Last week, MusicRadar reported that: online retail giant Thomann had launched their #DIYKitChallenge22giving aspiring luthiers the chance to collect up to €500 in vouchers to spend on new gear and musical goodies.
To celebrate this exciting – and open-access – competition, Thomann decided to send me one of their homemade guitar kits so I can document the entire process of putting it together. Now I have to say that I have absolutely no experience painting a guitar or building a guitar – frankly, the guitar is hard enough to play on your own without having to worry about making a guitar .
That said, there’s always been a certain appeal to putting together my own instrument and customizing it to my exact preferences – something I think most of us have reflected on at some point in our playing career. While my woodworking “skills” would leave a lot to be desired, a DIY guitar removes the need for fancy routers and heavy machinery, giving way to the fun side of a project, such as finishing and final assembly.
Okay, so like I said, I’m by no means an authority on guitar finishing. This isn’t a step-by-step tutorial, but instead a look at an idiot’s process of putting together a DIY guitar kit for the first time.
Really, this article is to show that if I can do this, anyone can! If you’re hesitating to give it a try – like I do – hopefully this will prove to you that there is nothing to worry about. You really have to dive in and give it a try – what’s the worst that could happen, right?
What comes in the box?
When I was looking for the perfect kit to start my project, it became pretty clear that there was something for everyone on the Thomann site, with electric guitars† bass guitars, ukulelescajon and glockenspiel fill the DIY section.
As you would expect, the more pedestrian DIY guitar models were certainly present, such as the Strat† tele, Les Paul and SG are on hand to put your unique spin on. There were also unusual models like the CST-24, which clearly took a lot of inspiration from the PRS Custom 24. While any of these guitars would certainly have done the job, the kit that appealed to me the most was the Jazzmaster – unsurprisingly as you know something about me.
The box contains everything you need for a fully playable guitar. Our kit came with a Rengas JM style body, maple with binding and block inlays, an Amaranth fingerboard, two P90 single coils pickups, Tune-O-Matic bridge, a set of die-cast tuners, chrome backplate and a prewired pickguard that delivers a single volume. – and tone controls and a 3-way selector switch. Of course you also get all the screws and bolts needed to assemble the instrument – oh, plus a set of electric guitar strings and guitar cable.
Choosing the paint
So once my kit arrived, the first step was to choose a color scheme. I knew I wanted to stick with a classic Fender custom color, but with so many gorgeous colors to choose from, I wasn’t sure which way to go. Candy Apple Red, Daphne Blue, Aztec Gold, Surf Green and Burgundy Mist were all considered, but in the end I chose a different direction. After much thought I had managed to get two, Shell Pink or Sherwood Green. Now I’ve always had a taste for Shell Pink, but since there was already a glorious Shell Pink Mustang bass in the house, I went for the green Sherwood Green – and I think I made the right choice.
Priming the body
Before I could dive in and paint the body, I had to prepare a space where I could work. It had to be out of the way, well ventilated and big enough to hang the guitar in. Fortunately, my shed turned out to be the ideal place. Using two large sheets of cloth from a well-known British hardware store to make sure I didn’t end up in an emerald-green shed, I hung the guitar from one of the rafters.
To prepare the body for the color, I used a white nitrocellulose primer from Northwest guitars† Now I’ve only used one 400ml can, and while that was enough to give the guitar a decent white coverage, if I did this again I’d probably use two cans just to make sure there’s no grains. came through. That said, it didn’t seem to affect the overall look of the finished product.
After doing some research, the most recommended technique was to hold the can a decent distance from the guitar and spray in a smooth motion that overlaps slightly as you move across the body. It is also recommended that you initially spray the mouthpiece away from the guitar, move it over the instrument and do not release the mouthpiece until you are away from the body. Of course this is a lot easier said than done, but I soon got the hang of it.
Since this was my first time painting anything, I did get a spot where the paint started to run on the back. To remove this I waited for the paint to dry thoroughly and sanded it smooth.
Spraying the color layer
Okay, next was the exciting part, spraying the color for the first time. I used the same setup and technique as before, but this time I was spraying the Sherwood Green nitrocellulose lacquer, and you guessed it, it was from Northwest Guitars. Due to time and weather constraints I did this over two weekends – I suppose painting a guitar in Scotland has drawbacks too.
I used a 400ml can to completely cover the guitar, waited for it to dry completely, and sanded down any unevenness. I repeated the process the following weekend until I was happy with the color. On that note, I’m fully aware that the photos look blue, but trust me, it’s green in real life!
Spraying the clear coat
Once I was happy with the color and the guitar had been sanded smooth – and with no annoying sanding particles – I sprayed a clear gloss nitro finish. Again, I used two 400ml cans and tried to get as even a result as possible. This time I got more “orange peel” than with the color coats, but this was usually removed after a round of wet/dry sanding and polishing.
If I were to do this project again, I would probably spend more time on this part as a combination of impatience and incompetence caused me to rush this stage a bit, eventually leading to more sanding and polishing to try and fix my mistakes – Well, I suppose you live and learn.
Assemble guitar
Once I had a finish I was relatively happy with, it was time to assemble my shiny new axe. This was – by some margin – the fastest part of the project. It probably took 20 minutes to put the guitar together from start to finish, which is definitely a testament to how easy the instructions were to follow.
Neck
The first stage is to prepare the neck by installing the tuners. This is something I’ve done before, so I suddenly had a newfound confidence that was somewhat lacking in the early stages of the project. Then to attach the tuning pegs, all you need to do is insert the mechanism from the back of the headstock and screw it into place. Then attach the corresponding washers and nuts to the front of the head – done. Then I installed the two rope trees and the neck was ready to be attached to the body.
Combining the neck and body is done with four large screws and is fairly self-explanatory. It must be said that the neck fit the body like a glove, and there were no problems with the fit.
Bridge and pickguard
Next are the mounting bolts for the bridge and tailpiece. These fit easily into the already routed holes, but it takes a bit of persuasion with a rubber mallet to get them to sit properly on the body. It is worth noting that you must feed the ground wire into the bridge cavity – through the routed channel – and make sure that it contacts the metal bolt.
As we mentioned above, this guitar comes with a fully prewired pickguard, so the next step is to simply screw the scratch plate in place – something every Fender owner has done a million times before, I’m sure.
pickups
So not only is the pickguard prewired, but the pickups themselves don’t require soldering as they simply snap in and go. Once attached to the pickguard harness, they must then be screwed into the body. This is done with two large screws for each pickup, with a set of springs providing some resistance. Unfortunately the kit didn’t come with the foam block, but it didn’t seem to be a problem, and the pickups feel fairly stable in the body.
Final line-up
Once everything was installed, all we had to do was set the intonation, bridge height and action. This took about 10 minutes of playing until I was happy with how my new guitar felt to play. After a quick polish the guitar was ready to use!
Obviously the next step was to hook up the guitar to an amp and make sure all the wiring worked, and that there were no issues with the pots or selector switch.
I have to say, I was actually quite surprised with how good this guitar sounded. Yes, it has P-90 pickups instead of the traditional Jazzmaster set, so while it doesn’t sound like a real JM, it does have a relatively rich and warm tone – something I wasn’t expecting.
Couple that with a reasonably playable neck and you have a guitar that performs well above its price point. I’d like to dress up the frets in the near future as some are slightly sharp, but at £75 that’s hardly a complaint.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, that was my very first DIY guitar build. I have to admit that before I started, I was a bit skeptical about these cheap guitar kits, but I really enjoyed the process. Is it the best playing guitar in the world? Of course not, but that’s not the point, it’s the journey.
While I still leave guitar making to the professionals in the future, it has given me a new appreciation for the craft, and I actually surprised myself with how well I did. I’m already thinking about other projects I could do and what to try next. Maybe I’ll try to breathe new life into that old Frankenstrat I still have.
Did I inspire you to give it a try? Well, Thomann’s #DIYKitChallenge22 started on Monday, April 18 and ends on Sunday, June 19, 2022 at 11:59:59 PM (CEST). If you want to participate, go to the Thomann site for all the details. Good luck!