Professor Monkey Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Just read around in my GP magazine THese kits seem relatively cheap and I figure it couldnt have that horrible of a tone.. Ive been looking at the strats/teles.. Anyone ever build one? http://www.torresguitars.com/cat19/catindex.htm Starts on page 12 or here http://torresengineering.com/famguitkit.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 THese kits seem relatively cheap and I figure it couldnt have that horrible of a tone.. Ive been looking at the strats/teles.. Anyone ever build one? You might also want to look at the Carvin Bolt kits. It's a Strat style. The finished Bolts are a very nice axe, so I presume the kits are good too. Scott Fraser Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 I put together the PRS copy, it was a lot of fun, but........ All of the holes drilled for the POTs are too small, there was no hole at all drilled for the neckpickup wiring to go anywhere, and unfortunately I realized this after I did a stunning paint job......The bolts for the Neck are too long and come through into the pickup......the End piece of the 2 part bridge does not stay in, because the hole are drilled too large, which causes it to not stay in tune. When I finally something put together, I enjoyed the neck and the neck pickup, was not thrilled with the bridge pickup, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 4, 2007 Author Share Posted April 4, 2007 When did you buy your copy? Perhaps the quality has improved.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 I bought it 2 years ago, They are made by Saga, you'll see them on e-bay....don't get me wrong..they aren't complete garbage, as a matter of fact I see it is as a great tool for learning something about guitars.....At the same time my buddy got an LP copy, that I am putting together for him, because he quit on it...that one came with unmatching tuning pegs, instead of 3 and 3 it had 4 and 2. The pickups are alright because I threw one of them in an old ARIA Pro 2 body and bought a cheap AXL neck on Ebay, now THAT guitar came out nice. I wouldn't spend more than $100 or $125...........Those Carvins I think are more like $300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategery Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Yep, the Carvin kits rock!! I seen some that look great and sound fantastic!! Randy "Just play!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 4, 2007 Author Share Posted April 4, 2007 I want to get another strat.. yet I also want a LP since im gonna switch out the EMGs on my EC-1000 sooner or later... Ill take a look at some carvin kits then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I only have experience with the SAGA kits, but I would think the Carvins are better, If you are looking to use a good set of pckups you are you might as well go with the name brand kit, but I will say if you are going to change swap pickups out of your EC-1000, and out in better pickups you are starting to add up expenses with the purchase of the Kit and also new pickups for your Ec-1000. for the $400 dollars you may be talking about maybe you should look into an inexpensive 2nd guitar. If your intention is just to play around with guitar parts it may be better to get the cheaper kit. Personally I am holding onto 3 different pickups with the intention to put them into a guitar, and one of the options I am considereing is buying a used OLP on Ebay or somewhere, you can grab one for about $100 to $125, about the cost of the SAGA kit and they have very friendly necks. Good Luck with whatever you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Somebody on this forum, I forget who, has built a Carvin Bolt kit. It might be good to get some feedback on the process, but I seem to recall he was pretty chuffed with the results. Scott Fraser Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 Augh.. Carvin kits are pretty expensive.. Hantruk: Would you say that the guitar will sound better than a squier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Well, If you are going to change the pickups, I think you are mostly concerned with : Neck, Wood, and the tuning pegs. Being you wanted to swap from Ec-1000, I assumed they are humbuckers, and most Strat Squiers are 3 single coils. The OLP that I have is an Orange County Chopper model, that my wife bought for me, $120 (I happen to live in Rock Tavern where they film the show). I really like the neck and the beauty is you can put the pickups in from behind, without changing the strings or messing with the trem. And they are Humbuckers. I have stayed away from Squier since the one I had a long time ago. Bad memories, and I hear that was when they were good. Please keep in mind I am not a "pro", I just love to dig for cheap gems and modify them if necessary. The way I see it is if you buy a guitar on ebay for $100-$125, and sell it a year later for $75-$100. You are basically renting for a year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 WEll. I dont have to switch out the pick ups since Active EMGs arent that bad.. I could switch single coils instead.. I think ill get a kit but now I just need to find the model I like.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Have fun, The Telecaster is probably easiest, because of no trem and the 2 pickups, The strat style is probably the easies to wire, becasue it is all done on the pickguard. Whichever you decide, rmember if you paint it , go to an AUto Parts place and get a good Car Spray paint, it gives it that hard shell. There are some fun Iradescent metalic paints that change colors depending on the angle you are holding it at. If you stain it you are still going to want to spray it with a Laquer. Whatever you decide....Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 What is teh difference between the telecaster and strat.. Only the body shape right? And I dont mind a slight challenge.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 a Telecaster has two single coils, and is heavier(more sustain), with a fixed bridge (non-tremolo) 3 position toggle.....The strat style has 3 pickups, a tremolo and a 5 position switch, it is also lighter. The challenge with both will be making sure everything is set up correctly .. Look online for how to set your intonatio..don't get intimidated by this it is n't that difficult....The strat will have all the wiring in the pickguard and then you screw the oisckguard onto the guitar, so you can actually set up the guitar and wiring seperately, The tele requires some wiring through the guitar which isn't dificult either, it all depends on what kind of guitar you want. The strat has more tonal possibilities, the tele is what I like to call "a government issue guitar"Whichever you decide, you won't need to do any soldering , because the wires come with clips to attach to each other. The only challenging part about the strat style is getting the tremolo to stay in a spot so you don't go out of tune, therefore I think the tele would be easier because it will have one less mechanical thing to worry about. The challenge overall comes in regarding your own patience. This can be a truly inspiring project that you need to convince yourself does not need to be done in one day. Finishing the body, is where the personalization and fun comes in. You can clear coat it so that the wood grain shows through or you can paint it all differnet colors, use painters tape for any stripes or straight lines. You could go crazy with the tape and do a Van Halen style, one coat of one color and then tape it in all differnet directions and coat on another color...then peel the tape. tou could use different spray paints and fade them into each other. It all depends on you personal style. Again I recomend you use a clear coat no matter what you decide to protect your paint job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 By tremolo do you mean the bar? I like the idea of spraying my own guitar.. Which spray paint brand would you suggest? Krylon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 No, by tremolo I mean the actual bridge. Your EC-1000 has a 2 piece bridge, that is fixed...It doesn't move. A tremolo bar moves the bridge up and down..creating tightening and loosening of the strings which os where you get tremolo from....A strat has a 1 piece tremolo bridge. It moves up and down. That means it has springs. When you string a guitar with tremolo , it takes a lot longer to tune, and I find it stays in tune less depending on which gauge of string you choose. As you tune certain strings , other strings go out of tune because you are affection the tension overall. I prefer a fixed bridge, because I don't use tremolo much for two reasons; 1.) I like to bend and a slide my fingers.. gving the same effect and 2.) Unless you have an expensive tremolo (like a Floyd Rose) you tend to go out of tune if you use a lot of tremolo. A telecaster has a 1 piece fixed tremolo, it is screwed in on all sides. As for spray paint, go to an Auto Store and get one of their paints, they make a better glossy look, or you can usea few Krylon cans and then spray a clear coat, which they also have at the Auto Store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 Ahh.. I think I know what you mean.. My strat takes forever to tune.. LIke 1 week whereas my EC-1000 takes a day.. I think Im gonna get either a tele or LP... LP bodies are just sooo attractive and because I cant think of a good paintjob for a tele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 The LP has a nice sanded finish, you can even stain it. My one experience with the LP is that the bridge posts were too small for the holes that are predrilled, that causes them to pop out when you tune your guitar. The tension actually pulls the posts out, so the strings were hard to keep in tune. Maybe you will be luckier than myself. I would assume the tele wouldn't have that problem because the bridge is screwe into the body and the strings go through the body, so the tension point occurs before the strings even get to the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 Arent bridge posts rather cheap though nyways? And do you know how to make a burst colored paint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hantruk Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 the bridge posts aren't the problem unless you can find bigger ones, the holes are predrilled.the bridge posts will come out of them. As for paint you can get an airbrush, but it sounds like we are trying to do this on the cheap. you could angle the spray paint cans and blend them. I haven't done an actual burst, but I have faded colors into each other and different angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Monkey Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 Ill try it on a piece of paper then _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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