Feedback

[MikeL]

My ST-1 arrived today.

Everything is either as I hoped or better, there is NOTHING in this kit that disappoints me.
Five minutes after cutting the tape on the box, and I have it sitting together to get an idea of what it's going to look like. It's already the best guitar I've ever seen.





The body is shaped well but left just rough enough for it to need a sanding to finish it off... I'm pretty sure that's done on purpose to give me the satisfaction of finishing it off so I can unrightfully claim, "I made that."

The neck and fret board, the area I had the most concern about are finished to a much higher degree.
The Neck is smooth enough that you could almost consider leaving it as is... almost.



The fret board itself is just a thing of beauty, it seems almost criminal to even think about putting strings over it.



The frets are shiny, don't know what they're made of but they're bling to the fret board and have been finished off so I don't have to worry about them.





Everything lines up, everything is shiny and I honestly can't believe you can get things of this quality for this price, it seriously beggars belief.

Thank you Adam

[dingobass]

Hey Mike,

Glad you are stoked with your kit!

Enjoy the build and please share photos with us

[Gavin1393]

Hi Mike

The kits are great aren't they!!

However, one thing you will find is that the fretboard hasn't been set up as yet and it would certainly benefit from a bit of work. I have bought a few kits so far and all of them needed a bit of work to get the frets level. This will also ensure that a nice low action can be obtained and that there will be no string buzz.

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this build.

[adam]

Hey Mike, thanks for this great feedback, really appreciated. Yes, I agree, its pretty amazing what you can buy for $99. Dingo Bass's ST-1 in wax finish still blows me away (it's the one featured in the video on the ST-1 product page).

Enjoy your build and be sure to post pics along the way.

[kimball492]

Hi Adam And Phil , Any chance of a Strat hardtail kit in ash or alder as there are many of us that simply dont like or use a trem at all. Best Wishes love the Hofner spalted maple kit will upload pics when its done.One thing im a pretty experienced guitar builder. One suggestion beginners would love a check list and some basic instructions to get them started.A friend hinted he'd love to build one but wouldnt attempt without instructions. Could of been a ruse to get me to build it. But joking apart maybe good idea.
Thanks And Best Wishes
Kimball

[Gavin1393]

Quote from kimball492 on March 17, 2013, 10:38
Hi Adam And Phil , Any chance of a Strat hardtail kit in ash or alder as there are many of us that simply dont like or use a trem at all. Best Wishes love the Hofner spalted maple kit will upload pics when its done.One thing im a pretty experienced guitar builder. One suggestion beginners would love a check list and some basic instructions to get them started.A friend hinted he'd love to build one but wouldnt attempt without instructions. Could of been a ruse to get me to build it. But joking apart maybe good idea.
Thanks And Best Wishes
Kimball

Hi Kimball

did you miss the video guides section........?

[adam]

Hi Kimball,

In regards the ST hardtail, sure, we can order anything you like. I think we've reached the limit of kits we are going to run as stock lines (almost 50 now), but you can order anything you want, to spec. Something like you're suggesting would be around $150-$170 and will take 6-9 weeks.

As for Instructions, yes, we have had others asking. However, when those customers have actually started on their builds, using the video guides and the Forum, they haven't found any need for written instructions.

We are in the process of doing better videos, now that we all have more experience, but most of the videos on our site are still useful.

Also, Instruction Manuals are notoriously difficult to write. To come up with something generic, that would be useful for all 50 kits, would take some skill and time.

[keloooe]

Quote from adam on March 17, 2013, 15:37
Hi Kimball,

In regards the ST hardtail, sure, we can order anything you like. I think we've reached the limit of kits we are going to run as stock lines (almost 50 now), but you can order anything you want, to spec. Something like you're suggesting would be around $150-$170 and will take 6-9 weeks.

As for Instructions, yes, we have had others asking. However, when those customers have actually started on their builds, using the video guides and the Forum, they haven't found any need for written instructions.

We are in the process of doing better videos, now that we all have more experience, but most of the videos on our site are still useful.

Also, Instruction Manuals are notoriously difficult to write. To come up with something generic, that would be useful for all 50 kits, would take some skill and time.

Adam, I just thought up of 3 more vids: fitting bone nuts, shaping and slotting nut blanks, and coil cutting!!!

[robin]

Quote from Gavin1393 on January 29, 2013, 22:00
Hi Mike

The kits are great aren't they!!

However, one thing you will find is that the fretboard hasn't been set up as yet and it would certainly benefit from a bit of work. I have bought a few kits so far and all of them needed a bit of work to get the frets level. This will also ensure that a nice low action can be obtained and that there will be no string buzz.

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this build.

Sorry to hijack this Thread, but Gavin, could you please explain how to level the frets. Sorry if this is a basic question, but never attempted anything like this. This will be my first build and I would hate to stuff it up with a botched job.

cheers
rob

[dingobass]

Now it is my turn to hi jack this thread!

I will sit down after dinner and write you a simplified method to achieve the fret levelling.