Here we go again with yet another build I wasn't planning on doing.

Some old neighbours of ours came around for a visit and it turns out their teenage son has been getting pretty into guitar. So of course I let him have a play of some of my builds. With Christmas approaching his parents have asked me to put together a nice starter guitar for him.

He really is just starting out, so doesn't understand the differences between all the various brands and models. After a bit of back and forth it became clear he basically wants a black strat, with black pickguard - not a bad place to start I reckon.

Now I did make it clear that for the cost of the kit + some minor upgrades and finishing they could grab a brand new Squire, but they'd prefer to have something with a little bit more personal history. Fine by me, it'll be a straight forward enough build. I haven't been planning on building any black guitars (Or any strats for that matter) as I already have a few, so a good opportunity to try and do the best finish I can.

Plan is pretty simple, black, sealed maple neck, custom decal, grovers and nut upgrade and that's it. I am tossing up putting a Babicz bridge on it, but it might be overkill for what they are after... I do like those things though.

I did have a slight hiccup with the first kit I received - it had a white scratch plate and a neck that was a bit rougher than I've come to expect from Pitbull. As usual, Adams amazing customer service saved the day and he was more than happy to supply a new kit as per order with a much better neck. Between the support on this forum and Adams willingness to work with the customer, it's no wonder this hobby is going so well.

Anyway, replacement kit arrived today.....away we go