Saga Guitar Kits...

[Mark Ingram]

Anybody built one of these?

A buddy of mine wants me to build one for him. I'm wondering if he might be better off buying a Squier at Guitar Center. Price is not an issue for him.

Any comments?

[Satamax]

All depends on skill. Some kits in the right hands can be woonderfull base. But you'll never do anything with a bad kit.

[Mark Ingram]

Originally Posted by Satamax

All depends on skill. Some kits in the right hands can be woonderfull base. But you'll never do anything with a bad kit.

The purpose of this thread was to find out if this kit was any good.

Of if any kits were any good.

[Satamax]

Mark, what kind of guitar are you looking for??? Saga are better than some. But a load of parts from stemac or even better warmoth could be better!

[Slobrain]

Mark,
I bought one of these kits from Ebay back in 99 and when I got it I wasn't very impressed with the sloppy route job on the body, it was unfinished and the wood looked crappy too. The hardware looked cheap like a cheap squire strat.
Overall I think buying a cheap squire would be a better deal than these if they are still made the same as the kit I bought.

When I won it on Ebay the guy had the kit hyped up and I emailed him back after getting it to tell him I felt the kit was a cheapo kit, He almost didn't want to give me my money back. It took a while.

JMO

SLO

[Mark Ingram]

Thanks for the comments. I had read the reviews in Harmony-Central. They all seemed to say that the neck pocket was not done very well. Except for one that said he thought the neck pocket was done wrongly until he dropped the neck in from the top instead of sliding it in from the end. Then it seemed to go in perfectly. All the reviews slammed the electronics, but the ones that didn't exchange them for a better set said they were suprised at how good the pickups sounded.

I'm not sure whether it is worth it or not. Stay tuned...

[Satamax]

Hi Mark!

Well, another piece of advice i can give you, is to go to the MIMF forum They'll know, some of the guys there have already discussed saga kits. One thing thought, don't post a link to ebay auctions there

Bye.

Max.

[Mark Ingram]

Originally Posted by Satamax

Hi Mark!

Well, another piece of advice i can give you, is to go to the MIMF forum They'll know, some of the guys there have already discussed saga kits. One thing thought, don't post a link to ebay auctions there

Bye.

Max.

Roger that.

thanks,
Mark

[Mark Hammer]

The "wisdom" of buying a Saga kit will depend largely on what sort of chops your buddy brings to the table. If this is really for learning purposes, then maybe it is better to start with a beater, like the Saga, and save the better construction project for when there is more skill. Seems a shame to get a good set of parts and screw it up.

Just keep in mind that what prevents cheaper instruments from being great is the hit-and-miss aspect, and the finishing touches. You can get a crappy body or a great one, a wonderful neck or something that only has the outward appearance of a neck. Thing is, at those prices no one is checking to see if what comes off the line is any good. Sometimes they ARE, just no one is keeping track.

In some respects, diverting money that might have been spent on better parts into some Stew-Mac stuff (e.g., fret files) could be a great learning exercise. Often what separates lousy necks from great ones is the manner in which the frets are finished and "dressed". Your buddy could buy a Warmoth or other similar neck with the frets dressed and crowned, OR he could learn how to do it himself and invest in the tools for doing it. That could be a betetr choice for some folks, or simply a waste of their time when they'd rather be playing than filing. His choice.

[gtech]

From what I understand, your friend also want to have fun building a kit, not just buy a guitar and play it.

Well, I built a Tele from a Saga kit some time ago, and I had the feeling that I got more than what I paid. But it depends who sells the kits. Some Ebay sellers check the parts before sending the kit to you, as my seller did. Some don't.

You can ask for some parts upgradelike a better neck, better tuners, etc... Sometimes it's worth it.

The neck pocket on mine was perfect and tight. And yes, you have to insert the neck from the from of the body, not slide it in. And it's ok like that.

The routing of the cavities are not always perfect though. The bridge was slightly cropped on mine, but not more than on the MIM Fender guitars I tried.

Gilles

[Satamax]

Mark, actualy, did you go to the MIMF for advice?

Bye.

Max.

[Mark Ingram]

Originally Posted by Satamax

Mark, actualy, did you go to the MIMF for advice?

Bye.

Max.

Actually, I did go to MIMF but I did not post a question. I did read what everyone had written. I also read what was said on Harmony Central.

Here is a summation of my learnings from guitar-kit-building gurus the world over:

1. The final result of the kit depends largely on the skills of the builder.

2. Saga kits have a neck pocket that requires the neck be dropped in from the front rather than sliding it in from the side.

3. Frets will require some work, especially filing the ends. A few people had to do leveling and crowning, others were able to use the neck without much extra work.

4. String slots in the nut are universally not deep enough, resulting in the strings being too high.

5. Electronics and hardware are the areas where 'you get what you pay for' is most likely to rise up and bite you.

My final conclusion is that there is a Saga kit in my future, but there is also a set of fret files (and possibly nut files) that will arrive around the same time as the kit.

Thanks for you help everybody,
Mark

[Satamax]

Nice summary

[Mark Ingram]

Originally Posted by Satamax

Nice summary

And exactly the type of thing I was looking for when I started this thread. I guess everybody has to pull their own cart once in a while.

But at least I know now. *And* I got a compliment from someone I never even met.