw in the tuners, add the orange drops, and put in a strat neck pup. You really don't want the stock tele neck pup.

I'll reverse the control plate if you desire.. I think it makes much more sense.. and I'll sheid the whole thing.

the frets will be fine! I'll throw in a blank bone nut for you to install, too.

And, I'll give you a very nice, not junky or cheap, gig bag for 12.00!

 

Yes I sell 'em.. and yes they are good. And no, I don't care where you buy yours.

But noboby beats my prices, my service, or my guarantee.

Not happy for any reason.. ship it back. I return your purchase price AND shipping one way.. we'll both be out shipping one way if

you're not happy.

 

Nobody returns my guitars, ever.

Not a single one.

 

You can walk right onstage and play either of these.

I'll finish the natural one for you, free or you can have it in a box.

It's cheaper to ship with necks off.

I add new strings.

 

Other upgrades available at a big discount.

 

I have only these two left.

I haven't ordered any new ones yet so it would be after christmas before I could get more.

 

Bender4 life is absolutely wrong. The basswood is NOT poor quality.. the fit on every one of these was spot on.

the pots are fine. not top quality, but they work nice! and are solid.

the neck pickup sucks. period. the tuners suck. period. that's the ONLY downside to these kits, I guarantee it.

 

I also sell WD kits and All Parts guitars, and they cost an arm and a leg more. They are much higher quality woods.. two piece center seamed

alder and ash.. for example, but you are going to pay for that, too.

 

There is, I repeat, nothing wrong with what I sell in a saga kit.

I can cut your headstock, free, into any shape you prefer.

 

TWANG

[Charles Obscure]

The HT-10 looks like this thing I bought from GFS, back when they were selling all those bodies and necks:

 

No hardware of any kind, but the neck does fit the body. It looks like they drilled one of the tuner holes wrong and plugged it.

The headstock shape doesn't quite fit the body style, IMHO. I thought about re-shaping it.

The body has a nice flame to it, but since I'm not experienced with finishing, I was considering just shooting a solid color on it.

 

It's one of those "I'll get around to it one of these days" projects, if I don't end don't up selling it off.

[Nelson]

SPAM ALERT:

.

 

TWANG

 

So what kind of deals do you have on shoes and perfume?

 

 

Nelson

[TWANG]

 

+1 the Saga kits are junk! By the time you swap out all of the garbage parts and do all of the finish work just buy one of these http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-CLASSIC-VIBE-Telecaster-50s-Electric-Guitar-?sku=519376&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=201015553 . I don't know what your time is worth but I can't build one as nice for less. Best tele value out there IMHO.

 

Lay. this time you're full of beans.

I've got two saga kits left in the tc10 and I've got a squier anniversary tele here, too.

The saga stands right up to the Fender, and cost half as much or less.

The only differences are in the tuners.. sagas are the cheapest.

and the tele neck pup is a dog.

 

the saga kits ALL had better fretwork than the squier.

the electronics were on par.

 

the tele had rectangular bridge saddles, while the saga had barrels.

 

calling the saga junk is just way off. They are not even close to junk.

I've seen junk and these aren't even close to that.

 

As for time.. it's all in the paint. The guitar assembles quickly and easily and I've not seen any bad fit

save for the odd small thing.. and I mean odd.. like one screw hole off center with the guard.

 

the neck pickup on the tc10 is pretty good.. stands up to the squier for sure.

 

the neck wood, neck and board, is nice. hard stuff, easy to work.

I carve tele headstocks in them free if the customer wants one.

 

the sealer is thick. you can take quite a bit of that off and it will really smooth out.

I've finish sanded them and used min wax wipe on poly and gotten a nice finish out of them.

 

the squier is five pieces, sticks, of agathis. the sagas are typically three pieces of basswood.

the two I have left are two pieces.

 

the neck pockets are spot on.. everything is predrilled.. everything lines up.

 

These guitars are great for:

beginner guitar.

backup guitar.. that's right, I'd have no problem putting in decent set of tuners and daring you to convince anyone by sound or playability that it's not a tele.

hobby builiders.. best starting place out there.

 

Will it stand up to a WD or ALL Parts? well hell no. Take a look at what those cost.

I build those, too, by the way. I've got several strats here right now, and I've sold several strats and teles and basses.

 

 

you'll notice that tele you posted has three barrel saddles.. I don't know if they're compensated or not, didn't read the blurb.. but six is better for intonation anyway, so neener neener.

 

Nope.. they are NOT junk. Not by a longshot.

TWANG

[TWANG]

nelsy you're so witty.

and petty.

and weak.

 

the guy wants to know about sagas.. I told him.

I also have two left. I don't think there's anything spammy about that.

 

furthermore you supported me in that regard until you decided to be a jerk about it, not having the guts to answer any of my

arguments in favor of epis, preferring instead to whine.

 

please stop.

everyone knows your view, by now, and everyone has said take the high road.

please stop it.

Not for my sake, I couldn't care less.

For the group.

Just stop the pettiness and whining.

 

and merry christmas.

 

TWANG

[TWANG]

I never sold the prs models.. I did have two of the lp models in.

they both had a certain amount of dirt in the finish.

You couldn't get it out by sanding unless you went all the way to the wood, and I wouldn't do that with a veneer I felt was probably

pretty thin.

Sent them back, got two clean ones.

Several people have reported dirt in the finish of the veneer topped models, so I just quit carrying them.

 

Also, the pickups on the lp model were absolute crap. worst humbucks I've ever heard.

I tossed in some lower priced Kent Armstrong Ceramics and they were ten times better.

 

tuners are open geared with loose covers. the covers come off when you remove the back screw.

They work ok.. but. really. why keep something that crappy knowing it will have around a 12:1 ratio to start with, and such

poorly made cogs and screws that you'll wear them out in no time?

 

For my money, the best kit saga make is the tele kit. Simple, elegant, accurate, and solid.

the strat is ok, the pickups are all.. well.. they don't make the cut. they aren't terrible, but I really don't see anyone keeping them except for a kid just starting out.

 

 

I think anyone in here who bought a saga kit would verify what I'm telling you.

This is about the cheapest way, and most fun, to get a tele, and wind up with a nice player.

 

I like to route the back so that it has a contour instead of digging into your ribs.

I like to reverse the control plate.

I put strat pups in the neck.

and new tuners and a good capacitor.

 

Just those changes make this little guitar a lot better, for very little money.

 

TWANG

[TWANG]

that's the USA tele.

this one is the natural.. with a pickguard for another guitar on it.. I was showing the guy the guard I made and just sat it on the

natural tele.

 

 

TWANG

[tflanster]

I don't know lot about buying this stuff but I wonder why one would want to. I bought a Fender Starcaster guitar pack with guitar, picks, gig bag and amp for, as I recall, $150 at a local Costco about a year ago. Don't have it anymore - sold it for what I paid. It looks to me that this kit offered for $150 plus shipping plus labor isn't a very good deal at all. I suppose it's o.k. if you have a lot time on your hands and need something to do this winter, but it sure doesn't make sense to me.

 

I looked at StewMac's site. They have kits as well. I think if I were going to build a kit I'd go for one of the A/ E kits. Much more difficult to build, I think, but probably more rewarding in the end.

 

Just my opinion - I could be wrong.

[BSAKing]

I think a lot has to do with the mind set. I take myself as an example - I'm a tinkerer and hacker by nature. Often times I will pass up a perfectly good amp to pick up one just a few bucks cheaper so I can repair it. Where's the cost/benefit???? - probably zero or negative. It's all in the thrill of victory (or maybe sometimes the agony of defeat!) lol.

 

Maybe it is just a masochistical tendency some of us have.....

[TWANG]

There are lots of thing to take into account.

Most builders want to build, just for starters.

And many of them want to customize their guitars.

They do paint, and often custom jobs. You can see them at Sagas site, I beleive.

No sense stripping a guitar down and redoing it that's just extra work.

 

And better deals aren't out there everyday.

Or even known by everyone.

 

Like my contouring of the back upper side so it wont dig into your ribs.

Can't do that with a premade painted guitar.

Or cutting headstock to a custom shape.

Or carving the top.

 

For people who want to do the build, it's great fun, and cost effective. You get out of it a couple of things, the fun of doing it,

and a finished guitar you really like because you made the choices, not just cosmetically, but electronically as well.

 

It's not hard to route these for a middle pickup.

Or to switch them to a humbuck neck pup.

 

I wish they wouldn't drill the holes for the guard, because then you could do more with designing it personally.

 

But hey, different strokes is what it's all about.

And I'll say it again, Sagas I've done keep right up with the 300.00 production models, no problem. For less money.

TWANG

[layboomo]

 

Lay. this time you're full of beans.

I've got two saga kits left in the tc10 and I've got a squier anniversary tele here' date=' too.

The saga stands right up to the Fender, and cost half as much or less.

The only differences are in the tuners.. sagas are the cheapest.

and the tele neck pup is a dog.

 

the saga kits ALL had better fretwork than the squier.

the electronics were on par.

 

the tele had rectangular bridge saddles, while the saga had barrels.

 

calling the saga junk is just way off. They are not even close to junk.

I've seen junk and these aren't even close to that.

 

As for time.. it's all in the paint. The guitar assembles quickly and easily and I've not seen any bad fit

save for the odd small thing.. and I mean odd.. like one screw hole off center with the guard.

 

the neck pickup on the tc10 is pretty good.. stands up to the squier for sure.

 

the neck wood, neck and board, is nice. hard stuff, easy to work.

I carve tele headstocks in them free if the customer wants one.

 

the sealer is thick. you can take quite a bit of that off and it will really smooth out.

I've finish sanded them and used min wax wipe on poly and gotten a nice finish out of them.

 

the squier is five pieces, sticks, of agathis. the sagas are typically three pieces of basswood.

the two I have left are two pieces.

 

the neck pockets are spot on.. everything is pre drilled.. everything lines up.

 

These guitars are great for:

beginner guitar.

backup guitar.. that's right, I'd have no problem putting in decent set of tuners and daring you to convince anyone by sound or playability that it's not a tele.

hobby builders.. best starting place out there.

 

Will it stand up to a WD or ALL Parts? well hell no. Take a look at what those cost.

I build those, too, by the way. I've got several starts here right now, and I've sold several strats and miles and basses.

 

 

you'll notice that tele you posted has three barrel saddles.. I don't know if they're compensated or not, didn't read the blurb.. but six is better for intonation anyway, so neener neener.

 

Nope.. they are NOT junk. Not by a longshot.

TWANG

[/quote']

 

Twang I have no doubt that you can tweak a Saga kit into a playable guitar and it's too close to Christmas to argue the deffinition of junk IMHO. My point was simply that for an extra $100 or so I wouldn't bother with a Saga kit when you can get the Vintage Vibe Tele for $299. What I will say is that you are grouping in "The Only Squier" that I think is a really strong value with all of the other Squiers......Big Difference. The vintage vibe body is made from pine and has good quality parts and sounds and plays great! Go play one and you'll see what I mean. If the goal here is to learn to build a guitar ....well then maybe a Saga kit is the way to start for some? One man's trash is another man's treasure as the saying goes. Have nice holiday Twang.

[JefferySmith]

Every time I have ever bought a kit of any kind, when I was done with it, it was crap. As far a guitar kits go, the last person I would want to have build me a guitar....is me.

[TWANG]

Lay they're generally a 100.00, usually shipped, if you look on ebay enough.

People selling the straight out of the box is what made me give it up.

You have a point. I've only got the one squier, and I don't know the model you chose.

 

I know the saga will beat the bullits, for sure.

Of course, if you can't build one, then you assemble one, and in that regard you're better off with a premade.

 

TWANG