12-String Strat Kit

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:44 pm

I bought this kit on Ebay for $135.00, shipped.

I put the pieces together to see what I had:

As you can see it isn't the same guitar that was in the seller's pictures. The wood in the body doesn't match quite as well. I also noticed the neck was warped (twisted) rather badly:

I decided I could live with the body. But, the neck was not acceptable. The seller promptly sent another neck. And it is very straight.

So, I finished the body and neck with Tru-Oil. Bought some GOTOH tuners. And a pickguard and pickups (Surf 90s) from guitarfetish. Here are a couple of quick pictures before I installed the strings:

I have since installed the strings. I really like the sound and playability of this guitar. Definitely a worthwhile project.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 3:53 pm

who was the seller?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:08 pm

i love how crooked the string ferrules are.

that looks really nice. what kind of pickups are those?

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:33 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:what kind of pickups are those?

porterhaus wrote:And a pickguard and pickups (Surf 90s) from guitarfetish.

looks cool, a bargain for that price.

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 6:41 pm

Thanks for the comments folks!

hotrodperlmutter wrote:i love how crooked the string ferrules are.

that looks really nice. what kind of pickups are those?

The offset string ferrules were one of the first things I noticed also. However, upon further examination I discovered the string holes in the bridge are also offset. And they matched up perfectly with the holes in the body. GOTOH also makes a 12-string bridge very similar to this one. The GOTOH bridge has offset string holes too. I guess it would be possible to drill the holes on an angle to make the ferrules line up. But that would take some talent and time. So, for the price I paid, I am not complaining.

The pickups are "Surf 90s" from guitarfetish.com. Here is a direct link:

Surf 90 Pickups

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 6:50 pm

mickie08 wrote:who was the seller?

The seller goes by the name senior.

He has an ebay store called Reid and Son Violin Company. Here is a link to the ebay store:

Reid and Son Violin Company Store

I don't see any more 12-string strat kits currently listed. But they do have some others.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 7:12 pm

They have what looks lie a 12 string TELE kit that appears to be bound and with a maple neck....could be interesting... $139 no shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/DIY-12-STRING-ELECT ... 483d78323d

that with a new pickguard and pups from GFS and some tuners should be a coole guitar for about 200...

Do you knwo what size the tuners are? I am assuming the ones that come with it are really bad.

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 7:39 pm

mickie08 wrote:They have what looks lie a 12 string TELE kit that appears to be bound and with a maple neck....could be interesting... $139 no shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/DIY-12-STRING-ELECT ... 483d78323d

that with a new pickguard and pups from GFS and some tuners should be a coole guitar for about 200...

Do you knwo what size the tuners are? I am assuming the ones that come with it are really bad.

These are the tuners (2 sets) I bought (frim stewmac.com). They fit without any alterations to the headstock. And they are nice tuners. The ones that came with the kit are not very good at all.

GOTOH Tuners

I think they are a mini sized tuner. Here are the dimensions:

And a picture:

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:49 am

Nice work, man. I saw those on there. The neck alone is worth that much. I think that Reid and Son have been on for a while. They had something else I was looking at a while back (but I don't remember what).

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:51 am

Christ, that's hot. Love the natural finish in contrast with the black guard, and those pickups are dreamy. How does she stay in tune?

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:28 am

Hopefully the neck that is one there doesn't twist!

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:08 pm

Thanks DGNR8, cobascis, & willie!

She stays in tune nicely, thanks. As with most new guitars, I needed to lower the action at the nut. And the nut is potentially a source for tuning issues. As long as the nut work is done properly, (good) strings installed properly, and the tuners are decent, tuning should be stable.

I hear you willie. I have my fingers crossed regarding the neck.

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:38 pm

I've got the same 12 string tele kit mickie posted coming for xmas, I shall report back when I put it together, seems pretty sweet from the guys who built them on TDPRI

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 10:39 pm

tomin8r wrote:I've got the same 12 string tele kit mickie posted coming for xmas, I shall report back when I put it together, seems pretty sweet from the guys who built them on TDPRI

Sweet!!!

Looking forward to watching your project!

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 11:21 pm

^ Heh, don't expect anything too spectacular, i'll probably just slap it together, put some manland strings on it, and possibly clear coat the whole thing. I might paint it eventually but who knows

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:26 pm

Got the kit today, warped neck, routes are out of place, pickguard doesn't fit, it's just a complete mess. Very disappointed

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:33 pm

That's too bad.

They do have a good return policy though.

Most everything fit very nicely on my kit. The only real issue was the warped neck.

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Mon Nov 15, 2010 12:46 am

Aye, we talked to them and they said they'd give us a full refund, so not too shabby

grinter · Post by **grinter** » Sun Nov 21, 2010 3:19 am

i bought the same kit, neck was fine. put 19 coats of clear on it. i'd like to know what you did to ground the bridge, and also what the 3/16 by 2" rod with the flat on one side is for. it's also slightly bent in the middle. after the final assy, i'll upload project pics.

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Sun Nov 21, 2010 1:45 pm

grinter wrote:i bought the same kit, neck was fine. put 19 coats of clear on it. i'd like to know what you did to ground the bridge, and also what the 3/16 by 2" rod with the flat on one side is for. it's also slightly bent in the middle. after the final assy, i'll upload project pics.

Welcome to the forum. I noticed this is your first post. Looking forward to your pictures.

The bridge ground is simply a ground wire I installed. I ran it from the ground solder connection on one of the pots through the pre-drilled hole from the main cavity to under the bridge plate. I stripped a little insulation from the end of the wire and just let it lay between the body and the bridge plate. When the bridge is installed and tightened, the wire is held in place by friction. And the bare wire end makes a good electrical contact with the bridge. You can see the end of the pre-drilled hole in this photo:

I was initially confused by the little bent rod also.

That is, until I looked at some pictures like this one:

I installed it in about the same position as the one above. I am not crazy about the design of the one that comes with the kit. First, the two mounting screws line up exactly with strings #3 and #10. So they need to be routed above the bar (along with strings 1,2,11, & 12). Second, the screws are very small. So, I question how long they will hold against the string tension. (I will put a picture of my completed headstock here soon.)

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