This is a great little short scale DIY bass kit from Solo Music Gear. The body is basswood, not my favorite wood and one I have always ended up painting. But this one looked really nice, so I decided to try doing a natural finish. After sanding off the “poly sealant” that is used on … Read more
Here is another Telecaster style kit from TuneCraft Guitars, the company that liquidated The Fret Wire stock. The body of this Tele kit is Paulownia, a very lightweight hardwood with beautiful grain. This kit – body, neck, and fingerboard – are finished with Tru Oil Gunstock Finish. It is straightforward and simple, a great DIY … Read more
This headless bass kit came from a now defunct company TuneCraft Guitars. They were formed to liquidate the old stock of a well-known guitar kit company, The Fret Wire, and when stock was gone they closed. I had made several attempts to order from The Fret Wire when I first started building, but there were … Read more
This kit from Pango is a variation on a Flying V guitar. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM PANGO! Full disclosure, I did not buy this kit. It was sent to me free of charge by Pango. After my first experience with Pango, I was very vocal on my website an on social media. Pango contacted … Read more
This one was fun and easy. It is a Leo Jaymz Explorer Bass, and I bought the kit from a guy on Facebook Marketplace. He had painted the body and the neck and headstock all black using auto body paint. Then he never went any further with it and sold the kit. I sanded all … Read more
I’ve played violin since I was in the 4th grade, and I always thought these “violin” basses were cool. This is my third and final purchase of Bargain Musician “blem” kits from an eBay seller. The wood on this kit was just terrible to try to get a good finish. But in the end, it … Read more
This bass guitar features a P-style pickup and a Music-Man style humbucker pickup. It came from Solo Music Gear, which is a great place to buy quality kits. The body is basswood, not my favorite, but I painted it with an iridescent silver/white (I think they called it “bubble bath” or something like that) and … Read more
One of my very favorite projects, this is a Les Paul style from Bad Cat Instruments. I won an auction for this kit in a Bad Cat Facebook group. It has a quilted maple top, a mahogany body, and a mahogany set neck. I love the binding and the quilted maple with the same binding … Read more
Here is another Bargain Musician “blem” kit purchased from an eBay seller. It has a flamed maple top with a mahogany body and mahogany set neck. My original intention was for a light green colored flamed maple top, and I used a nice blend of Keda Wood Dye that actually looked like I wanted. But … Read more
Here is an Explorer style kit from Bad Cat Instruments. The body and neck are mahogany, and I used the same blended Keda Wood Dye that I made up for my DIY #12 Strat style kit. The gold hardware really sets this off. It has a set neck, and was surprisingly easy to build. Being … Read more