Alston Guitars - DIY Electric Guitar Kit | Set-In | Solid Mahogany Body Neck Flamed Maple Veneer

I bought this for my son as a Christmas gift He has been playing guitar for many years and is quite familiar with guitar construction as am I.. I have helped him build one custom guitar from scratch out of poplar, with a maple neck I also have built a Telecaster and Les Paul style kits.All of these have turned out very well.I had good expectations about this kit from reviews from different sites as well as Amazon. Oh well... The guitar body was cracked through the back and into the maple veneer at the bottom. Not what I expected but my son filled and sanded it so it was hardly noticeable. The neck pocket was routed wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, not to big a deal at first.However it was not routed parallel to the center of the guitar, the center line lining up with the high E side of the neck. This would require routing the pocket almost one quarter inch wider and on an angle to get it in the right spot. Setting the neck off like this would be workable if the tailpeice and bridge holes were not pre drilled, but they are and the strings will run down the neck at an angle. He is still going to finish the guitar, possibly filling the bridge and tailpiece holes and setting them with the neck angle. This being an archtop, dong this will create a whole lot of tweaking to get it playable. Not at all what I expected. I would spend the extra money next time and go with Grizzly kits, as I have had very good luck with them. By the way I am a carpenter by trade for the last thirty years and have been playing guitar for over forty years.

This is my first guitar build and deffinatly not my last. I was a wicked fun project I love the feel of the finished product and for the price it sounds good. To start with I am not a professional wood worker. I know the basics and thats about it. I sanded it all down and tried to stain the neck and head stock. It didn't take the stain like I would have liked. Maybe there is a sealer on them and I didn't get it all off but I just ended up painting it. I used rattle cans (blue metal flake) with a high gloss rattle can poly over it. I did not take enough time on the sanding and painting to make it look anywhere close to great. My suggestion is research wood types and how to finish properly if you care about the finish at all. Take your time.Constriction: the body was routed very well. All components fit perfectly. The neck fit snug with very little play. About enough to get a good coat of glue in there and clamp it down tight. I didn't use feeler guages or anything to measure neck angle. I glued it, clamped it snug, and eyeballed the gaps on the side of the neck to the body, then tightened the clamp. It isn't perfect but for the minimal time put in it is just as good as a $200 guitar off the shelf, and I built it!Electronics: Low quality, but workable. Wiring diagram was very easy to follow. Get a good sodlering tool. there is not much space to work witn in the body so a thin tip is gonna be best. I am getting a very loud "ground buzz" on the neck pick up so I need to go in and do some more tweeking. The other two switch positions work great. I did have to tie some of the grounds together after following the diagram. Questionable, I know, but I did it while it was plugged in and jumped the grounds until it stopped buzzing.Happy with the final project but I will continue to tweek it and upgrade some stuff. Maybe I will even sand it down adn refinish it some day. Nah, I'll just get another one, for the price WTH.Side note the flamed top is kinda soft. already noticed some dents.Next project: Alston has a strat style that will be comming up. Hope this was helpfull. Also, if a goofy guy like me can put one of these together, any one can! Blessings.Update 6/31: couldn't get electronics to quiet down. Buzz Buzz Buzz. I purchased a Gibson 2v2t3way switch replacement and it is a million times better. Just have to cut the switch off, feed the wires through the body and re solder switch back on. Also have to solder bridge ground to pots. For $12 this is a must buy add-on.I even rewired the electrics that came with the kit just like the replacement and it still doesn't work. Hope this is helpful. Blessings

The first kit arrived and the neck did not fit the body. The base of the neck was cut incorrectly so it not only rocked front to back, but there was a 1/8 gap between the neck and the body. The second kit (I requested a replacement kit instead of a reimbursement....mistake) not only had the SAME neck problems, but the body had HUGE wood flaws that will not allow for staining. The neck is messed up JUST like the first kit. These kits are really POOR quality.

An unbeatable deal for the money. Neck is sweet and it sounds and plays killer. Minimal tools needed but some skill required. This model has a set-in neck so be careful with that glue-up!Highly recommend !

this kit requires moderate woodworking skills and basic understanding of guitar construction. the kit doesn't come with directions, but from the added photo I posted above, you can see it does all go together.you will need to cut an extra hole from the controls to the bridge for a ground wire. not grounding the bridge will be very noisy. a search for a les-paul wiring diagram will get you started, you will have to be able to solder the components togetherto deal with the open grain of the mahogany, purchase some 'grain filler' paste apply at least two coats, finish as desired, if you want to keep the edge trim, consider stain rather than paintplan on hours and hours of sanding if you want a 'polished' look when your done.after a few hours of set-up, it was suprisingly playable

Found this to be a rather easy project but time consuming. No instructions, found everything I needed to learn on the net. U-Tube was very helpful from setting the neck to setting the inotation.If ya like to build things this is for you. You'll have a Great sounding instrument in the end...!Made in China... some craftmanship from the factory was lacking, which added time to the building of the guitar.

Just opened the box and went through the packaging. The body and neck look great and are in nice shape. The tuners and other hardware look surprisingly good. I didn't expect them to be of that quality for the price of this kit. The pickups look decent enough although I will probably replace them right away with some custom pups from a more established maker. Can't wait to start the build on this baby!

This could be one sweet project, but the body is totally butchered. Whoever worked on this body really needs to find a desk job. You can't fit a square peg in a round hole......