Members danxrs05 Posted August 18, 2010 Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 Any of you bought an acoustic guitar kit before? Like that:https://www.martinguitar.com/1833/catalog.php?cat=Kits%20Parts%20%26%20Tools I wonder if it is very hard... Any thoughts? I guess with patience it must not be THAT bad... It's something that I would like to do as a project. Give me your opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 18, 2010 Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 Check out this thread: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2551903. The kit involved is an LMI rather than a Martin but the principle is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted August 18, 2010 Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 A few here have done such kits, mostly from LMI or Stewart-MacDonald and they've turned out pretty well. You can either go with the sides pre-bent or start from boards and cut/bend everything yourself. Either way, you're going to spend about as much on tools as you would for the kit itself, so it's best to consider a kit as a primer toward becoming a builder. If you're interested in doing a Martin kit though, you're probably better-served ordering one from http://www.bluescreekguitars.com/. Luthier John Hall tends to be more discriminating with the quality of woods he includes in the kits he sells. He also sells tools that are cheaper than the other sites and from what I hear he's also a great resource for building advice. A friend of mine who built his first guitar from scratch basically using Blues Creek tools he acquired on the used market and he's raved that Hall was still an invaluable reference for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 19, 2010 Members Share Posted August 19, 2010 As Neil said, several of us have built kits from different sources. Martin kits are fine - the same basic materials picked of the assembly line as what goes into their instruments - it looks like that kit would basically build a D18 clone. John Hall, Steve Kovacik and others can put together a custom kit of Martin parts - both my 000-28 and OM 12 string were done that way. A couple of cautions - Martin's instructions are some of the worst, but there are lots of others that can help, including some good online info. Second, a dovetail neck joint is a little harder than a bolted neck - but with care (and maybe help from some of us who have struggled with them) you'll get it (and you'll understand why a neck reset costs $300). Setting the neck, doing the binding and finishing tends to be the hardest part of home building. Expect to spend close to $500 by the time you buy all the materials and it is easy to spend another 500 for tools that a normal workshop won't have (fretting, nut making, special router bits, maybe a small router). The guitar will be as good as your time, care and patience - mine are my daily players while my Martins mostly sit in the closet. Here is a great reference - if nothing else buy Bill Cory's book http://www.kitguitarsforum.com/board/ and download the free instruction pdf here to get an overview of what you are undertaking http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Kits/Acoustic_Guitar_Kits/Dreadnought_Guitar_Kit.html?tab=Instructions#details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danxrs05 Posted August 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2010 Thanks!!! Much appreciated. Looks like a lot of work but it could be a lot of fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 19, 2010 Members Share Posted August 19, 2010 Here is an old build thread for my 000. http://www.kitguitarsforum.com/forum/threads.php?id=125_0_6_0_C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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