Description
Building a Solo DIY Acoustic guitar kit can be a rewarding experience. You’ll not only create a custom guitar but also gain valuable skills throughout the process which can be applied to other guitars. Since all the challenging parts such as drilling, shaping, fret leveling and dressing are already taken care of, you’ll just need some basic woodworking skills and tools along with finishing supplies to complete it.
Disclaimer:
The successful construction and assembly of acoustic instruments rely on a complex set of mathematical and physical equations, as well as the inherent variables associated with wood products. Adherence to these equations is critical to the instrument being playable within the parameters of tuning and intonation. We have taken every precaution in order to make our acoustic kits as easy to assemble as possible.
Therefore we will not take responsibility if the variables associated with acoustic instruments, or the lack of skill and/or accuracy on the part of the assembler contribute to the instrument not meeting the customers expectations.
Manuals: Assembly
Finishing Options: Nitro, Stain, Oil, Dyes, etc
Kit includes:
- Fully assembled body
- Spruce top with Agathis back and sides
- Maple neck with Black Walnut fingerboard
- Machine heads
- Chrome hardware
- Dreadnought sized body (Overall Length 41″)
- Scale length 25.5″
- Fretted (20 frets)
- 2-way truss rod
- Pre-shaped bridge
- Bridge pins
- Strings
- Rosette decal
: Solo ADK-10 DIY Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Kit
: ADK-10
Disclaimer: Kits can only be returned in virtually untouched condition and in original packaging
Roberta Cameron –
This was a gift for me. It sure had me on edge but the staff at solo are so helpful. I took my time and am so happy with how it turned out.
golfprorivesud (verified buyer) –
Really nice finish and tight fit, after sanding and adjusting the fit was perfect. The sound is very good and has nice bass and sustain. I am very glad the way it turned out for my first build.
drtank (verified buyer) –
The ADK-10 was the third Solo Guitars acoustic kit that I would custom-assemble, having previously built instruments from the ADP-10 and the ACP-10 kits. I decided to walk on the wild side with this kit by (1) finishing the soundboard with a glossy red dye and (2) adding a DeArmond passive pickup to render the final opus an acoustic-electric dreadnought. I first sealed the Agathis-wood back and sides with a mahogany grain-filler mixture and then finished them with Tru-Oil. Then I applied cherry-red liquid stain and a clear water-based poly finish to the birch soundboard. Since both the Tru-Oil and the stain are translucent, the grain of the woods shows prominently through the finishes. As always seems to be true with these acoustic kits, the greatest build challenge was to get the neck to sit properly in its pocket. With all of these kits, the neck starts out being too high and cannot be forced into place with considerable pressure. Either the milling was not quite complete or the wood had swelled slightly since the time of manufacture. Having learned the hard way with previous acoustic builds, I was able to successfully tweak the fit of the dovetail via careful sanding so that the neck mated more precisely with its socket. Past experience had taught me that skipping this intricate adjustment results in unacceptably high string action that one must ultimately correct. By comparison, successfully gluing on the bridge was relatively straightforward, thanks to the masking-tape template that Solo techs provide. In fact, the intonation of the finished lute is as close to perfect as acoustics can generally achieve. I did use a custom rosette and bridge as well as custom bridge pins and upgraded strings. The addition of a passive pickup necessitated drilling a half-inch hole through the end of the guitar body so that a combination amp-cable socket and strap pin could be installed through the interior of the guitar body. Although the pickup’s amplification of the guitar works perfectly, no sound boost is needed for the ADK-10 piece. Even with the audio disconnected, this guitar has an ample and exceptionally rich voice. If fact, it produces tones that are bolder than most of my other acoustic lutes, including those priced close to or slightly above $1,000. I am very pleased with the guitar that was built from the ADK-10 package
Andrew Shields (verified buyer) –
This was my first acoustic kit guitar. I was a little apprehensive cause I read that Agathis was not a great tonewood. I was pleasantly surprised! Guitar sounds and looks great. I installed a K & K pickup and it sounds better live than my custom acoustic that has a $500 Fishman preamp.
ricklemmon (verified buyer) –
I had no issues with the build of the guitar, the finishing was a challenge as I had never tried dying wood before. It did turn out beautiful and plays like a dream.