Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style : Ideal first kit guitar

I wanted something to practice fret levelling on, as I need to do it on a rather more expensive guitar at some point.

Plus I always find Christmas holidays drag a bit, a diversion was welcome.

Out the box, everything was there, neck looked straight which is the key here really. I spent a long time levelling and dressing the frets. In truth it wasn't too bad, a few high ones at the dusty end but good practice anyway.

For the body I didn't want to paint it. I experimented with 'staining' using vinegar and iron filings. This works well on high tannin woods like oak (comes out black) but not very satisfying on basswood. In the end I scorched it black with my gas torch and oiled it. Happy enough with the results.

The rest of the components are of fair and useable quality and the instructions are good enough to allow quick assembly. A tiny bit of fettling was required to allow the pickguard to sit tight against the neck. I cut the headstock shape to something that is hopefully reasonably unique. The rest of the assembly was pretty straightforward.

Overall it sounds far better than a guitar this cheap has any right to be. For a few quid more you can get the same guitar off the shelf fully assembled and body finished, so the kit is strictly for those who want to have a go.

The neck and body are good enough to invest in better pickups and tuners if you really wanted to. If not, it's good enough as a knockabout guitar that you wouldn't mind getting a bit of abuse.

It's not my favourite guitar by any means but it does get regularly played.