# Wow, cheap kits at Guitarfetish



## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

Has anyone put one of these together?? $200 for a hollow body or LP kit???
http://www.guitarfetish.com/335-Set-Neck-Kit-Flamed-maple-Bound-Rosewood-fingerboard_p_4481.html

Is it me, or is this a screaming deal...or are they junk?


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Screaming deal? Yes. But what about the quality of these parts? I know when I built a few with top quality parts its was a whole bunch more than that and if you are going to build one, why not make it a good one


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

The old addage that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is just that? 

I wasn't sure what the quality was. I figured the usual retail of $500 would indicate they aren't terrible, but I have zero experience with building...so I just don't know


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## dylanger (Nov 14, 2012)

I really want to try one of these, seems to be a great deal. 

http://stores.ebay.ca/The-Guitar-Tone-Shop


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Don't underestimate just how much of a guitar's retail price consists of assembly, finishing, and testing costs, and the difference in shipping a guitar in a big box compared to shipping a bunch of parts ion a smaller box. Will $109.95 get you a Telecaster that compares to something costing, say, three times as much? I have three responses to that: 1) Depends where you shop, 2) Depends on your skills, tools, and meticulousness in building, and 3) I don't know.

What it CAN get you is something that you can finish the way YOU want, has a headstock with your imprimante on it, and allows you to install other sorts of electronics during the initial assembly, rather than having to disassemble in order to install anything. I would imagine the parts quality is _at least_ the equivalent of something costing 50% more, though.

Having said that, however, the ridiculously low Kijiji resale prices of Epiphone guitars that someone bought for their kid or themselves and decided it wasn't really for them, gives one pause to wonder whether the labour involved in making your own 335-like guitar is justified when you can probably score one (though perhaps not with the finish you'd really like) for $350.


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

mhammer said:


> Don't underestimate just how much of a guitar's retail price consists of assembly, finishing, and testing costs, and the difference in shipping a guitar in a big box compared to shipping a bunch of parts ion a smaller box. Will $109.95 get you a Telecaster that compares to something costing, say, three times as much? I have three responses to that: 1) Depends where you shop, 2) Depends on your skills, tools, and meticulousness in building, and 3) I don't know.
> 
> What it CAN get you is something that you can finish the way YOU want, has a headstock with your imprimante on it, and allows you to install other sorts of electronics during the initial assembly, rather than having to disassemble in order to install anything. I would imagine the parts quality is _at least_ the equivalent of something costing 50% more, though.
> 
> Having said that, however, the ridiculously low Kijiji resale prices of Epiphone guitars that someone bought for their kid or themselves and decided it wasn't really for them, gives one pause to wonder whether the labour involved in making your own 335-like guitar is justified when you can probably score one (though perhaps not with the finish you'd really like) for $350.


So true that there are tons of great kijiji deals out there, but the draw for me is in the creation of building (or assembling with assumed amounts of tweaking) my own instrument that I can custom tailor to my likes. I can see that these aren't high end, but assume they could be quite nice when finished. I'm sure some things like any project, dont turn out as well as we would like, but that is just a part of learning...

I like the idea of building (err, assembling and finishing) one as a surprise gift also. 

Best dollar value; Kijiji
Best self satisfaction: Build/assemble (assuming I have hair left when it is done)


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## notjoeaverage (Oct 6, 2008)

After you read this guys reviews of the many ebay kits he's built you will stay away from the deals, most come with firewood quality bodies and necks, you get what you pay for and unless you're paying $200 or more for a Bulldog body on its own it would be like trying to build a hot rod out of leftover scrap metal.

http://notrightinthehead.net/category/guitars/


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Some of GFS parts are good quality and some are less than that. If you look at the bodies they offer, the cheap ones are Paulownia wood which is very soft. Some of their pickups, though, have gotten very decent reviews.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

From the wiki entry for Paulownia: "More recently, it is used as body material for low-cost electric guitars and as the core for lightweight touring skis. It is often used in guitars as the core body, then laminated under a more durable wood, such as the Dean ML XM that is made of Paulownia as the body but is topped with mahogany."

I will say that one of the things about an unfinished, as opposed to painted, body is that you can actually see the composition, and note any laminations, whether side to side, or top to back.


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2014)

As was mentioned in another thread. Instead of buying a kit of unknown quality, I would 
(and do) look for deals of known half decent quality guitars and (restore) mod them. 
Here's a perfect kijiji example and a good base to start with. If you act fast enough.

Mexican Strat with hard case $200

Great guitar. Fast neck. Super easy to play. Getting rid of 
it because I haven't played it in years. Hard case included.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I've modded and assembled quite a few instruments (guitars, basses, harp, and started a mandolin that a luthier friend is finishing for me), and have found there are always some parts that require modification or replacement. After years of messing around with this stuff I found I had boxes and shelves of parts, half assembled instruments, abandoned projects, and piles of factory and kit guitars from which I scavenged parts. Gradually I sold, traded, or gave the stuff away to the point now where I have precious little in the way of spare parts. A couple of weeks ago I couldn't even find a set of humbucker mounting rings for an LP. I liked it better when I had tons of parts around. It's time to pick up some project guitars again. The pendulum swings.

Those cheap kits can be just fine if you know there will be some things to change and expect to pay for them or make them. If you don't have spare parts around you still have to start somewhere. Often when I do work for others I take the replaced parts as partial payment, especially pickups and machine heads so that I have parts to install on even lesser instruments. 

There are a couple of local guys who call me to deal for used parts, but I prefer to help the kids who are interested in building or modding their first instruments. There's less money in it but it's more satisfying.

You gotta start somewhere. Just don't expect the kit price to be your whole cost.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

laristotle said:


> As was mentioned in another thread. Instead of buying a kit of unknown quality, I would
> (and do) look for deals of known half decent quality guitars and (restore) mod them.
> Here's a perfect kijiji example and a good base to start with. If you act fast enough.
> 
> ...


Now that's "worth the drive to Acton" - no offense intended - I just couldn't resist, speaking as someone who had a shop in Rockwood and another in Eden Mills for many years.

Nice guitar and a super deal, but building and modding are different to me and yield different results on the satisfaction scale...


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I would be more apt to buy a decent guitar from Rondo or GFS that met my specs as close as possible, then see what I wanted to change to customize it for me. 

However, if you want to have the fun of putting a kit together, it might be a good idea to start with one of the cheaper kits first and learn on it. Then go to a more expensive one. 

Prestige Guitar Kits are quality kits with lots of options but they can be quire pricey once you add in the options. For example, on an LP style guitar, the binding for body and neck is around $300.00 extra. I priced on up with what I would like and it came out to $1135.00 before taxes. That is an unfinished kit with no hardware.


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2014)

Jimmy_D said:


> Now that's "worth the drive to Acton" - no offense intended - I just couldn't resist, speaking as someone who had a shop in Rockwood and another in Eden Mills for many years.


No offense taken. In fact, I tend to use that term as often as possible.
When appropriate. lol. The strat ad I posted is in Milton.


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## Cary (May 11, 2011)

I've built 5 guitars from guitar fetish's kits. I'd say as long as you're prepared to replace the hardware and electronics you'll get a pretty good deal. I've build 2 teles, a strat, an sg and a 335. The bodies on the strat and tele are paulawnia, and while it is a pretty soft wood for a body, the tradeoff is weight, nice and light. sg is mahogany, and the 335 is maple.
Necks overall are good, My 335 neck has started a slight twist over the last few months, but so far is managable, otherwise they are great. You'll need to file the fret ends and all that, but I consider it part of the experience. For the glue in neck models, you might require a chisel to fit the neck just right, again, part of the fun.
Tuners are trash, dont even bother, electronics are okay but i end up replacing them. I replaced the bridges on 1 tele and the 335 for more stable ones, but all the others are going strong. Pickups are pretty lifeless, i only left the stock ones in the guitar i built for my 10 year old niece.

After a lot of time tweeking and refining, I have some really killer guitars that I put together myself, totally worth the price of admission.







My tele in particular is a real beast, probably my most played guitar, P90 in the bridge for the twangiest tele tones, and a g&l mfd pickup in the neck, super versatile.


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

notjoeaverage said:


> After you read this guys reviews of the many ebay kits he's built you will stay away from the deals, most come with firewood quality bodies and necks, you get what you pay for and unless you're paying $200 or more for a Bulldog body on its own it would be like trying to build a hot rod out of leftover scrap metal.
> 
> http://notrightinthehead.net/category/guitars/


Even the bulldog kits are not worth it. I came across one and there were many things wrong with it from the neck's bow, the neck tenon route and angle, the fretboard and fretwork, the really badly done binding.


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