Collector come first-time builder

[craig747400]

Hi folks,

I don’t play much anymore (life’s like that). I have treated myself to my first guitar kit for my 50th birthday, the DTL-1 (American ash body).

I have a wee guitar collection:
- 1979 Ibanez George Benson GB-10 (in near mint condition, with metal flight case)
- the full set of 5 x 1960s Silvertone amp-in-case guitars (the lipstick pickups are to die for!)
- Greco 1976 SE-600B
- Greco 1980 EG-800
- Ibanez 1980 AR-100 Artist
- Eko M33 Shortgun
- 3 x 1980s JV Fender Stratocasters (including one mint condition ST62-85, and one mint condition CST-50)
- matching Telestar Mona and Lisa amp-in-case
- Crafter TMVS semi-acoustic
- Traveler guitar

So, my Dad has all the workbenches and scroll saws, so it’s going to be a father and son project.

Cheers!

[fender3x]

That is quite the collection! Welcome. Would love to hear how you ended up choosing the tele kit to add to all those exotics ;-)

[craig747400]

That is quite the collection! Welcome. Would love to hear how you ended up choosing the tele kit to add to all those exotics ;-)

A ‘Tele’ is missing from the mix … have you seen the price of a JV Tele or anything else of notoriety … I’m not quite brave enough to invest that sort of money yet, but building my own beforehand seems like a fantastic alternative.

[fender3x]

I can understand. It's a little nuts what vintage instruments can cost. My last build was a Precision bass, although I own a '75 Fender P-bass. Anything I do with the "genuine" Fender will damage it's resale value. Meanwhile the bass I built is a better player, lighter and has better pickups.

Tele's a great guitar, and should be a good first build. A lot of guys add some things to improve on the original design, like a belly and cut and arm contour, or different neck pup. They sky is the limit. One of the great things about a kit is you can do things with it you wouldn't dream of doing with a guitar worth a couple of grand.