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PICKING A KIT - MOTIVATION, DAHLING
First things first, I should say that I've been thinking about building a guitar for quite a while now. Certainly a decade, but in hazier terms for twenty-five years. Even before I could play a guitar - not that that is an area where I have managed to excel either - I wanted to make one of my own, but frankly didn't have a clue where to start.I think what finally pushed me to get my act together and do this, was that I came across a web site called Music King, selling guitar kits from a company called Saga alongside a number of their own. Not just Strats and Telecasters, which I'd seen elsewhere, but Les Pauls and Rickenbackers, Jacksons and Explorers, Thinlines and Les Paul Semis.
OK, in the main they all appeared to be cheap kits, but who am I to complain? This was a chance to at least try to make one and the kits, “with everything you need to make your own guitar” seemed ideal. And yes, it is a kit, but I see this as a good starting point. If I manage to get through this, maybe I'll buy a router and try making the bits myself next time, but one step at a time seems a good idea.
Over a month or so then, I bounced between different options. I've never liked Strats and Teles, mainly because they are so ubiquitous, and I've always liked my guitars to be a bit more interesting. My 'number one' guitar is an old Jazzmaster, and my first real guitar was an SG. OK, still pretty mainstream really, but better by degree than a Red Hank Marvin Everymancaster to my mind.
But which to go for? I was torn between building a guitar I really wanted, and one that was a little easier to put together. The idea of a maple capped mahogany-bodied Les Paul was appealing, but the Music King one seemed to have a bolt-on neck which somewhat killed the dream of ‘authenticity’ never mind infinite sustain. A Les Paul Junior or Explorer could be more fun, as could the Ricky of course, but then the Thinline or, or... Well, I was spoiled for choice.
Of course, it didn't help that most of the kits were out of stock at the time, and I started to look around at other companies before coming across one called DIY Guitar Kits. It's all in the name, of course, and they caught my eye with a couple of their offerings.
As I mentioned earlier, the idea of spending an age (blood, sweat, tears and all that) on a Les Paul with a bolt-on neck didn't really appeal but DIY did two variations on the Les Paul - one with a flamed and another with a spalted maple top, and best of all both of these had glued necks. They also looked cool, it had to be said, and I was pretty much sold on the idea although a tad reticent as they both needed a fair bit more effort in the woodwork department than the Music King kits appeared to.
Dilemmas, dilemmas, and I was back to square one - did I try a simpler build as a first attempt to see if I could do the basics before even starting to think about chopping or sanding or whatever it is you do with wood, or should I just go for it and die of frustration if it proved beyond me?
I'm still not sure what I would have done to be honest, but as luck would have it, I noticed that a slightly damaged DIY kit was being sold on eBay for next to nothing. Cheap enough that I could have a go and not worry too much if it didn't work out, yet a good 'proof of concept' if I did manage to complete it, and a valid step toward something more taxing.
So I went for it, and after all my protestations, it was always going to be a Strat, wasn't it?
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