Skip to main content

Metal Wins!

I wouldn't have thought it out of the gate, but...


OK, let me explain:

I have this saying that "building kit guitars combines three of my passions: music, woodworking, and not getting divorced for buying $3,000 Gibsons."

Hey, it's fun, and you get a great guitar if you put in the learning and some cash for upgrades. My favourite kit supplier is Solo Music Gear (< that's an affiliate link), because their service, prices, and product are all just fantastic.

I own two instruments of theirs: a JEM-style electric, on which I haven't done any real work except change the knobs and the strap buttons, and a Strat-style electric, on which I changed almost everything. More on that one later, but you can see some of the before and after on my YouTube channel.

I decided that for 2021, I want to do the same sort of upgrading on a Solo Les-Paul style kit. The problem is, I couldn't decide whether to upmod it as a vintage-toned model or a modern medal machine. So I put it out on my Instagram and various Facebook channels like so:


Well, much to my surprise, the metal side actually won!! Yeah...including a vote from my mom!

Now, I do of course intend to build a nice warm vintage one at some point. But it looks like we're in it for the grind!!

So, let's talk gear...


To do this metal LP build, I'm going to need a few things:

  • Guitar Kit: Solo Music Gear LPK-10
  • Tuning Machines: Graphtech Ratio 3+3 Locking Tuners, Black (or chrome?)
  • Pickups: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers, Black Nickel
  • Battery: Fishman Rechargeable Battery Pack for Les Paul
  • Knobs: Iron Age Neptune's Filigree, Aqua (x4)
  • Strap Locks: Schaller S-Locks, Black Chrome
  • Strap: Ernie Ball Silver Orleans
  • Kill Switch: Iron Age Spartan Steel LED Kill Switch (Blue)
  • Nut: Graphtech Black TUSQ (model TBD)
  • Bridge: Graphtech (model TBD)

That's a lot of gear, and it doesn't include the finishes and tools (I'm thinking a black ice burst on the flame maple top, and matte black finish on everything else). Now, as I've demonstrated before, the Solo guitar kits are totally playable right out of the box. That's not the point though. The point is to have fun, and build out a professional-level instrument from (relatively) inexpensive modifications.

Sounds fun, anyway.

The trick to these builds is buying up a few parts here and there. I already know what I want for the electronics and accessories. The guitar is currently out of stock but on a waiting list, and I won't be able to get a new bridge or nut for it until I have the guitar in hand. Experience with my Strat build tells me you can't just buy a "Les Paul" nut for a kit like this and assume it's going to be the right size, string width, or radius.

This build will come with a complete walkthrough of all parts of the construction and modification, both here and on YouTube. And, of course, there's going to be a complete tone test (possibly before and after if I can make it happen) and playthrough when we're all done.

If you're feeling like you want to see things happen sooner rather than later, you can help out with a small contribution to the project. Just click the button below. There's no set amount...any little bit will do, and is greatly appreciated!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review | Donner "Giant Metal" Distortion Pedal

Insane sound from a mini pedal After years of scaling back to just my amp tone, I've started getting back into guitar pedals. 20 years ago, if you couldn't afford the Boss or DOD pedals, you were forced to go with the only budget brand out there: Rocktek. Those things were awful, but affordable. These days, the budget brands are king, in my opinion, and the compact size of the circuitry makes it possible to grab anything you want and try it out for less than fifty bucks. I wanted to start out with a good distortion, and after playing around with online reviews I decided to take the leap to the Donner Giant Metal. This little powerhouse lives up to its name! Super solid aluminum construction, easy to use controls, a fairly wide gain profile, and surprisingly flexible tonal control. It just has the one tone control, and the switch boosts highs or lows (top or bottom), or runs right down the middle. I won't say that this can replace a high-end Boss distortion, but if y...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review | Joyo Vintage Phase

Tight, classic tone. When I was growing up, I wasn't all that into guitar effects. Distortion, maybe some kind of reverb or delay, and that was about it. My friends and I discovered Rocktek pedals, which were the cheapest of all possible budget pedals, and that changed our ability to experiment. My buddy got a Flanger, and I got a Phaser. And we had literally no idea what to do with them. In fact, his dad referred to my phaser experiments as resembling "frogs farting underwater." That ended my phase shifting career. Flash forward some 30 years, and while watching some guitar FX demos on YouTube, I saw a great one for the Joyo Vintage Phase. In the hands of the player using it, I realized what I'd been missing. It isn't just a modulation sweep effect. It can create a leslie or tremolo effect as well. So when I saw a used one for sale on the Facebook Marketplace, I grabbed it. I mean, even brand new these things sell for less that $50 Canadian on Amazon, so ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finnish and Slavic Pagan Holidays (and the birth of Death)

This year, October 31st is the night of the full moon. It's also a blue moon, meaning it's the second full moon of this calendar month. This alone, to those interested in the folklore of autumn, is a very significant event. In fact, it crosses over between a number of very interesting seasonal occurrences. In the Christian world, this night is the eve of the day devoted to All Saints. While it's usually celebrated on the closest Sunday, it's rare for All Saints Day to happen on an actual Sunday. According to legend, the eve of All Saints (All Hallows' Eve, or Hallowe'en) is the night when the veil between the spirit world and the living world is at its thinnest, and spirits "leak through" to our side. Black cats and Jack o' Lanterns are supposed to repel these spirits from the home, but the victory of the saints is what really protects humanity through the winter. Of course, this is one of those fusions of traditional paganism with early Catholicis...
Post a Comment
Read more