Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!! Here’s looking forward to a brand-new year of adventures, learning, building and repairing. First off, we wanted to say thanks to all those who sent in suggestions for the blog. We are looking at these suggestions carefully and have some cool stuff lined up for 2024! As with every January, the lads in the front office are heading to Anaheim in a couple weeks for the 2024 NAMM Show, the largest music merchandise show on this side of the globe. This year, they are going for a tour of the Fender Factory as well…so I am a bit jealous. Hopefully there will be lots of photos and some new products from the show as well!
So, I spend a bit of time surfing the different forums and websites that pertain to instrument building, kits, modifying etc. Occasionally, there is a legit question that catches my eye. This time, a guy was asking about buying cheap guitars he could take apart and learn on. I had a pretty good laugh at some of the responses…. like most sites there is about 75% negativity which coincides with 75% of the responses coming from people who start with “I’m no expert, but…”. My initial response is ‘if you are no expert, why are you responding’…. but like my wife says, I need to be more compassionate and considerate in how I assess people lol. I believe most of the responses are well meaning though, and of course, everyone has their own experience.
If you follow this blog, you might recall me mentioning I started back in the early 70’s…. Back then there was no YouTube, no internet, and there really weren’t many books. In fact, there wasn’t even that much aftermarket product available to repair or modify with. I know, I know, this sounds a lot like having to walk uphill in the snow to and from school…. In umm bare feet. The few guys out there who were doing the guitar repairs for instruments other than acoustic or classicals were revered as guitar gods…. we read about players like Jeff Beck modifying his guitars, or Domenic Troiano working with Bernie Rico from BC Rich Guitars creating electronics that allowed virtually any combination of pickups. Super cool stuff. But the everyday repairs we pretty much had to learn on our own…what happens when you do this or that to this part or that part. Trial and error….and believe me there was a lot of error.
Things have changed since those days…there are a myriad of books and how-to videos available to everyone who has access to the web or can read. There are also a lot of courses and schools out there, if you are close to one or can afford them. I believe one of the biggest advantages today, however, are the guitar kits that have become so popular in the last 10 years. When I started, most of the guitars I worked on were Fenders and Gibsons…. the general rule was don’t mess it up…the cost of the guitar was a little intimidating (of course you might laugh at the price of the guitars in those days). Yes, we would get the occasional Harmony or Kay guitar or maybe a Tiesco or a Hofner but those brands had certain limitations as far as quality and sound. Which leads me to my next point in reference to the initial question…. I have done the ‘cheap guitar repair’ route more than once in my life and I do not recommend it as a method of learning. Can you learn from them? Of course, but you may never achieve that ultimate setup or repair due to the initial quality of the guitar. Some years back I started doing repairs for a small local music store, and the average cost of the guitars that were coming to me (with complaints of not staying in tune, being too hard to play etc) was between $200 and $300. I am not too proud to work on anything, but at some point, you have to stop spending 2 or 3 hours trying to fix a $200 guitar and only be able to charge $50 for a setup. A well-built guitar likely would not be coming in with the same complaint, but even if it did, the repair itself would be quicker and the result much more profound. To this day, there is such a good feeling about doing the final wipe down and polish on a guitar that you have just changed strings, set neck relief, saddle height, intonated and adjusted so it plays and sounds as good as it can … and that feeling is only rivaled by the positive response from the customer.
Enter the guitar kit. For anyone starting out, this is your best route to learning on your own (in my opinion). Even the least expensive Solo Guitar kits will allow you to build a working instrument, and as you go up in cost and quality, allow you to build a guitar that will rival a lot of products available on the shelf…or um hang in your fav guitar store. The only things you won’t learn are how to build a body, or a neck and the process of fret slotting and fretting. Despite the woodworking being complete on the kits, you still have to check that everything fits and lines up. You will have to learn to finish the body and neck, assemble everything in the right order and then learn to set up everything from truss-rods to saddles. The final product will always reflect the amount of effort you put in. If you check out our ‘Guitar of the Month’ photos, you will see Solo Guitar kits that have been completed in many cases by total beginners…many of which are astounding!
Once you have a few guitar kits under your belt, you will view guitars in a different way. The Fenders, Gibsons and PRS’s will not be as intimidating, and you will approach them with much more confidence. There is no substitute for a luthier school or individual training with a qualified tech, but if you do not have those avenues available to you, I think browsing through our selection of kits and choosing something you always wanted might yield you the best results. Read as much as you can and watch as many videos as you can from proper sources. The customer service guys at Solo are also here to help you along on your builds, so feel free to call or email. The blog will also be addressing build issues that some of you have experienced. In 1919, Gibson Guitars hired Loyd Loar an instrument designer and sound-engineer. Loar was responsible for revolutionizing the mandolin and arch-top guitar designs that were relatively new at the time. He designed the F5 Mandolin and the L5 Archtop guitar that helped usher in the new age of instruments. He also experimented with some of the very first electric guitars. He left Gibson in 1924 … that was 100 years ago.
Let’s make 2024 a real guitar year with kits and parts from Solo Guitars!!
