7 reviews for Solo LPK-100BN DIY Electric With Maple Cap & Binding

1. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   Jason Berger (verified buyer) – February 11, 2020

   DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU ARE AN EXPERT BUILDER. The product itself was beautiful, with good parts and well constructed. The instructions were beyond horrible. There wasn’t a single picture, diagram or image to help you with the construction. Unless you already know which screws go with which parts, and which parts should be placed where and in what direction you will struggle. The instructions did include one wiring diagram, however that diagram did not correspond with wires that were in the kit and the pre-soldering that was already done. Solo’s online videos were no help. I finally had to hunt you-tube for solutions and asked friends for assistance. None of it would have been overly difficult if clear instructions were included.

2. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   dylancuvilier – May 10, 2020

   Good kit, with some issues.

   Before I get into anything it’s important to note how thin the maple veneer is on this kit. You really need to take that into account before you start finishing because it doesn’t make much sanding before you start seeing a bit of mahogany bleeding through.

   The holes for the pots, bridge, saddle, selector, machine heads etc. Were all drilled well and were in the position that they should be.

   The neck routing is where I had issues. The neck pocket was positioned slightly too far to the treble side so it didn’t quite sit flush with the body, also while the pocket had been shimmed it was shimmed well and the neck didn’t sit quite flat in the body.

   All in all these ended up being small issues an probably speaks to tolerances in the manufacturing process.

   The kit was easy to put together and I had a great deal of fun. Especially wiring up the pick ups.

   This is my second solo kit, and when that TB style bass kit is in stock I’ll be sure to pick that up.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   ray.caracol – August 15, 2020

   In the past, I would purchase inexpensive guitars and upgrade all the components. My wife suggested that I just build one…Well, HOA doesn’t allow a full work shop in the condo so this kit was a great idea.
   Actually, this kit is great!
   Packaging/protection of the guitar parts was very good.
   Everything fit nicely, the hardware and components were better than expected although I did upgrade the P/U’s.
   Minimal sanding needed – I used 320 and 600 and was good to go.
   I stained the back rich mahogany and the top a golden maple satin.
   Frets were a tad rough but easily worked on.
   No wiring issues – pots were already set up and I just needed to connect the P/U’s and the input jack.

   I expected to do some wood work on this 4/5 kit, fitting and soldering and I loved working on it.

   I had ordered the LPK-100 thru Amazon – sorry, I’ll order direct from SOLO for my next project, the MBK-1…. 🙂

   Great stuff ! Thank you

   Ray

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Nick Clarke (verified buyer) – September 5, 2022

   Recently bought this kit as a base for a wicked single pickup carved top build and I’m quite stoked on the quality of the build before I started. The upgraded maple cap makes a big difference for carving out bits of the wood without worrying about a veneer which seemed to be other peoples complaints. I re routed the top to accommodate a new piece of maple to fill the middle and neck humbucker slots which also reinforced the set neck. All in all the slot was perfect and everything needed minimal sanding in order to achieve what I was looking for without making noticeable changes. This is a great kit for someone looking to make a Gibson custom esq guitar without spending 5 grand plus. I’m halfway through it and I would buy another. Having some carpentry background would help as there isn’t instructions but that’s also part of the fun. This is my 3rd solo kit and this one’s definitely the best/worth the investment. Thanks again guys! Nick 🤘

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   bluesfan (verified buyer) – September 17, 2024

   Hi,
   This is my 22nd kit from Solo. I was looking at this kit for a long time but found it a bit expensive.
   But in July I was fortunate enough to win the guitar of the month with my Zebra kit which gave me
   a 50% discount on my next kit so I pulled the trigger.
   As always it was a very fast delivery and I am always impressed with Solo’s packaging. Upon opening the box
   and inspecting, I fully understoud the price, this kit is top quality.
   The mahogany back has a nice grain and texture. The woodwork is perfect:
   The body has a solid maple cap with nice figuring a some flames with clean cavities and great neck pocket.
   The joints are invisible.
   The neck is very straight, frets are leveled with smooth ends, will only light polish. The scarf joint is also invisible.
   The neck joint is a perfect fit. All binding is very clean with crisp lines without glue lines.
   I must say this is my best kit so far.
   I only used the following hardware and electronics from the kit: jack and jack plate, pickguard and clip, trussrod
   cover, pickup rings, strap buttons, knobs and back plates.
   Modifications:
   Tuners, Wilkinson 19;1 ratio Grover style. These are very accurate but be ready to turn the keys a little more.
   Bridge: Nashville style with large bushings with matching tailpiece.
   Switch: Real 3 way toggle.
   Pots:
   3 volumes A500K Push Push with brass bushing and shaft, did the independent wiring, installed 1.5 resistor from the split
   lug to ground to keep some signal from the cut coil in split coil mode.
   1 master tone B500K with brass bushing and shaft vintage wired.
   With this setup I have an infinite choice of tones.
   Pickups: Alnico 5 Hot vintage 8.6K for neck and middle and 9.6K for bridge.

   Finish:
   My wife ( she is my cosmetic consultant) ask for a dark cherry red with purple hues. So I mixed Saman water based stain
   cerry red with a little asur blue to get the color. Also added water for the top to make it more transparent and as is for
   the sides, back, neck and peg head face.
   After sanding the surfaces to 220 grit and it did not need much the surface being already very smooth, I did buff with
   3M gray pad the applied the stain the buffed again with 3M gray pad the applied 4 coats fo Saman wated based flat varnish
   buffing with the 3M gray pad after each coat. Then I buffed the entire surfaces wth 3M white pad.
   Before staining I taped all the binding with 3M pin stripe tape to keep it clean until I had my first coat of varnish done then
   removed the tape. This reduced the binding scraping to a bare minimum.
   I also ebonized the fretboard with 4 coats of Higgins India Ink, it looks great with the block markers and binding.
   Assembly:
   This was smooth sailing, the neck angle is perfect and well aligned with the bridge, thanks the accurate location of
   the posts holes. Same goes for the pickups routes.
   Setup:
   The nut was cut perfect and did not need any filing. Action at the first fret is very low as is.
   The neck was very straight with minimal relief at .003”.
   Intonation took less than 10 minute.

   I have a very low action with out any fret buzz and no dead spot or choking.
   She is is very easy to play, sounds and looks just great.
   I must say the is my best kit so far and the price is very fair down to the last penny.
   I wish I could give this one a 10 stars review, highly recommended.
   Thanks again Solo.

   Michel

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   maxheadroom.lr65 – December 9, 2024

   Great kit!
   To see what I did with this kit go here: https://www.solomusicgear.com/guitar-of-the-month-may-2024/

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Joe Lascola (verified buyer) – January 24, 2026

   Second kit from Solo…..So far so good!…. Got the neck set… Working on finish coats…. Taking my time…but so far the kit quality is top notch! Learning a lot about how to apply a quality finish…. Lots of work and patients..