Uncle Moe Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Just curious if anyone has put together one of these guitar kits or possibly seen one in person? http://www.grizzly.com/outlet/Heirloom-Guitar-Kit-5-Samba-Firefly/H6086 http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii277/johnreinhart/Guitar%20Stuff/kit1.jpg http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii277/johnreinhart/Guitar%20Stuff/kit2.jpg The finished product looks nice... a few of my concerns are the "grizzly" tuning keys and no name pickups and the tremelo quality, etc. I am thinking it would be pretty cool to have something to hand down to my son when the time is right and not just my bought guitars, I have also been checking out the kits on guitarfetish.com (GFS) Any thoughts? Schecter C-1 Classic & Hellraiser C-1 FR / Hagstrom Viking Deluxe / Epi. PR5-E (Acoustic/Elec) / Les Paul Ultra II / Ibanez Prestige RG1570 / Kramer Striker Amps:eVh 5150 III Effects:Boss Gt-10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyBlues Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 We had a catalog at work once from this outfit, I'm real skeptical but then again I've not seen nor played one. I've been preachin' the gospel according to Carvin lately, you might want to consider one of their "Bolt" (Strat clone) kits. Food for thought. I was born at night but I wasn't born last night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I just popped over to GuitarFetish - WOW! Those kits look like a steal at those prices. Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Hey, get rid of that stinky Floyd and you got a pretty nice lookin' git-fiddle there. I don't see a neck plate in the picture, so is the neck glued in? Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braxat Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 buy a kit - buy pieces - frankenstein it, nice pick ups, nice components in over all... I Am But A Solution In Search Of A Problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylerD Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Carvin Ughh...No Just sayin had a Bolt kit Nice lookin pic guard nice wood thats where it ends to each their own.Their electronics blow like their Vol Knob has a bogus taper even dudes on their website say change it out.Nice guitar wood and all but requires some upgrades.The clasp on the case broke on it afterr like a year or less Problems with their pickups .seriously the wiring is thinner than a human hair had to send back pickups and neck to carvin too much hassle.Bad pickup switch rattles..All in all not the greatest purchase works for some Needs Upgrades Just my 2 Buxx Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Moe Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Picker - Indeed it is a glue in neck on that grizzly kit. Everyone - Thanks for the ideas, etc. I did run across one small review on the grizzly and it was good, but so far that is all I have come up with. I'll keep nosing around, like everyone I'm trying to keep cost down and have some fun doing it. Thanks, Schecter C-1 Classic & Hellraiser C-1 FR / Hagstrom Viking Deluxe / Epi. PR5-E (Acoustic/Elec) / Les Paul Ultra II / Ibanez Prestige RG1570 / Kramer Striker Amps:eVh 5150 III Effects:Boss Gt-10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadLife Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Well it's a good price. Might as well get one. I may have to give it a shot but i would probably never get it finished. I just perused the manual and you have to drill the holes in the headstock for the tuners. I don't have a drill press so that would be hard. You also have to shape the headstock. Hum may have to see if a friend has a drill press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Let me suggest something./.... nowhere near as inexpensive. Warmoth. Great bodies, great necks, they'll do the finish if you like, and you can have exactly what you want and nothing that you don't want, so long as you're okay with a bolt on neck. The costs will depend upon your requirements and they can get pretty pricy, but I must know ten guys who gig regularly with Warmoth assemblies that they had made to be exactly what they wanted or needed, and as such they get played a great deal and used all the time. One less costly solution is to do the finish yourself, but the Warmoth finishes are beautiful and very nicely done. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Personally I like Warmoth because you have almost infinite options and you can have what you want and nothing you don't. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 HOLY COW that's cheap! I mean the price; hard to really tell the overall quality from pics. But for that price, it almost has to be worth it if it's any good at all! As long as you can hang with the gluing and the finishing. If the tuners and pickups concern you, look at it this way; they're EASILY changed-out later on for something you like better. Warmoth? Totally top-notch and kick-ass necks and bodies. I've got a beaut of a bird's-eye maple/Brazilian rosewood Warmoth Strat-style neck with their 10" - 16" compound-radius fretboard, and it's nothing less than stellar! Puts ANY Fender or Gibson neck that I've ever run across to shame! Seriously! NOT inexpensive, though. As for finishing- pertaining both to the Grizzly Heirloom Samba Firefly kit, and to the Warmoth parts that Bill suggested- a tung-oil and Butcher's Wax "raw" finish could be an easier option for you (at least on maple- not sure off the top of my head about mahogany), and the feel is rrreeeaal nice; much nicer feel than traditional hard finishes like lacquer or poly. The above-mentioned Warmoth neck was just so "finished" in '84 or '85 and other than normal cleaning and occasional fretboard-oil, it has never been re-oiled or waxed since with nary a problem at all. The quilted top might not visually pop as nicely with such an oil and wax finish as it would with stain and lacquer or poly, though. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I did a finish on a FrankenStrat once... I painted the body fire engine red. Then I took white sticky shelf paper, traced the body on it. Drew a wild op-art pattern. Hand drawn concentric circles, and rays cutting through the circles.) Cut along the lines without cutting through the backing paper. Peeled of every other piece, and applied it to the front of the body. Put the remaining pieces on the back. Cut transitional pieces to get between the back and the front. Then I sprayed the body with Federal Safety Purple. Pulled off the sticky paper to reveal a purple and red op art pattern. Cool. Wrapped the entire body in black electrical tape on the diagonal. Cut random little slits out of the tape, about 3/16" +/- by 1/2" to 3/4" long. Sprayed the body with Federal Safety Yellow. Pulled off the black tape. Great look. BUT! in the end, this kind of finish is always less satisfying than a pro level finish. Pretty much any home finish is. The closest you can get to a pro finish at home without special tools and experience would be to go to the guitar reranch website, read, learn, and buy the stuff to do it. They sell everything that you need to do a decent job, and provide full instructions for free. But it will still look better to pay a pro to do it. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I did a finish on a FrankenStrat once... I painted the body fire engine red. Then I took white sticky shelf paper, traced the body on it. Drew a wild op-art pattern. Hand drawn concentric circles, and rays cutting through the circles.) Cut along the lines without cutting through the backing paper. Peeled of every other piece, and applied it to the front of the body. Put the remaining pieces on the back. Cut transitional pieces to get between the back and the front. Then I sprayed the body with Federal Safety Purple. Pulled off the sticky paper to reveal a purple and red op art pattern. Cool. Wrapped the entire body in black electrical tape on the diagonal. Cut random little slits out of the tape, about 3/16" +/- by 1/2" to 3/4" long. Sprayed the body with Federal Safety Yellow. Pulled off the black tape. Great look. Wow! Bill: pics- post 'em if you've got 'em! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 No, that guitar was never my favorite, since I'm not that big a fan of Strats. But a Fender loving friend bought it from me a few months after I put it back together. That was in the late 1980s. Point being, there is a lot of neat things that can be done besides the mundane choices. Dip the body in some thick, viscous varnish or something, let it drip, do it 5 or 6 times, then paint it..all sorts of options. Stain it, then lime it. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 What would lime do to stain? Fade it? Sounds cool. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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