Description
Building a Solo DIY 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 tools and finishing supplies to complete it.
Manuals: Assembly / Wiring
Recommended tools: Set Neck Assembly Kit
Finishing Options: Nitro, Stain, Oil, Dyes, etc
Kit includes:
- Unfinished Mahogany body with Flame Maple Veneer top
- Unfinished Mahogany neck with with 2-way truss rod
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Machine heads
- Tune-o-matic bridge
- Stop bar tailpiece
- Bridge & neck pickups
- Pre-wired wiring harness
- Full size potentiometers
- Chrome plated hardware
- Gold top-hat bell knobs
- Jack, back, truss rod & cavity covers
- Pickguard
- Strings
- Strap buttons
- Setup adjustment wrenches
- Guitar cable
- All mounting screws
: Solo LPK-10L Left Handed DIY Guitar Kit With Flame Maple Top
: LPK-10L
Disclaimer: Kits can only be returned in virtually untouched condition and in original packaging
adamfrankfabian (verified buyer) –
I’ve been contemplating buying a DIY guitar kit for a while and am happy to have finally taken the plunge. If you are reading this, you are well aware that being a Lefty in the music world is a curse. Fortunately Solo is one of the few companies to put out left handed kits – let alone several different models!
After a snafu with delivery (which they sorted out quickly without issue), my kit arrived safe and sound. I was impressed at how nicely the hardware is laid out in the shipping box – It well exceeded my expectations of a 200$ guitar kit…Well done!
The build itself was fairly straight forward. We very careful when sanding the sealer off the arch top – the veneer is extremely thin and can be damaged if you are too aggressive with your sanding. Wood working experience is definitely a plus as I has some fit issues with the neck pocket. The tolerances on my body where not too close and required some shim work to ensure a proper neck angle and bonding surface contact. It was a fairly simple fix – just don’t rush the job….make sure everything lines up first. One other small gripe was that the neck pocket issue resulted in me having to remodel the neck pickup mount as it no longer fit in a way that allowed the pickup to be adjusted up and down (this also resulted in the pick-guard not being able to be installed – although I had planned to leave it off in the first place…so no issue there).
Once everything was set, mounting the hardware was a fun experience. Everything fit as it should – although my neck/body did not have any pilot holes as described in the instructions. Drilling them in took a couple of extra minutes and wasn’t an issue. Adjusting the nut on the neck has given me the biggest issue as it is way to high as installed. “Stock” my strings were almost a full centimeter off the fretboard at the nut. I have been slowly filing it down to get the action just right. The tune-o-matic bridge is a breeze to adjust and I have been able to get my intonation almost perfect (minus the influence of the neck nut).
Plugging the finished product in – it worked great on my first attempt. Very pleased to say the least. For the price paid, the tone is pretty decent and the guitar feels solid.
The snags that I hit did not detract from the experience – if anything they helped me learn a lot about assembling and added to the overall process.
I would definitely buy another kit from Solo (most likely in the near future). In fact – the guys I’m currently stationed with were so impressed that they have been putting in orders as well.