Electric Guitar Kit T-Style : Really turned out great!

I ordered this along with a JA kit and two concert Uke kits. This was my first attempt at a kit but I have gotten comfortable setting up guitars and I'm fairly handy and have some tools. This Tele was going to be a Christmas gift for my son after I finished.

I thought the quality of the kit was fine. The neck was really nice. Great profile for me and smooth. The body had a couple of small dings which I repaired with wood filler. Routing was fine. Neck to body fit was kind of meh as I expected it to be a bit tighter but it ended up fine.

I hydro-dipped the guitar body which turned out just awesome. I cut the headstock in a modified tele shape and fashioned my own logos. I wanted to get the color of the neck a bit darker but there was so much sealer on the wood I couldn't get it sanded down enough so just basically went with the natural maple color which is fine.

I think the hardware was all adequate other than maybe the plastic nut which seemed very "plasticky" and looked too high. Despite the hardware seeming ok, I replaced almost everything. Nut, locking tuners, Alnico V pickups, brass compensated bridge saddles and the pots. The included white pickguard looked good but I went with a clear one instead to show the paint swirl underneath. Had to relocate the pickguard mounting holes but that was easy. The clear turned out great. Be careful of the screws as they seem to be made from Chinesium which strips easily.

Took quite a bit of work to get it set up and playable. Ended up having to shim the neck a bit to get the action and intonation to cooperate but it is now very nice and stable.

The end result was fantastic and my son loves it. I also have a HB TE52 which is much heavier with a chunkier neck. This one has a somewhat different tone which is hard to describe. It sounds great and is very playable. I would recommend this is you want a cool project and want to create something truly unique. I wouldn't recommend it if you are trying to save money though :) There are other kit providers out there. I haven't tried them but I would think this Harley Benton compares favorably, particularly at this price.