Just watched your video from NC myself will be watching your other videos as I plan on making a guitar and being disabled now don't have a lot of tools Thanks
What size sand paper on the block to level frets? This is the best easy to comprehend fret leveling lesson I’ve seen on RUclips! I can’t find your custom made geetars online all I see is your t shirts!
Awesome series of vids man!, I just got the neck glued in on a PGK ‘58 Flying V kit, it’s going to be gold flake, I’ve got everything ready to go, and your videos have been great to watch, thanks!, the SG came out great and definitely 1of a kind!
@@JoePierceMaker thank you. I'm always wary of getting these kids because of the hardware. I'd rather spend the same amount on a kit that that comes with no hardware, but better wood of the hardware and electronics aren't any good
@@JoePierceMaker Once i buy old destroy guitar and reper and paint her. Look cool white and blood splatter but there is some string hight problem. Still sound good. I never use it on my channel but i thing somwere on instagram
That's awesome. That sting height problem could probably be fixed by adjusting the bridge, sanding down the nut, or adjusting the truss rod. Hard to know without seeing it but I'm sure it could be done.
The logo would be the most important part to me! If the logo doesn’t look official than it will always look like a fake cheap kit guitar no matter how good of a job you do with the paint etc. I see these kit guitars in pawn shops nobody buys them because there’s no logo or the logo looks crappy!
It's a good idea to use either copper tape or RF paint in the control cavity to eliminate noise. Additionally a humbucker pickup is supposed to be relatively quiet, adding the RF paint or copper tape can make a difference in eliminating hum. I've done this on the guitars I've built and it works perfectly. There is a drawback to grounding the bridge/strings. YOU become the shortest path to ground in the event you have a faulty amp, or the outlet you are plugged into isn't grounded properly. Taylor Guitars uses a ground fuse to protect the player. I still have no idea how this has never been the standard across all electric and electric acoustic guitars.
I plan to shield the cavities when I go back and replace all the hardware, pickups, pots, etc. For this series I wanted to build it as the instructions said so it would be an honest review of the kit as it comes from the box. Once I've done all the upgrades I'm going to do a follow up video. As far as the grounding thing, I don't see how it would be a danger, because the guitar is an input device, no power from the amp is transmitted to the guitar.
@@JoePierceMaker i build drones not guitars but when two kinds of metal are touching with electricity they corrode so over time they will conduct less also im kinda obsessed with direct soldering everything. thanks for the video i do want to build one.
Should have measured the scale length before gluing the neck on! Me thinks you made a "short scale", which explains the neck pickup and pick guard not fitting. If not, then Stewmac makes/sells $#17 guitar kits.
The intonation on it is good so the scale shouldn't be off. I'm pretty sure these kits were mass produced by an outside company, which is probably why they don't sell them anymore.
hey man i was wondering if you could do a follow up on this video, showcasing the sound because thats one of the biggest reasons for buying a new guitar, the epic sound.
I watched your GR8T4 part SG Kit build videos, so they got me wanting to get a SG Kit to build for myself, and I can no longer get the SG Kit from Stewmac . They dis-continued the SG Kit. Who else makes the SG Kits to build ? ? ? Just as a suggestion, you can get a drill bit depth stop guage or make one by wrapping tape around the drill bit , so's to not drill holes too deep and also you can use a bit that is a size smaller than the screw to be used to drill pilot holes for screws. Thanks Man ! ! ! Peace, Build & Play 🎸On . . . 😎🤘👍🙏 DDH 5-21-2020.
Solo music gear offers one, but it's the offset version like an ESP. Thanks for the tip on the drilling, I didn't use anything because I've done it a million times and didn't really need it. I would recommend it for a beginner though. Thanks for watching!
Thanks! If I were painting it or going to a gloss finish I would have used grain filler. But since I went with an oil finish I wanted to keep the natural wood look.
Good job Joe. Informative and entertaining. I especially appreciate the time you took to answer the questions. I’m probably too late to the party but I’m about to build a Stew Mac Les Paul kit. One of the steps is to tap the frets with a hammer/mallet to make sure they’re seated before leveling. Did you skip that step or not mention it? Is that not worth doing in your experience?
@@JoePierceMaker Probably a lot of work by hand though. Also tough to get right by hand too, I'm thinking. Makes much more sense to do it in CNC. This is kind of an ongoing problem since '67 though, lol. It makes sense that Gibson reduced the bevels when doing that stuff by hand. But even in the last 10 years, they've been pretty inconsistent with their early '60s reissues. I dunno why. The Japanese makers have done it right since the late '70s without any trouble.
Thanks. Yeah it still needed some set up when I filmed the demo. The biggest issue was that the nut was too high. Since then I’ve replaced the nut and gotten some proper files so it’s spot on now.
I'm no pro but that was my first thought too. Also would work when scraping the binding when using a razor blade instead of using your thumb as a gauge.
@hunger993 Good tip. since the only drilling I did on this kit was a few pilot holes for tiny screws it didn't seem that important to me that the depth be exact. As long as I didn't drill all the way through. I've been woodworking for a while now and I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing things like that. I would suggest to someone that is new to the hobby to use the tape method though.
Way nicer than the shit guitars that I had to choose from in the '70s. My fingers are still scared from the action of those guitars. Kids these days have such great options and even a build like this would be a great guitar to learn and beat up before spending $2500 bucks on a dream guitar. Great job.
Thanks! The action on this one wasn't great, I changed the nut and still had to file down the slots to get it right. I like a really low action too. I advise anyone that doesn't have experience with guitars to have it professionally set up. That's what I did in the past before I had all the right tools.
I'm tempted to give one of the crimson kits a go. Stew Mac shipping and taxes to the UK is expensive and the quality of the crimson ones looks better. Maybe tap up Ben so you can do a comparison?
My son just got done with an explorer DIY, and it turned out great. The sound of the humbuckers that came with it have a real nice tone for cheap pickups. He also replaced the pickups in his Les Paul project guitar with some cheap, $20 P-90s and they sound great! Thanks for all the tips and pointers.
Thanks for watching. I've heard some pretty impressive pickups that weren't too expensive, but I've also heard some that were pretty bad. I think with the more expensive you just have more of a guarantee that you're going to get a good one.
Really enjoyed this series! What kind of neck profile and fingerboard width does this kit have? Curious since I'd love to build one of these, though Stewmac seems to have discontinued this particular kit (?). I'm lucky enough have a '69 SG with a reasonably chunky yet graceful D-shape neck and fairly narrow fingerboard that fits my hand really well. Don't know how common that was back then but most SGs I've tried tend to have wider fingerboards and skinnier C shape necks.
Thanks! The neck on this one is a bit on the thin side, C shaped. I replaced the nut with a Tusq nut made for a Gibson Les Paul, and had to trim about 1/16' off each end to make it flush.
It's not bad for the price, the body is clearly meant to be painted since the halves are mismatched. The pickups and hardware are cheap, but that's what keeps the costs down. If it had better hardware and pickups the kit would have cost several hundred dollars and would have been out of my price range. I've since upgraded the tuners and pickups and it sounds a lot better now. I should make an update video.
Well done, exept for the non fitting neck pickup. Also I notice you didn't measure the scale length during the neck fitting process. You might run into intonation problems here. I'm a noob myself learning the pitfalls of guitar building by watching as many videos prior to building a guitar. Next time you might wanna do a pre-assembly before fitting the neck into its goal position, I think the neck is supposed to be a bit more out of the pocket, that way you also wouldn't run into the problem with the pickup ring.
I assembled it according to the instructions which stated that the end of the neck should line up with the edges of the pickup route. It was only off by a millimetre or two so it didn't have an affect on the intonation once I adjusted the bridge saddles. But yes, you're correct I could have avoided the issue by dry fitting everything. My goal with these videos is to show people the potential problems that may arise with a build and how to fix them. So, while this issue could have been avoided, I'm glad it happened so there could be a teachable moment.
@@JoePierceMaker I absolutely agree with you and I am glad you are happy with the end result. I also would check the neck angle while test fitting. I've heard theat the cheaper kit guitars are not machined exactly anough and in some cases you end up with a way to high or low action, depending on the neck angle.
10 outta 10?! I was feeling your disappointment throughout the video series. I took many notes. I just bought the 335 Kit for my boyfriend. So... I’m hoping it’s a lot smoother of an experience. There aren’t any StuMac 335 kit videos out here! I guess we’ll have to make one.
While this kit did have some problems, I got it really cheap ($160 on closeout) so I didn't expect it to be the best kit in the world. So, yes I was pleased with it for the price I paid. Now, if I wanted a super high quality build, I would individually buy all the parts so I would know exactly what I was getting, but it would run up a pretty high bill.
Joe, that was an excellent series. I really enjoyed it. The guitar sounds great, it really does. I'm getting old (84 years) but I might try to build one of those kits. Thanks for an entertaining and informative session.
I probably could have glued it a milometer or two further up in the pocket and could have avoided having to modify the pickup ring. But that's how we learn things, by making mistakes.
Awesome series, I've been wanting to build a guitar for a while now, and after this series, all of the questions/unknowns I had have been answered. You rock Joe!
Hi Joe. How do rate the guitar to something high end like the Gibson SG? I guess if you wanted to improve it even further you could switch out the pickups for expensive after market ones. More interested in the feel and quality of the guitar itself. Great series by the way and I’m subscribing.
Thanks! I'd say that this guitar has the potential to stand up to a Gibson. I've never owned one, but I've played several at various guitar stores. Some were really nice, and others weren't so much. The hardware and electronics on this are definitely low end and will all be replaced eventually. The neck pocket was a bit loose, and the mismatched wood on the body wasn't great. So in that aspect it's not up to par with a high end Gibson. But, with upgraded hardware and pickups it can be just as good as a Gibson, the neck feels good and it's at least made of mahogany, so if you painted it you wouldn't notice the mismatched wood.
Thanks Joe, Really enjoyed the series. I upgraded an Epiphone SG myself recently and some similar issues. I'll definitely be trying a Kit soon. I thought your finishing of the body was genius. Well done and I hope you keep making videos like this.
Thanks! These kits are great, although I will probably be upgrading all of the hardware and electronics at some point. I wasn't sure about the finish at first but it turned out a lot better than I expected.
Joe Pierce Maker hi Joe awsome video, it looks like the headstock is not completley square with the body of the guitar while having the body at your feet and looking at the tip of the headstock? I have a les paul like that.is this common?
I love how you approached the distortion with a straight dive, I love your channel I just started playing 6 months ago and just mastered pride and joy by srv and you've inspired me to build a kit guitar and learn some Megadeth
Thank you so much! That's awesome, you should totally build a kit and learn some Megadeth. When I was a kid I pretty much taught myself to play by figuring out Metallica songs.
Thanks for a really fun and informative, 4-episode series on this Stewie Mac SG kit, Joe. I feel fortunate to have found it a couple of months after the 4th one, so I didn't have to wait. Your quirky, but cool style has earned you another subscriber.
No, no one else has made that connection. But you did, you figured it out. This guitar is just the first step in my plot to overthrow the US government with my ear splitting rock and roll.
I like it. The colors are somewhat reminiscent of "Colonial Primitive" décor. For me, though, I think I'd have done a few more coats of oil rub, as that body deserves it. Those pickups don't seem half bad, really. Nice tone.
I think a dry fit would have been the answer in episode one to the pick up issue How did the finger board take the stain ?? i do not think it is a mahogany body
You're probably right about the dry fit, I assumed that everything would fit and I shouldn't have. The finger board actually took the stain well, so they didn't oil it or anything at the factory, that was a pleasant surprise. The kit is sold as a mahogany body with granadillo finger board, so I hope they would use the wood they say did. It smells like mahogany too, the curly half is a lot lighter but that can happen with most woods.
I watched all four videos of this series this morning and it was an entertaining example of how to build it. Going at it from a minimum tool perspective was a cool idea as well, kinda demystifying it for folks who may be on the fence about trying it. Good job! 👍 Maybe you got a good one but that file I got from Amazon with the orange handle was terrible. It didn’t “file” anything, wouldn’t cut a fingernail. I did find a use for it as a sandpaper holder. It came with a cool wrench for input jacks and volume pot nuts though. Have you ever tried computer printing decals and transfers to make headstock logos? Buck Owens would approve of this finish, 😉
Thanks, I like to show people that anyone can do these things if they want to. The thing about the file, when you get cheap tools, you run the risk of getting a bad one, but when you get a good one, it's good. I have tried the waterslide decals that you can print out at home and had good luck with them when finishing with lacquer, but didn't have as good luck on this one that was finished with TruOil
So I'm not getting the point of using the fret rocker, and marking the high spots, when the next step is to cover all the frets in sharpie and use the leveler over the whole neck. And, BTW, it would have been good to show how to use the truss rod if your neck wasn't straight to begin with.
I used the fret rocker to determine if there were any high frets. If it were just one or two I would have dealt with them individually. Once I realized that there were several uneven frets I decided to go ahead and level all of them. I'm working on a new video that will show in more detail how to set up a guitar, including truss rod adjustments, intonation, and fret leveling.
I always do the fret work before finishing the fingerboard. That way if I get any scratches on the wood I can address them before finishing. Also, I should have taped off the fingerboard before doing the fret work.
I plan on starting with some simpler kits, bolt on necks and the like and working up confidence before I get a nicer kit like this. Though I’ve been thinking about getting a hollow body kit, are they as daunting to wire up as they seem?
The wiring was definitely a challenge since you have to do it outside the guitar and feed everything in. The nice thing about a Strat is that you get to do all the wiring directly on the pick guard (except for the output jack) and it all goes in as one unit. So I would recommend starting out with a Strat and working up to the more challenging kits.
I'm late to the party, clearly, but I think it would have been cool to instead use black dye on the blue side and blend it into the red beyond the seam of the two different pieces of wood.
It's straight enough for what I was doing with it. I also have other straight edges that I've checked it against, I was just showing another option for folks who don't want to spend a lot of money on tools. Also, anything is better than eyeballing it.
Great, great video!!! I learned so much. You play very well, too. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Much appreciated. I may just order a kit and do this. Thanks again.
Nice job, Joe! Good, clear explanations of what to do and why it matters. I've been addicted to cheaply upgrading Squiers lately (Micro Mesh is worth the money, perfect frets and neck and it lasts a long time), but your series reminded me I haven't built up a kit, ever, and I don't have an SG at all...that ain't right ;-) Much appreciated!
Thanks! I'm a fan of micro mesh as well, although I haven't used it on frets. I was pleased with the fret rubbers from Crimson Guitars and they look like they will last a long time. I really enjoy these kits and I will definitely be building more.
Thanks? I think... It's only ugly if you look at both sides at the same time. If you look at it the right way, it's the two prettiest SGs you've ever seen.
Haha, I was being gentle on this one for a couple of reasons. The strings that come with the kit are 9's and I'm used to 10's and the nut slots are a bit too high so I have to be careful so I don't bend the strings out of tune. Once I rectify those two things I'll be able to beat on this one. The V is one of mine, I made a video on that one as well. ruclips.net/video/13sBlxZT_3Y/видео.html
Thanks! This one has some bevels and I considered making them even more pronounced but decided against it. I'm sure these days Gibson does everything on a CNC, I know I would if I had one.
Dammit man I was watching these for the soldering tutorial and wiring because mine didn't come with instructions. I love the finish on yours so much. Too slick and my guitar slides right off my lap
I'm sorry about that. My soldering skills are not great and I didn't want to show any bad techniques. That and me cursing at the guitar looks bad on camera haha! This is one of my favorite finishes because it's so easy to do.
@@JoePierceMaker im having trouble now because I bought 800 and up sandpaper to take of the sealant and then to smooth later. I dont think my sandpaper is rough enough to take it off but not to reshape the body. I am using a block to be safe. Ive been having so many obstacles with this thing. So many delayed pieces in the mail and now this. A part that I'm sanding seems to stay glaze shiny. What grit should I use to take it off? My stain is going to be bright hookers green with black outer burst. Thank you for any help
800 is way too fine a grit. Anything above 320 and you're polishing rather than sanding. If you're trying to remove a gloss coat to apply stain, you're going to want to get all the way down to the wood. A lot of people will use paint stripper for that, but I don't like it because it's messy. I would sand it off with 80 or 100 grit, then 120,150, 180, 220, and 320. The goal is when you go to a finer grit, you remove the scratches from the previous. Then apply the stain and your choice of finish.
Good job...fun to watch
Thanks!
This was great!!!
Thank you!
Good job, thanks ! 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
Great Guitar 👏
Thanks!!
Fret erasers are the bomb!
I love them too. Every guitar I work on gets the frets polished with them.
Just watched your video from NC myself will be watching your other videos as I plan on making a guitar and being disabled now don't have a lot of tools Thanks
Thanks Wayne. I hope your build goes well. If you hit any snags let me know I’ll see if I can help.
Like the color. Bee's Wax is often used for a screw lubricant. Comes in a bar shape, Stew Mac sells them. Just threads on the bar.
Thanks! Bee's wax does work well, I used what I had at the time though and it worked well enough.
Sounds good.
Thanks!
What size sand paper on the block to level frets? This is the best easy to comprehend fret leveling lesson I’ve seen on RUclips! I can’t find your custom made geetars online all I see is your t shirts!
I usually use 220 grit. It removes material well enough and doesn’t leave super deep scratches to buff out later.
I also don’t have any guitars for sale at the moment but I hope to have some in the future.
Awesome series of vids man!, I just got the neck glued in on a PGK ‘58 Flying V kit, it’s going to be gold flake, I’ve got everything ready to go, and your videos have been great to watch, thanks!, the SG came out great and definitely 1of a kind!
Thank you! If I had painted this one gold flake would have been a great choice.
Like the plant
Thanks!
Came out great.
Thanks!
33:22 looks so hell. :-)
Thanks
I know this is older video, but how do you find the hardware and electronics? Would you suggest upgrading them?
I've upgraded the pickups and tuners since filming this and I'm glad I did.
@@JoePierceMaker thank you. I'm always wary of getting these kids because of the hardware. I'd rather spend the same amount on a kit that that comes with no hardware, but better wood of the hardware and electronics aren't any good
sm57 vocal mic?? :)..it's kinda the only mic I have around so...I get it.
I've always liked the SM57 for amps, but for vocals I like the SM58 Beta
@@JoePierceMaker was kinda the point of my question..those are both standard use cases for both mics..57 cab/58 vocal.
Great job man. I think to buy some kit and do stuff like this
Thanks! You should give it a go, it's a lot of fun.
@@JoePierceMaker Once i buy old destroy guitar and reper and paint her. Look cool white and blood splatter but there is some string hight problem. Still sound good. I never use it on my channel but i thing somwere on instagram
That's awesome. That sting height problem could probably be fixed by adjusting the bridge, sanding down the nut, or adjusting the truss rod. Hard to know without seeing it but I'm sure it could be done.
The logo would be the most important part to me! If the logo doesn’t look official than it will always look like a fake cheap kit guitar no matter how good of a job you do with the paint etc. I see these kit guitars in pawn shops nobody buys them because there’s no logo or the logo looks crappy!
I agree. If you take the time to make something, even from a kit, your work should be properly signed.
It's a good idea to use either copper tape or RF paint in the control cavity to eliminate noise. Additionally a humbucker pickup is supposed to be relatively quiet, adding the RF paint or copper tape can make a difference in eliminating hum. I've done this on the guitars I've built and it works perfectly.
There is a drawback to grounding the bridge/strings. YOU become the shortest path to ground in the event you have a faulty amp, or the outlet you are plugged into isn't grounded properly. Taylor Guitars uses a ground fuse to protect the player. I still have no idea how this has never been the standard across all electric and electric acoustic guitars.
I plan to shield the cavities when I go back and replace all the hardware, pickups, pots, etc. For this series I wanted to build it as the instructions said so it would be an honest review of the kit as it comes from the box. Once I've done all the upgrades I'm going to do a follow up video.
As far as the grounding thing, I don't see how it would be a danger, because the guitar is an input device, no power from the amp is transmitted to the guitar.
Did you end up liking the pickups?
I ended up changing them out for a Super D on the bridge and a '57 Classic on the neck. I also swapped the tuners for some Klusons.
I like that the shape of the guitar is just like Wajima Shiji (from Ningen Isu)’s guitar
Thanks!
fantastic series man. Subscribed. You rock!
Awesome, thank you!
Watched all 4 videos this morning and they were great. Thanks you earned a subscription.
Awesome, thank you!
Great job Joe!
Thanks!
That would really come together nicely with a white pickguard. Red, white and blue!
Yeah, I can always add a white pickguard later on.
you need to solder that ground wire
Are you referring to the wire grounding the bridge?
@@JoePierceMaker yes but im not a Luther its just what i would have done
I see your point but it’s not really necessary since the bushing is pressed in there with such a tight fit.
@@JoePierceMaker i build drones not guitars but when two kinds of metal are touching with electricity they corrode so over time they will conduct less also im kinda obsessed with direct soldering everything. thanks for the video i do want to build one.
Sure wish stew mac still sold SG kits Bummer!
Me too, I'd like to have two or three more myself.
I think a white pickguard would look really good with that dye job! Great build and great content!
Great idea! Thanks!
Should have measured the scale length before gluing the neck on! Me thinks you made a "short scale", which explains the neck pickup and pick guard not fitting. If not, then Stewmac makes/sells $#17 guitar kits.
The intonation on it is good so the scale shouldn't be off. I'm pretty sure these kits were mass produced by an outside company, which is probably why they don't sell them anymore.
Good series. Would love to see another. Maybe better colors?
I will definitely be doing more builds like this. With different colors as well. I still have a few stains I haven't used yet.
hey man i was wondering if you could do a follow up on this video, showcasing the sound because thats one of the biggest reasons for buying a new guitar, the epic sound.
I plan to, I've made a lot of upgrades to this guitar since this video and I want to show how to take it to the next level.
I watched your GR8T4 part SG Kit build videos, so they got me wanting to get a SG Kit to build for myself, and I can no longer get the SG Kit from Stewmac . They dis-continued the SG Kit. Who else makes the SG Kits to build ? ? ? Just as a suggestion, you can get a drill bit depth stop guage or make one by wrapping tape around the drill bit , so's to not drill holes too deep and also you can use a bit that is a size smaller than the screw to be used to drill pilot holes for screws. Thanks Man ! ! ! Peace, Build & Play 🎸On . . . 😎🤘👍🙏 DDH 5-21-2020.
Solo music gear offers one, but it's the offset version like an ESP. Thanks for the tip on the drilling, I didn't use anything because I've done it a million times and didn't really need it. I would recommend it for a beginner though. Thanks for watching!
Great idea on the two tone color scheme.
Just a quick question, any reason why you didn't use grain filler?
Thanks! If I were painting it or going to a gloss finish I would have used grain filler. But since I went with an oil finish I wanted to keep the natural wood look.
Good job Joe. Informative and entertaining. I especially appreciate the time you took to answer the questions. I’m probably too late to the party but I’m about to build a Stew Mac Les Paul kit. One of the steps is to tap the frets with a hammer/mallet to make sure they’re seated before leveling. Did you skip that step or not mention it? Is that not worth doing in your experience?
Glad it was helpful! I may have forgot to record that seating the frets, I should have mentioned it though. Thanks!
Pretty cool. I'm just sad they didn't put in full early-60s bevels since the body's CNCd anyway. Surely it's no extra cost to put in the deep bevels?
Thanks, I'm not sure why they wouldn't, I probably could have made them more pronounced but it kind of slipped my mind.
@@JoePierceMaker Probably a lot of work by hand though. Also tough to get right by hand too, I'm thinking. Makes much more sense to do it in CNC. This is kind of an ongoing problem since '67 though, lol. It makes sense that Gibson reduced the bevels when doing that stuff by hand. But even in the last 10 years, they've been pretty inconsistent with their early '60s reissues. I dunno why. The Japanese makers have done it right since the late '70s without any trouble.
Man that sounds pretty good. I would have just painted it. But it’s cool man. Good job!
I really thought about painting it as well but I decided I wanted to get weird with it. Thanks!
If your 12th fret was high down by the high E area, why not just sand that area? Why did you sand all the frets down?
I wanted them all to be level with each other.
How much to make one for a customer???
That's a good question. I'd probably charge the cost of the kit, plus a couple hundred for assembly, finishing, and set up.
On bridge and tailpiece bushings I put a thin film of brown glue, put a 3" bolt in the bushing and use a rubber mallet.
Good tip!
So the grounding connections are like the foot bone connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone connected to the leg bone, etc?
Wiring confuses me so much, but what I have learned is that it's a good bet to put more ground wires than you think you need haha!
Nice build. I'm assembling on of their Champ kits. It seems very well made. I assume your open G was out of tune due to needing final intonating.
Thanks. Yeah it still needed some set up when I filmed the demo. The biggest issue was that the nut was too high. Since then I’ve replaced the nut and gotten some proper files so it’s spot on now.
@@JoePierceMaker Slot files. Yeah I need some of those. Got a few open buzzys I need to fill and recut.
Protip for drilling, once you decide on a depth, put a piece of tape on the drill so you get consistent depth
I'm no pro but that was my first thought too. Also would work when scraping the binding when using a razor blade instead of using your thumb as a gauge.
@hunger993 Good tip. since the only drilling I did on this kit was a few pilot holes for tiny screws it didn't seem that important to me that the depth be exact. As long as I didn't drill all the way through. I've been woodworking for a while now and I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing things like that. I would suggest to someone that is new to the hobby to use the tape method though.
Way nicer than the shit guitars that I had to choose from in the '70s. My fingers are still scared from the action of those guitars. Kids these days have such great options and even a build like this would be a great guitar to learn and beat up before spending $2500 bucks on a dream guitar. Great job.
Thanks! The action on this one wasn't great, I changed the nut and still had to file down the slots to get it right. I like a really low action too. I advise anyone that doesn't have experience with guitars to have it professionally set up. That's what I did in the past before I had all the right tools.
Onthe tuners i mean.
Thanks!
guitar gives me a grateful dead vibe, sick. also, what’s that green pedal you used? tubescreamer?
upon watching closely, i see you just switched channels. please correct me if i’m wrong, the tone is crazy
Thanks! Yes, I did switch channels, played for a bit, then kicked on the Tubescreamer.
I'm tempted to give one of the crimson kits a go. Stew Mac shipping and taxes to the UK is expensive and the quality of the crimson ones looks better. Maybe tap up Ben so you can do a comparison?
I'd love to try out one of Crimson's kits, they look like the best quality out there.
very cool, i just order the single cut jr, kit form stewmac, and already was thinking of color staining it, so thanks for the tips.
Thanks! That's awesome!
Thanks Joe, great series, it turned out pretty nice.
Thanks!
if i ever build a kit guitar im going to refer to these 4 videos
Awesome! Thanks!
My son just got done with an explorer DIY, and it turned out great. The sound of the humbuckers that came with it have a real nice tone for cheap pickups. He also replaced the pickups in his Les Paul project guitar with some cheap, $20 P-90s and they sound great!
Thanks for all the tips and pointers.
Thanks for watching. I've heard some pretty impressive pickups that weren't too expensive, but I've also heard some that were pretty bad. I think with the more expensive you just have more of a guarantee that you're going to get a good one.
Really enjoyed this series! What kind of neck profile and fingerboard width does this kit have? Curious since I'd love to build one of these, though Stewmac seems to have discontinued this particular kit (?).
I'm lucky enough have a '69 SG with a reasonably chunky yet graceful D-shape neck and fairly narrow fingerboard that fits my hand really well. Don't know how common that was back then but most SGs I've tried tend to have wider fingerboards and skinnier C shape necks.
Thanks! The neck on this one is a bit on the thin side, C shaped. I replaced the nut with a Tusq nut made for a Gibson Les Paul, and had to trim about 1/16' off each end to make it flush.
Looks like Stew Mac is selling low end kits. That's a shame.
It's not bad for the price, the body is clearly meant to be painted since the halves are mismatched. The pickups and hardware are cheap, but that's what keeps the costs down. If it had better hardware and pickups the kit would have cost several hundred dollars and would have been out of my price range. I've since upgraded the tuners and pickups and it sounds a lot better now. I should make an update video.
Well done, exept for the non fitting neck pickup. Also I notice you didn't measure the scale length during the neck fitting process. You might run into intonation problems here. I'm a noob myself learning the pitfalls of guitar building by watching as many videos prior to building a guitar. Next time you might wanna do a pre-assembly before fitting the neck into its goal position, I think the neck is supposed to be a bit more out of the pocket, that way you also wouldn't run into the problem with the pickup ring.
I assembled it according to the instructions which stated that the end of the neck should line up with the edges of the pickup route. It was only off by a millimetre or two so it didn't have an affect on the intonation once I adjusted the bridge saddles. But yes, you're correct I could have avoided the issue by dry fitting everything. My goal with these videos is to show people the potential problems that may arise with a build and how to fix them. So, while this issue could have been avoided, I'm glad it happened so there could be a teachable moment.
@@JoePierceMaker I absolutely agree with you and I am glad you are happy with the end result. I also would check the neck angle while test fitting. I've heard theat the cheaper kit guitars are not machined exactly anough and in some cases you end up with a way to high or low action, depending on the neck angle.
10 outta 10?! I was feeling your disappointment throughout the video series. I took many notes.
I just bought the 335 Kit for my boyfriend. So... I’m hoping it’s a lot smoother of an experience. There aren’t any StuMac 335 kit videos out here! I guess we’ll have to make one.
While this kit did have some problems, I got it really cheap ($160 on closeout) so I didn't expect it to be the best kit in the world. So, yes I was pleased with it for the price I paid. Now, if I wanted a super high quality build, I would individually buy all the parts so I would know exactly what I was getting, but it would run up a pretty high bill.
The two sides of that file are for different size frets.
Good to know, Thanks!
Joe, that was an excellent series. I really enjoyed it. The guitar sounds great, it really does. I'm getting old (84 years) but I might try to build one of those kits. Thanks for an entertaining and informative session.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Did you glue the neck in the wrong place?
I probably could have glued it a milometer or two further up in the pocket and could have avoided having to modify the pickup ring. But that's how we learn things, by making mistakes.
Awesome series, I've been wanting to build a guitar for a while now, and after this series, all of the questions/unknowns I had have been answered. You rock Joe!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching!
The Best fret work video I have seen! Thank you for your insights and tips / techniques.
Thank you so much. I plan to do more in depth videos of the setup process in the future, I just need another guitar to work on.
Hi Joe. How do rate the guitar to something high end like the Gibson SG? I guess if you wanted to improve it even further you could switch out the pickups for expensive after market ones. More interested in the feel and quality of the guitar itself. Great series by the way and I’m subscribing.
Thanks! I'd say that this guitar has the potential to stand up to a Gibson. I've never owned one, but I've played several at various guitar stores. Some were really nice, and others weren't so much. The hardware and electronics on this are definitely low end and will all be replaced eventually. The neck pocket was a bit loose, and the mismatched wood on the body wasn't great. So in that aspect it's not up to par with a high end Gibson. But, with upgraded hardware and pickups it can be just as good as a Gibson, the neck feels good and it's at least made of mahogany, so if you painted it you wouldn't notice the mismatched wood.
Thanks Joe, Really enjoyed the series. I upgraded an Epiphone SG myself recently and some similar issues. I'll definitely be trying a Kit soon. I thought your finishing of the body was genius. Well done and I hope you keep making videos like this.
Thanks! These kits are great, although I will probably be upgrading all of the hardware and electronics at some point. I wasn't sure about the finish at first but it turned out a lot better than I expected.
Joe Pierce Maker hi Joe awsome video, it looks like the headstock is not completley square with the body of the guitar while having the body at your feet and looking at the tip of the headstock? I have a les paul like that.is this common?
I love how you approached the distortion with a straight dive, I love your channel I just started playing 6 months ago and just mastered pride and joy by srv and you've inspired me to build a kit guitar and learn some Megadeth
Thank you so much! That's awesome, you should totally build a kit and learn some Megadeth. When I was a kid I pretty much taught myself to play by figuring out Metallica songs.
Two things about this series, 1. You should try making an acoustic guitar, and 2. You should make your favorite brother one.
1. I would love to make an acoustic guitar, they make kits for those too but they are a bit pricey. And 2. You buy the kit and I'll build it for you.
Thanks for a really fun and informative, 4-episode series on this Stewie Mac SG kit, Joe. I feel fortunate to have found it a couple of months after the 4th one, so I didn't have to wait. Your quirky, but cool style has earned you another subscriber.
Thanks!
Has anyone observed how similar those colors are to the battle flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam?
No, no one else has made that connection. But you did, you figured it out. This guitar is just the first step in my plot to overthrow the US government with my ear splitting rock and roll.
Joe Pierce Maker - LOL, I imagine that’s got Ho Chi Minh’s ghost salivating!
I like it. The colors are somewhat reminiscent of "Colonial Primitive" décor. For me, though, I think I'd have done a few more coats of oil rub, as that body deserves it. Those pickups don't seem half bad, really. Nice tone.
Thanks. I didn't want this one to be too glossy, otherwise I would have done a few more coats.
Get a 8 dollar straight edge from harbor freight and file or grind the notches in. 20 minutes or less will save you $$$ over stewmac
WalMart aluminum yardsticks work in a pinch, too.
Both good options.
Got mine For 12 bucks off eBay. Works like a charm
I think a dry fit would have been the answer in episode one to the pick up issue
How did the finger board take the stain ?? i do not think it is a mahogany body
You're probably right about the dry fit, I assumed that everything would fit and I shouldn't have. The finger board actually took the stain well, so they didn't oil it or anything at the factory, that was a pleasant surprise. The kit is sold as a mahogany body with granadillo finger board, so I hope they would use the wood they say did. It smells like mahogany too, the curly half is a lot lighter but that can happen with most woods.
@The Townspeople these are CHINESE KITS you pay twice as much Through S Mac
I watched all four videos of this series this morning and it was an entertaining example of how to build it. Going at it from a minimum tool perspective was a cool idea as well, kinda demystifying it for folks who may be on the fence about trying it. Good job! 👍
Maybe you got a good one but that file I got from Amazon with the orange handle was terrible. It didn’t “file” anything, wouldn’t cut a fingernail. I did find a use for it as a sandpaper holder. It came with a cool wrench for input jacks and volume pot nuts though.
Have you ever tried computer printing decals and transfers to make headstock logos?
Buck Owens would approve of this finish, 😉
Thanks, I like to show people that anyone can do these things if they want to. The thing about the file, when you get cheap tools, you run the risk of getting a bad one, but when you get a good one, it's good.
I have tried the waterslide decals that you can print out at home and had good luck with them when finishing with lacquer, but didn't have as good luck on this one that was finished with TruOil
So I'm not getting the point of using the fret rocker, and marking the high spots, when the next step is to cover all the frets in sharpie and use the leveler over the whole neck. And, BTW, it would have been good to show how to use the truss rod if your neck wasn't straight to begin with.
I used the fret rocker to determine if there were any high frets. If it were just one or two I would have dealt with them individually. Once I realized that there were several uneven frets I decided to go ahead and level all of them. I'm working on a new video that will show in more detail how to set up a guitar, including truss rod adjustments, intonation, and fret leveling.
Joe, Is there any disadvantage to doing the “fret work” prior to finishing the fingerboard? Thanks.
Trigger Snob besides some residue on the frets due to the finishing, no but you can wipe it off
I always do the fret work before finishing the fingerboard. That way if I get any scratches on the wood I can address them before finishing. Also, I should have taped off the fingerboard before doing the fret work.
“Follow the wiring diagram and you can’t mess it up”
Is that a challenge?
Yes, it is. A very achievable challenge too. It took me a while to get the wiring right on this one, even following the diagram.
I plan on starting with some simpler kits, bolt on necks and the like and working up confidence before I get a nicer kit like this. Though I’ve been thinking about getting a hollow body kit, are they as daunting to wire up as they seem?
The wiring was definitely a challenge since you have to do it outside the guitar and feed everything in. The nice thing about a Strat is that you get to do all the wiring directly on the pick guard (except for the output jack) and it all goes in as one unit. So I would recommend starting out with a Strat and working up to the more challenging kits.
Thanks for the tip!
Put the bushings on loosley first to keep them in place when you're aligning and drilling.
Thanks!
If Mitch Hedberg had become a luthier...
I always thought he was hilarious, so thanks!
I'm late to the party, clearly, but I think it would have been cool to instead use black dye on the blue side and blend it into the red beyond the seam of the two different pieces of wood.
That is a good idea. Thanks!
The aluminum ruler from the store isn't truly straight to begin with. You might as well just eyeball it.....
It's straight enough for what I was doing with it. I also have other straight edges that I've checked it against, I was just showing another option for folks who don't want to spend a lot of money on tools. Also, anything is better than eyeballing it.
@@JoePierceMaker all I'm saying is I can get closer by eye than a ruler that's five thousandths of an inch out in two directions
Great, great video!!! I learned so much. You play very well, too. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Much appreciated. I may just order a kit and do this. Thanks again.
Thanks! You should totally order a kit. It's a lot of fun and you get a great guitar for a low price.
Just a heads up,the crowning file is different on both sides,one side is deeper than the other.
Thanks
Cool videos. Glad I watched them all. Especially since I'm starting a build in May. Been years and I needed refreshing.
Glad you like them! Thanks!
Every tool he's used so far I've seen on Stew-Mac. Some are their inventions.
True, a lot of the ones I used in this video were a less expensive version. One day I may be able to afford more professional tools from StewMac
@@JoePierceMaker Hey if they work, why change? Thanks for the demo on the fret rocker too.
Haha I think it was 700$ for the starter set from their website or something.
@@JoePierceMaker Maybe one day you will afford a five sided fret rocker that actually has five sides. ;)
Nice job, Joe! Good, clear explanations of what to do and why it matters. I've been addicted to cheaply upgrading Squiers lately (Micro Mesh is worth the money, perfect frets and neck and it lasts a long time), but your series reminded me I haven't built up a kit, ever, and I don't have an SG at all...that ain't right ;-)
Much appreciated!
Thanks! I'm a fan of micro mesh as well, although I haven't used it on frets. I was pleased with the fret rubbers from Crimson Guitars and they look like they will last a long time. I really enjoy these kits and I will definitely be building more.
14:10 The rest of the World more like it. Thus is great info on how to set up the neck!
Thanks!
Possibly the ugliest colors i've ever seen, nice, 10/10!
Thanks? I think... It's only ugly if you look at both sides at the same time. If you look at it the right way, it's the two prettiest SGs you've ever seen.
Great video!, You should try the 335 style kit from stewmac, because its so unusual and there really isn't any video on RUclips showcasing it
Thanks! I'd like to try one of those out. I'm working on a hollow body right now and it's a lot of fun.
I would have done it all red . That blues ugly as hell
So I guess you’d say I didn’t do half bad.
Says sorry England when most of the world uses metric lol. Great vid man, new sub!
A lot of English woodworkers still use imperial, so I was kind of joking about that without saying it. Thanks for the sub!
Cillian Reilly
Use the metric system, they said.
It'll be fun, they said.
But they were wrong.
So wrong
Love the color, just not a fan of SGs overall. Glad I found your channel!
Appreciate it!
You are being too gentle with your pickin'... beat the hell out of those strings... what make is that V?
Haha, I was being gentle on this one for a couple of reasons. The strings that come with the kit are 9's and I'm used to 10's and the nut slots are a bit too high so I have to be careful so I don't bend the strings out of tune. Once I rectify those two things I'll be able to beat on this one. The V is one of mine, I made a video on that one as well. ruclips.net/video/13sBlxZT_3Y/видео.html
Not saying that's the ugliest guitar in the world..... I haven't seen them all yet.
Thanks for watching.
@@JoePierceMaker What a politically correct pussy thing to say. Get a real job and contribute something to humanity.
@Tim Hallas Thanks for the comment.
Good video series! Were you tempted to carve the bevels around the body?
Gibson must use some funky shaped template for that I assume.
Thanks! This one has some bevels and I considered making them even more pronounced but decided against it. I'm sure these days Gibson does everything on a CNC, I know I would if I had one.
He talks to much about nothing
*too
Dammit man I was watching these for the soldering tutorial and wiring because mine didn't come with instructions. I love the finish on yours so much. Too slick and my guitar slides right off my lap
I'm sorry about that. My soldering skills are not great and I didn't want to show any bad techniques. That and me cursing at the guitar looks bad on camera haha! This is one of my favorite finishes because it's so easy to do.
Its ok. I found out my kit is pre soldered. Thank you
@@JoePierceMaker im having trouble now because I bought 800 and up sandpaper to take of the sealant and then to smooth later. I dont think my sandpaper is rough enough to take it off but not to reshape the body. I am using a block to be safe. Ive been having so many obstacles with this thing. So many delayed pieces in the mail and now this. A part that I'm sanding seems to stay glaze shiny. What grit should I use to take it off? My stain is going to be bright hookers green with black outer burst. Thank you for any help
800 is way too fine a grit. Anything above 320 and you're polishing rather than sanding. If you're trying to remove a gloss coat to apply stain, you're going to want to get all the way down to the wood. A lot of people will use paint stripper for that, but I don't like it because it's messy. I would sand it off with 80 or 100 grit, then 120,150, 180, 220, and 320. The goal is when you go to a finer grit, you remove the scratches from the previous. Then apply the stain and your choice of finish.