Product Description
This guitar kit has everything you need for building your own custom 12 string ST style Electric Guitar. You will need only some basic tools and finishing supplies. All challenging wood cutting, drilling and shaping is already done professionally, as well as fret leveling and dressing. A detailed manual is included with step by step instructions, Included in Kit:
- Basswood body with a poly sealant
- Unfinished maple 12-string neck with blackwood fingerboard
- Press-fit peghead bushings
- String Retainers
- Tuning Machines
- Strings
- Strap Buttons
- Pickguard Assembly
- Fixed bridge
- Jack plate
- Neck Plate
- Ground Wire
- Cord
- Truss rod Allen key
- Bridge saddles Allen key
- All mounting screws are included
IMPORTANT (in addition to our standard return policy): due to their nature kits can be returned only in virtually untouched condition and in original package.
cdm91 (verified owner) –
Great kit for the money.
All the parts were intact and everything fit tight. Electronics and tuners are not bad at all. Neck is quite playable.
I installed a set of D’Addarrio EXL150’s and had to file the nut to allow proper string height. After a full setup the sound is sweet.
Instructions refer to string trees but in fact there is a one piece string tension bar mounted by two screws on the headstock. Make sure you drill the pilot holes deep enough, I didn’t and I wound up stripping the head of one of the screws! (Matt said he will send replacements)
Great company to deal with, hope to order from them again.
John Dixon (verified owner) –
This a quite a nice guitar for 220 bucks. I wasn’t expecting much from an inexpensive kit like this but am quite surprised at how well it plays. Everything lines up beautifully. The neck is right on. The bridge is very well designed. Six strings through the body and the octaves anchor at the back of the bridge. The saddles allow for intonation of each string separately. The tuners actually hold their tuning quite well…much better than I expected. I put the main 6 strings on and adjusted the pickup height to 1/8 inch from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the low E with the string fretted at the last fret and 3/32 inch with the high E, fretted at the last fret (I added the measurements for someone who may need a place to start) and then added the octave strings. The volume is even at these heights and the pickups have a nice little “chimey” tone which has a Strat-ish sound. I’m not a fan of plastic nuts but I’m not in a rush to replace it. It works well. The string gauges aren’t marked so you may need callipers to measure thickness. Didn’t have to adjust the truss rod or do any touch ups on the frets. It really plays well as is.
I guess the bottom line is: if you want a good guitar and want to do a little work yourself then you can’t go wrong with this kit. You will get a lot more than you pay for!
I’m very happy with this Solo kit and have ordered another.
JAMES R RODESTER (verified owner) –
The solo ST12 as a very nice kit for being my 1st guitar that I’ve ever built. It was very simple and easy to assemble Painting the body and painting the neck was probably the only complicated part, everything assembled very easily and everything fit perfectly. For a 1st time build this is the perfect kit if you want to build a 12 string. This guitar plays very well for the money. it’s well worth it plus the experience in building and setting up your own guitar. What a wonderful experience thank you so much solo guitar.
todd-0390 (verified owner) –
This is the second Solo Guitar kit I built and I’m extremely happy. As with the Tele, (see my review on the alder wood body Tele,) I finished this guitar in Keda Blue Dye, and 15 coats of Tru-Oil, polished out to a mirror finish. The result is show-room flawless.
As for the Kit, itself, everything came together nicely. The neck is exceptional and all parts fit. No issues. The neck is up to the task of handling the stress of 12-strings, and responds to truss-rod adjustments if needed.
Cons: Like my tele— the strings provided in the kit are useless. Two broke during initial tuning —but the main issue is that all the strings are unmarked and coiled together. For a 6-string, you can deduce the gauges. For a 12-string, forget it. But, this is a kit, and other reviewers have voiced kit-provided string concerns. But no matter. I use the provided strings to do the initial setup and intonation. Then I cut them off and replace them with a good set of D’Addarios, and do the final intonation and set up.
The Nut did require some minor work, but my nut-files did their magic. (seriously, you need nut-files to set the action and intonation.) The result is that I have a 12-string with exceptional action and ease of play.
The only thing that really disappoints is the string-tree. There are no pilot holes in the neck, so I talked with Solo about placement. As always, the guys at Solo are on the spot helpful. Still, this string tree is a pain and the screws provided, are too short to do a proper job and rip out from the neck. And, since I reworked the nut to seat the strings properly, the string tree isn’t really necessary. So removed it. The angle of the strings to the tuners is sufficient and don’t need the assist.
As for the finished guitar—all I can say is that it’s really, really great. It plays like a dream -Byrds, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eagles, -whatever you like. This is a very playable and enjoyable 12-string and I highly recommend it.