Alston Guitars ST Style Classic Double Cutaway Electric Guitar DIY Builder Kit | Bolt-On

I'm really pleased with the outcome BUT ... I've been building custom instruments for 20+ years so I have the necessary tools, knew what I was getting into as far as setup and made some fairly significant enhancements. As it comes, the kit will allow you to construct a $100 guitar ... I swapped out the tuners, swapped out two pickups with quality Seymore Duncans, and completely shielded all of the cavities. I replaced the nut with a TUSQ nut. Then I spent about 4 hours doing a total setup including neck straightening with the truss rod, fret leveling and dressing, shimming the neck for proper angle and action adjusting the bridge and saddles ... after all of that ... I replaced the supplied strings with Fender Bullets ... and now it sounds great, plays great. I am happy to give it to my 13 year old grandson as his first guitar ... much better than the Masonite Sears Silvertone Dan Electro I started with in 1964!!

Worth the money for the experience but as with everything, you pay for what you get.Positives1) the body was in good shape2) the kit came organized3) the assembly was nerve wracking but real fun!4) how often do you get to paint or stain the body, design aheadstock and upgrade as you wish5) a true learning experience on the inner workings of the guitarNegatives1) no instructions - a BIG one! I use YouTube for help2) the neck joint was not a snug fit, I had to do my best and 'wing it'3) for those looking for quality parts this isn't for you.. ie.. Plastic nut;warped pickguardForget quality, if you daydream about building your own guitar then go for it...

Overall, a good basic kit for a starting DIY Electric Guitar Kit. Wood comes unsealed which is a plus in some ways, making choice of finishes easier (you can stain this if you wish wood grain finish, otherwise one would need to sand off a sealer). Neck joint has good tight fit with no problems of alignment.The only thing that caused any negative points in my view was the lack of pilot holes for all the screws, which tells me it's more of an intermediate than basic assembly (let's face, not everyone wishes to drill pilot holes on a beginner kit).As far as hardware and electronics, I can attest only to the tuning keys (decent...if you wish better, order some), as I replaced the rest (Floyd Rose tremelo and custom electronics package were used in this build).Overall, except for the pilot holes,this is an EXCELLENT value at the price, and I will be recommending this kit to a few friends who are wishing to build their own instruments.

this is a great kit for the price, however, the biggest problem with mine is the body where the neck mounts, is cut to deep. the neck sits to deep into the body, which throws the strings off and makes it impossible to get proper alignment. i guess ill use a shim or some kinda something to raise the neck the 2mm to the proper height. good luck to novice or beginners. im about a 7.5 to 8.5 of 10 when it comes to working on electric guitars and this one has thrown me for a curve with the neck. at least the body has been cut for 2 humbuckers and 1 single. ive got the red and black zebra humbuckers (from amazon, 17$) and a belcat hot rail 94a (from amazon, 20$ for one or 40$ for two) installed on mine. it sounds great with my modtone metal guitar pedal.

Be prepared to use a neck shim, a fret file, tons of sandpaper, and a drill press and clamps to make this playable.. Lots of sharp unfinished fret ends, but the neck was straight and is now playable. I'm in this project about 300$, but it plays nice. Trussrod works, didn't require much adjustment. Body is cut pretty thick, electronics are pretty wired, easy build!

made a great gift

This was guitar was not only my first guitar build but also my first guitar. It was simple to assemble and sounds good. I have no complaints.

Arrived without instructions for assembly but did have a wiring diagram. Unfortunately the wiring diagram was not for the model that I had.