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: Bolt-on Assembly Kit
Finishing Options: Nitro, Stain, Oil, Dyes, etc
Kit includes:
- Unfinished Basswood body with poly sealant
- Unfinished Maple neck with 2-way truss rod
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Machine heads
- Tremolo bridge
- Pre-wired pickguard assembly with pickups
- Full size potentiometers
- Jack, neck & back plates
- Spring claw with springs
- Strings
- String retainers
- Strap buttons
- Setup adjustment wrenches
- Guitar cable
- All mounting screws
: Solo STK-1 DIY Electric Guitar Kit
: STK-1
Disclaimer: Kits can only be returned in virtually untouched condition and in original packaging
James Texeira (verified owner) –
This is was my first project and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Sounds great! The kit has everything needed to build the guitar. Highly recommend this.
john mcdowell (verified owner) –
i thought it would be fun to try a build. ive never played electric guitar, only acoustics. My expectations were,i think, realistic in a kit for this price. It shipped and delivered very fast. The overall quality of the wood grain, fit,finish of parts,chrome,the parts being protected by film,etc. are impressive and i have to say exceeded my expectations. even included is a length of solder ! The instructions are o.k. but i had to research and ask about a couple things that arent clear in the instructions like pos. vs. ground on the jack and some details of the set – up but i got responses to my e mails to solo and spent some time on line.I took a weekend to sand the body and neck and finish the neck. The week was spent painting the body (red) and then today i assembled and set -up. Ive played it a bit and continue to learn about the set-up and i have to say its pretty cool to build. I love it in flag red with semi-gloss. Take your time with the finish – mine turned out better than i anticipated !
Brad Stevens (verified owner) –
Great kit! I purchased this DIY guitar package with “0” experience building or setting up guitars. With the body predrilled, the neck in phenomenal shape out of the box and pre-wired pickups, this is great for all levels of experience.
As a bonus, Solo is a great company, I was surprised and extremely happy with the timely shipping. The customer service was also amazing, as I had an issue with a piece of hardware and they responded and corrected immediately. (Not sure if the issue was my fault or not)
Staticx11 (verified owner) –
Guitar was shipped 10 min after order was placed, awsome product for the price.
sjyeya_kk (verified owner) –
I am not a luthier; I am just a regular guy who loves playing guitar. This product is fantastic. I pretty much built my own guitar with ZERO experience. Every guitarist needs this product! Every guitarist needs to experience building their guitar. I can only say great things about the product because it is simply the truth.
j.mcksmith (verified owner) –
Kit was really easy to build. I had to shim the neck pocket which was a little disappointing since Solo has a reputation for tight fitting pockets, but it was easy to do. (Not sure what I’m going to do with all the extra veneer I have now though. Lol)
I leveled the frets and got the action down to 3/64 so it plays really nice.
I bought the black hardware pack, so I upgraded the nut with a Tusq XL since I was taking the old one off. Haven’t had any tuning issues. Other than the stock tuners aren’t that smooth so getting the guitar tuned to begin with is a challenge. I’m keeping my eye out for better tuners.
I found the pickups too shrill for my tastes, even for strat pickups, so those are also on the list for future upgrade.
All that said, I gave it 5 stars cause it met my expectations for the price point.
patbla47 (verified owner) –
I just finished my kit and was very pleased with the results. Finishing the neck and body was a bit goofy. I used Circa 1850 Tung/Teak oil to start but wasn’t happy. I mixed a dark stain with the Tung oil and went over it again. Finished the neck with a thinned satin Varathane and sprayed the body with gloss Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2x. After sanding and polishing it came out great, as far as I’m concerned.
The rest of the guitar went together easily, all holes were in the right spots and everything fit perfectly. The frets didn’t require any work but after it was together and I started playing I could feel the ends very slightly. I will take the strings off and dress the ends of the frets when I get a chance.
I was very happy with the price, quality and especially the service. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the kit to anyone. Thanks Solo.
aevhunter (verified owner) –
I’m 3/4 done my first guitar kit. Building it for my father who Iives in Australia. My first impressions were very good well built and solid. My dad played a guitar called a Maton Fyrbyrd in the 60’s and had to sell it to buy my mother’s engagement ring. He was very good, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for him. I’m painting it the same colour body and resprayed the pick guard candy apple red. I only have to sand the neck and headstock and polish it. Then assembly. For a first time kit I have found and would throughly recommend this kit for beginners. I’ll take a photo when it’s complete and put it on your Facebook page. I’ll be getting another one. Just don’t tell the wife!
mario_castonguay (verified owner) –
nice kit well made easy to build. had to get strings because one broke while tuning it
now i have to learn to play it
ambianation01 (verified owner) –
The neck pocket on this was very very loose, thankfully the neck did set straight. For ~$120 after shipping, this kit is decently put together with some minor issues that can be fixed with sanding. I found glue drippings on the fret board and the neck pocket had to be shimmed. There were no dents, gouges, or broken parts in the kit. The pickups did leak something like oil all over my desk. All in all the issues I have with this are all very fixable and easy fixes at that.
There are many pros with the kit too. The stray style is easily modified. The wood grain is nice and looks great stained. The neck (once sanded and frets levelled crowned and polished) feels like a $1000 guitar. As I said before, this is a great kit and I would definitely buy again. Hope this was helpful to anyone looking to buy this.
paul109876 (verified owner) –
My ST Kit turned out great!! Very happy with it. I have 5 other Fender Strats and the playability of this guitar build is up there.
Takes some patience when staining and polishing but it was worth it.
fast68gto (verified owner) –
Very nice, the kit turned out great. Like everyone else has said, if you take your time and pay attention to details, you’ll be satisfied with the results. I did a few minor upgrades such as a Tusk XL nut, different tremolo springs and Ernie Ball super slinky 9’s. The end result is a great playing instrument that I’m proud to show to anyone.
First the wood: it’s very nice, clear grain, the neck was nice. I wish that it would come without the sealer on it, it really makes you have to work hard to get the sealer off to do a decent job at staining. I’m guessing that by sealing it at the factory it eliminates some warpage and cracks that might happen with the different environments it gets shipped to. However, with some elbow grease, it came out fine. I finished it with an ebony Minwax stain, black-out on the sides with a little Krylon, waited 24 hours and applied 4 coats of clear poly – the neck was done with 4 coats of clear spray poly. I’m happy with the look.
Assembly is easy – plenty of videos out there that show you the ins and outs of assembling and setting up the guitar. I put copper tape inside the electronics cavity and taped the inside of the cover as well to insure I had a good Fariday cage around the electronics. I also replaced the wires that go to the output jack with some shielded wire. The result was no hum even at the highest volumes… nice.
Setup: well, let’s just say when Solo says that the frets are leveled, umm, well, they needed more work to satisfy me. That’s OK, I did a darn good job leveling the frets, reshaping them, and insuring the 12″ radius was correct. The neck setup was easy. Like I said, I replaced the nut, re-cut the slots and set the action at the nut for .006″ on the high E and .010 on the low E (interpolated between). Next the tremolo – the quality of the unit was good, but I’m just not a fan of them so I hard tailed it. I used the 3 springs that came with the kit but I still got some inter-string coupling when I did heavy bends or adjusted the tuning. I put 2 more springs in, set the bridge even with the surface of the guitar body and voila rock solid. Intonation was a breeze and the bridge action height was a breeze – but I had to lift the low E up a tad higher than I’d like but maybe only an additional 1/64th… no biggie.
The guitar plays well, it exceeds my abilities (which isn’t saying a lot). I STRONGLY recommend that you buy this kit and learn how to setup and assemble a guitar if you want to completely understand the ins and outs of our instruments. I learned a TON and was able to tweak the setup on another guitar that I have because of what I learned here. For the purchase price and a few dollars in shipping, some elbow grease, and some determination and research you will end up with a fine instrument.
I’m sure I’ll buy more from Solo, seems like a great company. I wish there was a way to add photos here to show the finished product.
sourpatchkid84 (verified owner) –
This is a solid kit. The pick ups are not the worst in the world but i plan to upgrade them. Same goes for the pots and capacitors. The neck fit snugly and it feels great to play. The electronics come pre-wired in pickguard, so all you have to do is solder the jack and claw ground. I wish the nut was higher quality but it works none the less. A lot of people think the tuners are cheap but if you tighten down the screw at the top of each they stay in tune for a long time, even when playing hard. Overall this is a great kit and i enjoyed building it and I enjoy plating it.
shawnee845 –
Is there a place where after you are done building the guitar. You are proud of it. that you can take a picture, and then post the darn think so everyone can have a look.
What do you guys think at SoloMusicGear.com
P.S.
Just to let you know I have two kits and I am thinking
Mitch (verified owner) –
This is the 7th or 8th kit i bought from you guys and they just seem to get better. On this one, there was very little sanding to be done and almost no fret work was required. I had to round out a couple of fret ends but that’s it!
Already thinking about the next one!
And no matter what your wife tells you, there is no such thing as too many guitars. 😉
steven.baric –
This instrument is really impressive. I actually bought it B-Stock (small blemishes on the body), but I got it with the intent of doing a video series on doing upgrades from a relatively inexpensive kit guitar to a professional level model, one mod at a time. I did the initial build out of the box, and for anyone looking for a good starter guitar you cannot go wrong with this. Honestly, out of the box it’s basically gig-ready. I did zero setup, and the frets, neck, action, everything was fully playable. A tiny tweak to raise the pickups (3/32 on the bass side, 1/16 on the treble side), and you’re good to go.
To make the point, I’ve actually done two session recordings with this guitar BEFORE doing any finishing work or hardware upgrades. The pickups are a bit on the noisy side, but expect that with singles. I tamed it down with a noise gate, but plan to do some shielding later on. The stock hardware holds tune really well too. The only things you should know ahead of time:
1. This is NOT Fender spec. The body thickness is more like a Squier Affinity model Strat, so it’s thinner. A full-size Fender bridge won’t fit, if you want to swap it out (you probably won’t need to though).
2. This is NOT Fender spec. Did I say that already? The pick guard and spring cover screw hole alignments are not standard, so any replacements you get will probably need redrilling. I’m upgrading to a Fishman Fluence set with the battery pack, so I’ll have to drill some out.
3. This is NOT Fender spec. The pickups are actually three different sizes. If you want to change the pickup covers, you’ll have to look around. Standard SSS sets are all the same size, but Chinese and other Asian models are narrower at the neck and wider at the bridge (so the poles stay under the strings). But the pickup slots in the pickguard are all the same, so if you’re replacing the pickups you should be OK.
Bottom line: I would recommend any guitar teacher send their students to THIS instrument for their first electric. For the price you can’t get a comparable one off the rack, and the experience of building it is invaluable for learning how all the parts of an electric go together. Once you’re done, even if you never do any finishing work on it, you’ll have a really great working guitar that’s easy and affordable to upgrade as you like for years to come.
normandtrudel (verified owner) –
You get what you pay for. It’s a very basic set and you will end up with the equivalent of a cheap $200-300 Squier. Finally too much work for nothing, so I send it back. But if you want to learn about guitar building and setup, these kits might be interesting. I need to say that I was very much impressed with the hassle free return policy and the great support!
waynesharp164 (verified owner) –
First time build, quite easy to assemble, but it takes patience. The neck turned out very good with Several sandings, gunstock oil and a homemade decal. The main body took a bit of sanding, priming and finishing but I wasn’t happy with it, resanded and tried a finish again. It turned out okay but not what I envisioned. I don’t think I would use clear coat finish again. It takes time, and again patience, to set up the bridge, strings etc. I’m not a guitar player, but always wanted to build a guitar, this was an enjoyable project to pass the time during the pandemic.
woblee2 –
First kit for me too, as with many here. I had so much fun building this kit and modifying it with my own touches. Great kit with everything you need. I’m not a guitar builder by any means, so I left the neck alone, and it plays excellent. I would recommend this kit to any first time builder. My brother is asking to do one now, so we’ll place a second order!
Deborah Sisson (verified owner) –
This is my 3rd kit, 1st from Solo, and I will be sticking to Solo going forward. Kit received quick and quality very good. After finishing the body with a Van Halen-themed acrylic pour and several coats of Tru Oil, I noticed that one of the tuner hex nuts wouldn’t tighten. Solo Customer Service is fantastic, helping me replace the part. Fretwork was minimal and polished up beautifully, lowered action at the nut with slot files, trem bridge balanced as expected (used only 2 springs), intonated easily, and a new set of Slinky 9’s installed after all the set up was done. Finished guitar plays great. Thank you Solo!
d.pharand (verified owner) –
The kit look great but came in with a small defect. The after serviced dept took care of it and quickly send a replacement without any argument, free shipping. Service is fantastic. Thank to Padraig Boggis for his highly professional service. I’m in the process of finishing the guitar and will post the final result.
Shaun Pingitore (verified owner) –
This was the second of these kits that I purchased. The first one was great, everything fit together nicely on the first try and no issues whatsoever.
The second one was also great, however the neck pocket was a tiny bit too tight. I brought it in to Solo and the guys were very quick to show me what was wrong and to help fix it for me. The kits are awesome, and should you happen to run into any issues, their guitar techs and staff are VERY knowledgeable and helpful.
Joel Rubin –
Great value, my second ever kit build. I used Surf Green acrylic lacquer on the body and headstock, my spraying skills need work, and some finish came off when sanding, but it actually looks lightly relic’ed that way, which I was planning to do anyway. I’m happy with the build of the guitar and would have zero reservations about playing it out. As some have said, it’s comparable to a Squier as far as the weight and softness of the wood. Sounds nice and twangy, holds tune pretty good so far. Yeah you can find something not as good that is already built for this price, but by assembling one, you really gain a good understanding of how guitars work. Don’t forget to find someone who makes custom headstock decals and name your creation!
bluesfan (verified owner) –
This is a great and affordable modding kit. Ordered it with gold Wilkinson EZ Lok tuners and gold jack plate.
As usual this was a very fast shipment and very well packaged. All the parts made the trip without a scratch or dent!
The body is made of 7 pieces of basswoodbut they are very well matched and the joints are nearly invisible. The neck is
is straight with levelled frets without sharp edges. I only did a minor polish and rolled the end with 3M Scotch Brite pads.
That also took care of the fretboard edges. the neck pocket was was No1 and alignment perfect. All the holes were drilled in
the right places.
Modding:
Changed all the hardware to gold and did give it a brushed satin finish with 3M pads so it looks worn.
Changed the control knobs to black.
Changed the pickups to black lip stick tubes, neck 5K, middle 6K and bridge 8K.
Volume pot is push push type to add the bridge pickup can be activated at any time.
Tone pots are full size, No 1 neck and middle No 2 is for the bridge only.
Tuners Wilkinson EZ Lok.
Added a treble bleed circuit.
Tremolo changed to one with a solid full size brass block. I needed to enlardge the cavity to fit it, this was expected.
Did a full copper foil shielding of all cavities. this thing is dead quiet.
Finishing:
Open grain with worn translucent emerald green Samans water based stain and Samans water based flat varsish.
I like to see and feel the wood grain.
Since I am using water base stain I had to remove all the poly sealant down to the bare wood. This involves a fair
amout of sanding but the poly sealant is well noted the the item description. So no surprise there.
Final set up was easy and I am extrmely please with the result
Special thanks to my wife who believes that no such a thing as ”having to many guitars” exsists. I am up to 40 of them…!
I am looking at the Tele hollow body with 2 F holes and the LP with 3 PU’s.
Thanks SOLO for the nice kits and grat service
Michel
jeffmorrow20 –
Purchased this kit a year ago. The build was fun and easy. The only problem is the neck. It was dehydrated ,fret ends were vicious ,and it twisted and warped. Bought another neck and hope it’s better than the original.
All good otherwise.
I’m not complaining, just sayin. In long run…I learned something . That’s why I bought the kits..to learn.
And yes…I am buying another. 😎👍
johndugas (verified owner) –
Perfect kit if you are not a luthier and want a guitar you can really play when done. The neck and neck pocket fit were flawless. Only minor setup adjustments were needed to get this guiatr playing and staying in tune and intonated. The parts that are in the kit are good enough to assemble, properly setup and play. Upgrades are easy, and there are many options and price points for preloaded pick guards, tuners, bridges and nuts. Good job Solo, i will certainly be ordering again!
bluesfan (verified owner) –
This is my 14Th kit from Solo and the second one of this model. Must say that I am sold to Solo!
Again this was a very well packaged fast shipment. The body was cut and drilled to perfection. The neck
was straight with very nice frets, they only needed minor polishing with fret erasers. The neck joint was
nice and snug. Did modify the heel joint to suit the Custom shape Solo neck plate which gives a better accees to upper frets.
Also filled the visible hole in the neck heel with a home made dowel on my press drill and a file.Now it is invisible.
Drill a new hole to match the neck plate.
Added some wear pattern on the body and rounded the point on the headstock for a more Fender look.
Aged all the chrome hardware and plastics parts.
Changed the post to 3/8” brass sleeves and shafts, tuners to Wilkinson, jack to Swichcraft, Pickups to Earl Slick aged Anlnico 5
single coils 65 and 5 way switch to US style.
Switching:
I like to experiment so here it is…
Replaced the Tone 1 by a volume blend ane Tone 2 is now a master tone.
So with the volume blend at 0 it is all normal operation
But with the volume blend at 10 this is what I get;
Position 1, Bridge and middle in series
Position 2, Middle and neck in parallel out of phase
position 3, Middle only normal
Position 4, Middle and bridge in parallel out of phase
Position 5, Neck and middle in series
Rotating the volume blend gives all the in between tones and outputs.
I was using the Dan Armstrong’s More Versatile Strat from Gerry Hayes book ” Complete Guitar Wiring”
Excellent book BTW!
Finishing:
I wanted to make it lokk like ”Old Brown”, Bonnie Raitt 65 Strat.After all the sanding I applied 1 coat of
Samans water based dark oak satain and sanded it off then 2 coats of Samans water based golden wheat
on the body. The neck received 2 coats of golden wheat. Then applied 4 coats of Samans flat Water based varnish.
I did a light sanding with 320 grit paper and polished with grey Scotch Bright pads between each coat of stain and varnish.
The final set up was a breeze. She looks fantastic and plays great.
Thanks Solo for these excellent and affordable kits. They are are great for modding and a lot of fun.
Michel
Denco (verified owner) –
Good beginner kit. Tremelo bridge and tuners are a tad weak, but if this is just for fun around the house, they are fine. I’m building this for a friend so I’m upgrading the pickups, bridge and tuners.
Body and neck fit was good. Guitar went together well. Was fun to build. The pickups were miswired but no big deal. Just two wires switched.
Good kit to start with. Very enjoyable.
Terry Pettit (verified owner) –
This is my first kit, and have to say the experience of putting it together and finishing has been enjoyable. The body and neck were well made and fit together nicely. Since it was going to be painted, the body only needed to be minimal sanded and primed. The neck, sanded and applied tru-oil and waxed. As far as the painting and finishing, I was shooting for the “doesn’t suck” look, and believe I nailed it. Not great, but better than I expected. Kind of vintage white.
The action and intonation needed very little adjustment, the fret ends are good, some small fret buzz that will be easy to take care of. The guitar plays well, and so far the tuners seem to hold in tune once the strings finished stretching.
I cant speak as to how the pickups sound, as I put on an inexpensive pick guard loaded with humbuckers.
All in all it’s been a good experience and I would highly recommend this kit to anyone, regardless of skill level.