Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Finishing a Saga guitar kit (or, Experience is the best teacher)
I've considered buying an unfinished guitar as a project. However the only two choices I had were either a custom guitar -- too expensive for a first guitar finishing project -- or inexpensive Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster clones which just didn't interest me.
One day while browsing through guitar listings on eBay I happened across an auction for a Paul Reed Smith (PRS) clone kit by Saga (PS-10). It has a carved, flamed-maple top on a basswood body with a rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. It includes all of the (chrome) hardware right down to a cable, strings and a couple of picks. All for under $150 with shipping. Now we're talking.
After some searching I found the Guitar ReRanch, a site dedicated to guitar finishing. Besides offering basic instruction and finishing products, they also have discussion forums filled with everyone from first-timers like me to experts always willing to give advice. I also found this step-by-step walkthrough. I love the Internet.
After asking some preliminary questions in the forums I soon had the kit and about $100 in finishing supplies from the Guitar ReRanch.
One day while browsing through guitar listings on eBay I happened across an auction for a Paul Reed Smith (PRS) clone kit by Saga (PS-10). It has a carved, flamed-maple top on a basswood body with a rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. It includes all of the (chrome) hardware right down to a cable, strings and a couple of picks. All for under $150 with shipping. Now we're talking.
After some searching I found the Guitar ReRanch, a site dedicated to guitar finishing. Besides offering basic instruction and finishing products, they also have discussion forums filled with everyone from first-timers like me to experts always willing to give advice. I also found this step-by-step walkthrough. I love the Internet.
After asking some preliminary questions in the forums I soon had the kit and about $100 in finishing supplies from the Guitar ReRanch.
# posted by Mark : Wednesday, July 27, 2005
