Cheapest Guitar Kit I could find . . .

[newey]

I got to thinking. I wonder what sort of quality one could find in the arena of cheap guitar kits? Sure, the hardware is likely to be fairly crappy, but I've got an extensive "parts bin" of unused bits and pieces, so I could probably upgrade some bits without spending any additional money. Question was, what would I get in terma of neck and body?

So, despite having a whole passel of unfinished projects chez newey, I went on EBay and bought the cheapest guitar kit I could find, $90 out the door with free shipping. It is of a Steinberger-ish type:


On first inspection, I was quite pleasantly surprised. The neck fitment could not be tighter. The frets are level, and running the fingers along the edges didn't cause any loss of precious bodily essences. The body will need some finish sanding and sealing, but it looks like I could do a transparent stain finish and get a decent result, or seal the grain and go with a rattlecan.

It has a Floyd-style whammy with the typical headless tailpiece tuners, which seem to be decent at least insofar as the "feel" means anything.

The pickups look like some sort of EMG clones, but they are passive and plastic-potted, with a vintage style wiring with a single insulated wire paired with a bare shield/ground wire. I assume these to be humbuckers, internally series-connected, but there's really no way to tell what's underneath all the plastic resin. But they measure 9.71KΩ and 10.01KΩ. They are not labelled as being bridge or neck, and I don't suppose they're really a set at all, the slight difference in resistance is probably just mfr. variance. Anyway, they will be replaced in any event.

It has a premade wiring harness with dime-sized pots and an import-style 3-way switch. The parts bin will be raided to upgrade some of that stuff. Still not sure on pickups, we'll have to see what's in the bin, but I'm thinking that I may go with a SC-HB combo and substitute in a 5-way switch for some tone options.

Anyway, I'll document this build as I move (probably slowly) along, and we'll see what I get. The goal will be to spend no additional $$$, but if I go with a SC, I'll need to buy one of those bezels to mount a SC in a HB slot. That's the only thing I don't have.

The kit is definitely complete- they included a set of strings and a molded plastic 10' cable.

Attachments:

[sumgai]

What scale is this thing? I know you said "cheapest thing you could find", but that headless bit make me think that this may be Yet Another Travel Guitar.

[newey]

It's a full 25.5" scale, with a 24 fret neck. While it may see duty as another travel guitar, it won't be because of a short scale.

My other travel guitar, the Hofner, fits in my Yamaha's saddlebag with the neck sticking out about 8 inches or so- in its gigbag. Now that the weather is nicer, I've been riding to my guitar lessons with the Hofner. The one thing this kit didn't have was a gigbag, so I'll have to hunt down a Steinberger bag or case for it. It may well also fit on the bike with minimal protruberance.

[Deleted]

HNCGKD!! (Happy nu Cheapest Guitar Kit Day)

Beware of the floyd, don't push too hard the intonation bolts, don't overuse it, if it semi-works don't over stress it. Happy playing and build!!

PS

I love it when I see guitar cables in those kits. It brings tears of nostalgia to my eyes ....

[newey]

I won't be abusing the Floyd since I won't be using the Floyd.

One of the nice things about having a case or a gigbag is that it gives one a place to store the whammy bar . . .

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2017 5:30:19 GMT -5 newey said:

I won't be abusing the Floyd since I won't be using the Floyd.

One of the nice things about having a case or a gigbag is that it gives one a place to store the whammy bar . . .

ok, but you'll do the intonation or fix the radius, unless it is perfect out of the box. What I meant was try to nail it the first time, don't overuse the intonation bolts. That's the weakest part.

[newey]

Roger that, I had forgotten those intonation bolts.

I tend to leave the intonation and set-up to a pro. I can do it if I have to, although it's been years ago since I have. What a good tech can do in 30 minutes would take me hours, and the tech would still do a better job.

Sad to say, my long-time guitar go-to guy has shed this mortal coil about a year or so back. He'd do all my set-up work for $25 a pop, with a little extra if any fret work was needed. I need to find someone else now, and I know I'll never see anything like his prices again.

But, back to the kit. Tonight I masked off the fretboard and hit the neck with a first coat of clear poly. The neck is maple, with a "rosewood" fretboard, whatever that means anymore.

I also dug through the parts on hand for pickups. Came up with a Motherbucker and an Entwhistle AVN noiseless Strat-sized single coil (older members may remember that Son-o-Sonny and the Texas contingent were fans of these for the price). So, I will need to source a SC-to-HB adapter plate. I also don't seem to have any spare 5-way switches around, so if I want to ditch the three-way one I'll have to go out-of-pocket some more.

[Deleted]

keep us posted with pics!

[cynical1]

If the neck is still taped, I've got a trick I've used for years to slick up the back of a neck.

First, sand the crap out of the back of the neck so there isn't a bad spot anywhere. Next, take satin poly, mix it 50\50 with mineral spirits, and wipe it on the back of the neck. Since you've thinned it, count on about 4-6 coats to get enough coverage to resand smooth.

After about 2 weeks, start with some 800 grit wet or dry sandpaper and take all the inclusions out of it. The last step is to take 0000 steel wool and wipe it until it feels perfectly smooth.

This should give you the fastest neck you've ever played.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[newey]

I'm still working on the neck- just have a single coat on so far, haven't started sanding it out yet- so I will definitely try this technique.

[cynical1]

If I'm doing a maple neck I'll usually spray the neck. If it's maple and whatever on the fretboard I'll usually wipe it. Sure, it's thinner and it takes move coats, but it levels almost as flat as lacquer....and since you're never going to get the shine out of poly as you do with lacquer it just makes the final sanding and polishing much faster.

Wiping works best if you hang the neck. A coat hanger bend to go through the top peg hole suspended from anything works. This way, if you do lay it on a bit heavy it runs to the heel where no one is going to see it and it's easier to sand down later.

One caution I would offer is that unlike lacquer, poly does not "melt" into the previous coats. To get the best adhesion it needs to be "roughed up". You can use sandpaper, but once I discovered 3M pads I've used them exclusively between coats of poly. Grab the equivalent of 300-360 grit. All you need is a gentle pass to take the shine off and knock off the dust and crap that landed on the finish while curing. You can recoat in a minimum of 8 hours of the humidity and temperature are right, but 24 hours is better.

Just like lacquer, poly needs time to cure. The old rule on lacquer is that if you can put your nose right next to the finish and not smell the solvent, you're good to go on polishing the finish. This is typically 30 days on lacquer, but it seems to run closer to 15-20 days with poly. Remember, you're never going to get the poly to "shine" anymore than it did out of the can, so all you're doing is knocking off the inclusions and making it smooth.

Last thing, when you do polish out the neck, I've found that the higher grit wet or dry sandpaper you start with the fewer sanding marks you need to deal with. I start with 800 grit and work up to 2000 grit before I polish poly. This stuff is hard as Hell, (it's varnish with a hard plastic resin) so once you get a sanding mark in it you'll play Hell getting it out...and if you don't, once you start to polish it out the scratches will stick out like like a hooker at cub scout camp.

Happy Trails -

Cynical One

[Deleted]

Steel wool does wonders no doubt.

[newey]

Just a quick update on this project. I haven't had much time to work on it so progress is newey-slow. But I got 3 coats of gray primer on the body, sanded smooth between coats with a 400 grit sanding sponge. It was looking like I was ready to shoot some color, then I realized a couple of things. One,the body has all the routing done, but none of the holes were drilled- not for the neck, not for mounting the bridge, not for the jack or the back cover, nor for the switch. So I spent the evening drilling holes to mount everything up. This then meant more sanding, deburring the holes, and then another coat of primer. Which will now have to spend a week or so drying before I can shoot color.

Second thing I found out is that the kit is missing a neckplate. But I had a black one to match from an old Ibanez, so I was able to drill the body for the neck. The neck still needs the Cyn1 treatment.

Lastly, my plan to use the weird 6-way switch has foundered on the rocks of reality. It's too deep to fit the cavity. The switch provided with the kit is one of the import-style switches which are shallower than the Oak Grigsby style ones like the 6-way. It barely fits as it is, and the 6-way would stick out such that the backplate wouldn't lie flat. So, I'm back to the drawing board as far as wiring goes, and I may rethink the pickups as well.

But some progress is nevertheless being made.

[Deleted]

IMO neck plate only adds to the thickness of the neck joint. You might be better with recessing the holes and then use appropriate wood screws with washers.

[newey]

Better yet, get some of the threaded inserts.

I used the neckplate 'cause it was in the parts bin. Cost $0 But you're right, screws and washers would shave some fat off.