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Build your own kits


donslow
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Currently have a bee in my bonnet about a new project if for no other reason just for fun

Am looking for a hollow body gretsch esque build your own kit, does anyone have any experiences with these or know where would be a good place to get a decent quality one for less than just buying one off the shelf?

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Funnily enough I was considering the same thing , but pulling the frets out !

I have found two hollow bodied bass kits ( apart from the Hofner shape ) , both 34" scale , by mail order down in Oz . They will ship to the UK .

[url="http://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/bass-guitar-kits/pit-bull-guitars-esb-4sc-electric-bass-guitar-kit/"]http://www.pitbullgu...ass-guitar-kit/[/url]
[url="http://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/bass-guitar-kits/pit-bull-guitars-es-1b-electric-bass-guitar-kit-forum-special/"]http://www.pitbullgu...-forum-special/[/url]

Interesting .

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I'm only answering as you have no replies yet. IMHO you asked an interesting question and I was wondering if anyone would answer it. EDIT: I spent too long writing this reply and DaveFry replied while I was writing it!

I've had a vague interest in doing a self-build kit for some time. A recent purchase has pushed this back again, but I've been looking at them off and on for a while. [size=4]It appears that the variety of kits available in the UK has been shrinking, along with the number of sellers who aren't small ebay suppliers. [/size]

There's this: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BASS-Hollow-Body-Style-DIY-Unfinished-Project-Luthier-Electric-Guitar-Kit-/251885261979?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa588149b"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3aa588149b[/url] But given the reviews I've seen of no-name bass DIY kits, it would be potluck as to whether it's high quality or not. And the quality of the hardware is unlikely to be wonderful. And by the time you'd paid the postage costs and import duties, it isn't going to be a cheap kit. EDIT: It looks to be the same kit as the one sourced from Australia.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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Thank you for the replies gentlemen, really appreciated

I had seen those kits and was wondering whether it was worth pulling the plug in them

I've since been trying to find used affordable hollow body basses "off the shelf" that would be good for modding if need be,

Long story short, I've decided I really want a Hollowbody bass but trying to find a cheap one is no easy task but looking about, if I can show a little restraint/patience I might get lucky eventually

Really liking the look/sound of Eastwood classic 4 at the minute

Change of subject really but would you guys have any recommendations or ideas of something worth looking at if you have been searching yourselves?!

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[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1427760421' post='2734050']
Thank you for the replies gentlemen, really appreciated

I had seen those kits and was wondering whether it was worth pulling the plug in them

I've since been trying to find used affordable hollow body basses "off the shelf" that would be good for modding if need be,

Long story short, I've decided I really want a Hollowbody bass but trying to find a cheap one is no easy task but looking about, if I can show a little restraint/patience I might get lucky eventually

Really liking the look/sound of Eastwood classic 4 at the minute

Change of subject really but would you guys have any recommendations or ideas of something worth looking at if you have been searching yourselves?!
[/quote]

here is a cheap hollow body
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hb_60_vw.htm

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[url="https://www.jtinsight.com/JTIRA/JTIRA.aspx#!/simple-ad/epid-367648/_/_/_WORKING"]https://www.jtinsigh...48/_/_/_WORKING[/url]

[url="https://www.jtinsight.com/JTIRA/JTIRA.aspx#!/simple-ad/epid-367646/_/_/_WORKING"]https://www.jtinsigh...46/_/_/_WORKING[/url]

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[quote name='DaveFry' timestamp='1427763308' post='2734063']
[url="https://www.jtinsight.com/JTIRA/JTIRA.aspx#!/simple-ad/epid-367648/_/_/_WORKING"]https://www.jtinsigh...48/_/_/_WORKING[/url]

[url="https://www.jtinsight.com/JTIRA/JTIRA.aspx#!/simple-ad/epid-367646/_/_/_WORKING"]https://www.jtinsigh...46/_/_/_WORKING[/url]
[/quote]

Good finds that man, really appreciate the help/effort, liking the framus one a fair bit, might give the seller a call

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[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1427639338' post='2732550']
Currently have a bee in my bonnet about a new project if for no other reason just for fun

Am looking for a hollow body gretsch esque build your own kit, does anyone have any experiences with these or know where would be a good place to get a decent quality one for less than just buying one off the shelf?
[/quote]

There are almost two opposing objectives here...

Doing a kit self-build is great fun, the source of immense personal satisfaction, a great way to learn how a guitar or bass goes together, the chance to decide totally what colour and finish and the ability to choose - to a point - what hardware or electrics you would like to change from the stock offer (which, if it is a decent kit, is usually a very acceptable build & machining standard, but 'economical' bits that go with it...think Sainsbury's Best Buy rather than Taste the Difference ;) ). It will not be any cheaper than a built bass and, for equivalent standard, will be quite a bit more expensive. Its resale value will be very low.

If you want a very nice bass at a very reasonable cost, go for the reputable entry-level suppliers (Thomann's Harley Benton; Squier; Epiphone; Cort, etc..). Resale will be normal second-hand rates

If you want a very nice bass that sounds fantastic, at a reasonable cost, buy one of the above and upgrade the things that make the most difference. Resale, however, will usually NOT be enhanced by doing this but you can often end up with something that, for your own use, knocks spots off basses of significantly higher RRP's

So basically, the first decisions are, do want this for: the fun OR to keep and to use yourself OR to save money / retain value...they are sort of mutually exclusive...

I can give you a worked cost example if it helps...a kit build 6-string electric that is now my go-to 6 string, cost a small fortune but is fantastic and unique. Let me know if you want to see the comparisons which are fairly illustrative of the norm...

Hope this helps rather than further confuses!!!

Andy

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What tempts me to do a self-build would be Andyjr's learning more about how a bass goes together. I was seriously (and am still) considering a cheap Jazz bass kit, solely to give me something to practice doing fret jobs on. The rest of fettling a bass seems fairly simple, levelling and rounding frets looks more difficult. But, if I could learn to do it, I'm sure that I would save the purchase of the kit through being able to do it myself on future basses.

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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1427814371' post='2734557']
What tempts me to do a self-build would be Andyjr's learning more about how a bass goes together. I was seriously (and am still) considering a cheap Jazz bass kit, solely to give me something to practice doing fret jobs on. The rest of fettling a bass seems fairly simple, levelling and rounding frets looks more difficult. But, if I could learn to do it, I'm sure that I would save the purchase of the kit through being able to do it myself on future basses.
[/quote]

Go for it - perfect way to start and, if you get the bug, it could easily lead onto full builds :D

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Some very interesting points being made here

I am primarily a guitarist who picked up the bass only in the last handful of years and am not likely to look back,

Other than the obligatory red and white squier strat from Argos, I've never owned a new guitar and I have had a lot of gear slip through my hands in nearly 20 years of playing,

I've always found my go to guitars are the ones I've built myself (buy a body, buy a neck, buy all the hardware I want, put it together, make it work) my current main bass is one I've built in much the same way and I've had a lot of comments on how it looks, sounds and plays, even people asking if it is a genuine custom shop from fender

Oochoob videos are your dearest friend (also get a notepad and make as many notes as you can) when learning to build guitars, I've learnt everything I know from restringing to shimming necks and adjusting truss rods and all types of fretwork, watch some videos, the watch some more, if you have the money, buy some tools, even specific specialised ones if you can (eBay ebay ebay) but most useable tools can be bought from wilkinsons for next to nothing and will be just as good in many cases, and once you learn how to do these things (cost me a LOT of money in bodged bodies and necks etc before now) the self pride is astounding, you won't want to stop, you'd have been bitten by the bug, I guarantee it, I now "sell" my skills locally and always have another guitar to work on, I see it as a continuation of learning to develop my skills and keep my "practice" up, and touch wood, not had a complaint yet, so your not only limited to buying guitars for yourself to work on (if I'm not 110% confident doing a specific job or working on uber expensive guitars, I politely decline to do it)

Did I just start rambling and veer off if the point altogether then?

Edited by donslow
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I think the point I was trying to make was, even the cheapest of build your own kits are a great place to start building your skills but bodies, necks and all other parts, quite often better quality than the kits, can be picked up on eBay sometimes for literally peanuts, it also gives you the option to be picky and get exactly what you want

Edited by donslow
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[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1427827651' post='2734822']
I think the point I was trying to make was, even the cheapest of build your own kits are a great place to start building your skills but bodies, necks and all other parts, quite often better quality than the kits, can be picked up on eBay sometimes for literally peanuts, it also gives you the option to be picky and get exactly what you want
[/quote]
Yes - that was a shorter way of putting it :). And yes, quite agree :)

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