Inexpensive Guitar Kits

A few weeks ago, I was watching a video from one of my YouTube subscriptions called The Bald Shredder. He is one of the many guitar experts (i.e., nerds) that reviews guitars, amplifiers and effects. This particular video has him reviewing a Strat guitar kit from Fesley, available on Amazon for $89.00.

His opinion was what I figured. For the price, it is a good way for the beginning guitar builder or luthier to learn the basics. The actual finished guitar is in no way comparable to a Fender Custom or other US-manufactured Strat. He had the Amazon link for the kit in his video description, so I took the plunge and ordered one for myself. With shipping and taxes, it came out to just under $100.00.

The kit came in the mail a few days ago, and it was everything that the Bald Shredder stated. All of the parts are there, the neck and the body are both unpainted (there are painted versions of the kit available) with a clear coat on them, so they have a great smoothness to them. The neck back is smoother than a lot of other guitars that I have used. Like the Bald Shredder, I plan to keep the body in its natural clean finish. The grain is nice, nothing outstanding but not fake looking either.

The kit comes with a great manual for assembling the guitar, as the instructions are easy to follow and extremely useful photos. I haven’t started putting the guitar together yet, as I just got it a few days ago and have a lot to get to around the house before this. Maybe during a rainy day or perhaps during the winter when I am forced to stay inside.

While ordering this kit, I also came across Tele and Strat kits from Ktaxon for $59.99 each. For kicks, I decided to order the Tele kit, which after taxes and shipping came out to a little over $80.00. I found this kit on my porch yesterday (thank God there are no porch pirates in my neighborhood, and luckily I have two larger shrubs that block the view of my porch from the street), and was also what I expected for the money. The body and neck are rough sanded, so will definitely need some final sanding before I do any finishing. The pickguard/neck pickup are already mounted, so that will need to be removed for any body finishing. The instruction manual is practically useless, so fortunately I have some experience with working on electric guitars. I does have everything needed, including a cheap guitar cord and strap.

Again, I don’t plan on working on this kit for a while, and this one I do plan on putting on some finish to the body. Once I get the final sanding in, I may attempt to stain it with a unique transparent color before clear coating. I also need to check out the tuning gears for their quality, as they may need replacing. However, I don’t want to invest too much, as I don’t play electric guitar much (and have better guitars for any time that I do), and am looking at these kits for more lutherie experience than playing.

NOTE: The Fesley kit sold out a few days after I ordered mine and is currently unavailable. If interested, keep checking Amazon for re-stocking. The Ktaxon kits are still available as of this writing.

https://amzn.to/44n3McG

(Sorry, WordPress wouldn’t let me upload the Ktaxon link. Go to Amazon and search “Ktaxon Guitar Kit TL”. I’ve also seen this kit on eBay.)

Chew on it and comment.