Are Cheap DIY Guitar Kits Really Terrible? | Pete Cottrell
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2017
- How good or bad can a £60 self-assembly kit guitar be? Lets find out! :)
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Background music by RYcalibrated: • Video
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Harley Benton T-Style Guitar Kit: goo.gl/s4zv99
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Annnnnnd that riff will be stuck in my head for the next week
+Robert Baker Haha, my evil mind control plans are working 😉
Didn't expect to see you here robert
BOB! B oh B!
I copied it just to play with my other collected instrumentals for the hell of it. :)
Did it sound badass as fuck?
Great things happen when you put cheap-o guitars into Pete's hands!
Pretty sure there could be a Les Paul kit with your name on it :)
Thanks man! :)
Completely agree
I came here to say basically the same thing. The test was biased the second Pete started playing the damn thing.
Agufish we want an agufish/Pete Cotrell video
I like the split screen showing you building/playing at the same time. Great change of pace for the visuals!
Kyle Martin agreed. very efficient with time :)
I wanted to show the build but I figured most people would get bored before the song kicked in, so I chose to do the split screen effect and intersperse the build footage into the verses and bridge. Thanks for watching! :)
So Pete, did you fix the fret issues yourself?
Bet you could even get a killer tone out of a teaspoon
+rcmaster207 Is that a challenge? 😀
Pete Cottrell I'd like to see you try haha. I'll see the video pop up soon I suppose? ;)
Pete Cottrell Jared Dines and Rob Scallon have got their insane guitars, so why not make a spoon guitar??
tuned to tea flat.
I'll let myself out.
and see recent video
Great video man! Very informative and to the point! Love it! Sounds great!
+Rabea Massaad Thanks so much dude! :)
My heroes
Ever since someone suggested a DIY guitar kit shootout on an Andertons vid (I think the one where Rob scalloped an LTD tele) I've been waiting for that, even if it does nothing at all to shift stock.
I wonder what the other three strings sound like ;)
i'm actually really surprised with how good it sounds
MostlyIrishCarGuy cheap guitar into precision drive and 6505mh.. Of course it sounds really good.. Any guitar played into that rig would sound amazing
A really bad guitar won't necessarily sound good through a good amp. So much of the tone is derived from a good set of pickups and construction that without that you'll have an awful sounding guitar through any rig, I think anyway. This one sounds passable because the pickups are fairly solid, the frets are awful though. Thanks for watching!
MostlyIrishCarGuy most cheap single coils still sound good tbh in my experience there is differences but thats to be expected now humbuckers and noiseless are the one where prices matters
MostlyIrishCarGuy Me too... And I had that harley benton kit... Mine didn't sound that good... The pick-ups were SO BAD and the strings didn't stay in tune, so I took only the body and the neck and I modified it. I put EMG active pickups (81/60), I made the holes for the battery and the pickups on the body and on the pick guard, I changed also the tuners (?) (My English sucks :DDDD),the bridge, the pickup switch and the knobs :DDDDD Now it sounds great :DDDD
Sorry for my English lol
+Lanc I bought a HB Prog. Series. Same. The Pickups are the worst shit i ever heard. Really better none, takes less time to swap them. But for the 200e i payed it is well done guitar, nice frets, string action etc only the PU and the Electrics are now all EMG and it sound great. HB is not bad. They are really good for the price.But thats it.
I could see this being a neat "my first guitar" kind of kit.
Your friend or kid wants to get into them so you pick this up, throw it their way and after setting it up you'd literally know the ins and outs of a guitar and how it all works.
For a first guitar that would make a pretty sweet thing if you ask me.
What's really impressive, here, is your mixing skills.
You really got to pro level.
I've had a LOT of guitars over the years but the £200 build it yourself telecaster copy is one of my all time favourites. Because it's irreplaceable. There's literally only 1 and it plays and sounds and feels amazing.
Wow this turned out way better than I ever would have expected haha
Thanks man! :)
Since when IKEA sells guitars?
Jonathan Alcaide they came out with the convenient "Gitaar" flat pack kit a few years ago.
😂
gitarr*
Ikea model "hardröckken"
@@foxdevilswild4641 I wish they did that XD
That was a pretty good song man. It had a heavy Nickleback kind of sound. I dig it for sure bro. Nice work!
That intro sounded massive! Impressed
Thanks! :)
What efect is it.????
Man. That sounded incredible! Love that the demo became the music for the build montage. Clever!
technique conquers all cheap shit. Also it must have been frustrating putting that together without a proper screwdriver
+DDoS420 Na, it just took a little longer. Thanks for watching! :)
You don't buy professional tools for building one single item that costs less than the tools themselves.
ChristianIce ultimamente ti ritrovo sempre tra i commenti nei video di chitarre! Mi fa piacere vedere che non hai perso il tocco tagliente! Nuovi video in arrivo? Li ho adorati quasi tutti!
Grazie! Per i video, speriamo presto :)
Fretwork isn't that difficult when you're not scared of it. I'd say it's a benefit for builders that these cheap ones aren't perfect because you'll get to learn how to go about fixing these things. Cracking riff!
love the riff at 2:35
metfan4l kinda death magneticish in some places
that actually sounds killer
Yes
That riff at 2:35 caught me off guard, I had to rewatch it several times - good stuff!
My main guitar is actually custom built. It's a les paul and of course we replaced the pickups with a set of Seymour Duncan's. But overall it did take some readjusting with the holes and the nut and stuff but in the end, it turned out being a metal machine and I absolutely love it to death. Sick song man. That tone was tight af btw lol I loved it so much
Thanks! Yeah, I think with a bit of work these types of kit guitars can be fairly good, nice to hear you're rocking one as your main guitar :)
Sounded great!
Thanks man! :)
Holy shit... The classic hard rock / metal tone in this tune sounds awesome. Well done, young man.
+Marc Cote Thanks! :)
GREAT VIDEO DUDE! Just subscribed to ya cause that review was awesome and really entertaining. Can't wait to see more of your content!
+Evan Posteraro Thanks for watching and the Sub! :)
Quick, clean, and straight to the point. Wonderful video. :)
You should continue to upgrade it. Better pickups, fret work, paint job, etc. Then make another video with it showing how far it's come!
I think the kit guitars are a great learning experience. If you're just buying one to save money and you're not handy at all...forget it. A waste of your time and money. If you're handy and enjoy learning and want to learn all about doing fretwork and all aspects of guitar adjusting, I think they're great! I've done 2 and loved every minute of building them. I've learned how ro level and crown frets, adjust neck relief, intonation, etc. It's inspired me to create more guitars on my own from scratch! Something I would've never done, if not for the kits!
Key to making a cheap kit guitar sound great: Be Pete
I bought one of these to learn to do fretwork on before I start refretting my expensive guitars. You can't even get a cheap neck for that price so it's a perfect way to get started.
You can't even buy the bare wood for a neck and fretboard for this price.
Dude--- this is a great video and love the playing.
Well, it sounded really cool, but i wish you played something more clean/funky/bluesy, as it is a tele after all :)
But still, great vid, great work, you just got a new sub
+Thomas Romain Thanks for watching and the Sub! :)
Thomas Romain some little wing played by SRV woulda be nice on a tele😏
I shred my strat.
Great vid. Been wanting to try one of those kits, so this absolutely helps.
+VideInfra99 Thanks for watching! :)
This is exactly what I wanted to see.
And this is exactly the comment I wanted to see too! Thanks for watching! :)
Pete Cottrell I've taken a few guitars apart to refinish but always wanted to try a kit guitar. Little worried about the light body though so I'll have to do some research. But it's great to see the pros and cons.
If you were to do anything to this guitar I would highly recommend just giving the body an oil stain job so the grain stays visible but the mahogany will come out a bit darker and consistent in multiple settings of lightning. The fretwork is easily adjusted by bringing it to a shop and maybe getting stainless steel fretwires while you're at it. The guitar sounds fine but maybe you want to experiment with some medium/vintage output pickups.
Kool experiment! thank you for doing that.
I have a PRS SE one with a super light mahogany body. Don't think it's anything to worry about, the tone can still be amazing!
Much better sounding than expected!
Would you consider doing another video with custom upgrades to the guitar with aftermarket parts?
Great video Pete!
Infectious riffs man superbly executed.
Amazing video - sick riff too :) keep it up! - Stee
Thanks! :)
Great music Sir, cool vid. Bravo!
Looks alright for £60 man. Fret level and dress isn't expensive to do yourself. All you need is a fret crowning file and a straight edge. The best sounding guitar I own has a neck that is denser/heavier than the body. I don't know why but I find the guitar feels alive with a resonant body and the hard neck helps transmit that. I wouldn't moan for £60 there. To make your own using off the shelf parts would be 2-3 times that obviously.
How much guitar can you get for £60 and are these cheap DIY kits actually any good? Lets find out! :)
Next video: "What does it take to make Pete sound like shit?"
Great stuff man. Liked and subscribed
+Tom Kovar Thanks for watching and the Sub! :)
Great video mate
Great video!
Not to be picky but the body is not mahogany. Bought the same kit just 2 days before you uploaded! It's basswood. The frets om my kit were fine, but with harley benton it can go both ways! Love your stuff!
Would you be able to make a separate video from this one that is just the song, because it sounds absolutely amazing.
oooohhh he's also using that precision pedal.
Awesome pedal! :)
Pete Cottrell Hey Pete !
Do you use the precision drive through an already distorted canal or just by itself ?
I'm guessing already distorted channel just to tighten it up, atleast I've got the same amp and that pedal and that's how I use it. The precision drive isn't really a high gain pedal, but it works great for tightening up already high gain signals.
Jeroen de Bie oh ok !
I was planning on getting one, but in all honesty, in my nine years of playing, I never used a distortion/drive pedal because my amp drives the sound pretty good by itself
So thanks for telling me how I should use it !
Also something to note is that if you are using it to tighten an already distorted tone, keep the drive relatively low, that's how you get the best sound. Turn the drive up for lead stuff
Watched this video so many times just for the song. Just awesome guitar playing 🤘🏼
very nice sound bro killer tones !
+tako san Thanks! :)
A very fair review, I built one of these kits about five years ago, I replaced the tuners with Wilkinson E-Z Loks and put different pickups in it, the frets were all over the place and needed a leveling right away, I used boiled linseed oil on the body and neck, I was very pleased with the result and it plays exceptionally well, the body on my kit was made from basswood.
+John Smith I can see these kits being very playable if setup correctly, out of the box they're very hit and miss. Awesome to hear yours plays so well. Thanks for watching! :)
i love your riffs man so creative and different
Thanks! :)
Telly with Strat headstock.
EPIC
+Jeremy Clarkson The best headstock......in the world. Thanks for watching! :)
Man what fun riffs. Great job Pete!
Thanks! :)
I fucking love the songs you write. Genuinely cool stuff! (I really like that alternating riff thing you did the two different panned tracks)
+Jared Broider Thanks! :)
Pete Cottrell yw, cheers!
Really helpful. Thanks.
Thanks Pete for this very useful video ! You know what's up
Thanks for watching! :)
great video and wicked song!
hey pete! nice work as always man :) love your stuff what strings and what tuning did you use for this demo?
+Satyar Sh Thanks! I think these were the standard 09-46 D'Addario's and the tuning is Drop Db :)
Another great video!
Thanks! :)
Awesome video. And nice song.
Damn! It was pretty awesome!... Congrats cool channel!.
Good for practice at fret leveling crowning and polishing, everyone has to start somewhere, I've done an LP type, turned out fairly OK. Must try a T type next.
We were really surprised as well at how well the Harley Benton LP style turned out when we put it together. Granted, when they were finally sold/given away, they were completely different beasts all together :D The nuts were the biggest issue, just awful and needed much reslotting (or a new aluminium nut completely for one). Frets aswell pretty redone from level to polish. Electronics weren't actually that bad, but we still switched out the pots and jack. All-in-all, I still think they were great fun and definitely great projects for learning the ins and outs and guitar customising!
-T
Wanted a Telecaster for ages, just not dropping a couple grand on a used tribute, or a near as you can find. About as straight a review as I could hope to get. At least I know what I'm facing with a DIY. COOL! Thanks Brother.
One of my first guitars was a DIY Strat and it did actually sound fine as long as I didn't put too much distortion on it.
Very good stuff!
I have to say your songs just always have a certain flow to them that I really love! Keep it up!
Btw. how does the raw guitar sound? I mean without any post production
Pretty good and very similar to this but with some added lows and fizz. It's also very bright and loud even acoustically. Thanks for watching! :)
You should make another vid of you upgrading the pickups and fret leveling all yourself!
I have one similar to this, I didn't use the pickups or the pick guard included so I didn't really have any problems with that. I leveled and polished the frets and it plays just as well as some of my higher end guitars. Obviously it's not gonna replace the craftsmanship of a real fender unless you're just super good at building guitars and put a lot of work into it. But for what you get it was worth it for me. I think I spent about 75 bucks on the kit and ended up spending another 60 for the pickups and new tuners and it was good to go. Great little guitar, and it was fun to build.
Holy crap...metal on a fake diy telecaster!!
+the backwards guitarist Thanks for watching! :)
Pete Cottrell no problem it was really cool
the backwards guitarist - dude, were you being "backwards" when u commented "a fake diy telecaster!!" - cause that would be incorrect - it is not a fake diy telecaster - it is a fake telecaster that happens to be diy. But it is a real diy telecaster.......................just sayin'.
Tele's are the hidden metal Gem, tele bridge p'ups kick ass for metal, been using teles for 20 years plus for metal
@Ultim3te Clips exactly. stop shaming us poor shits who cant afford real telecasters
I'm pretty sure that body is made out of basswood, its weight and price range suggests that.
Anyway... How about CST-24 review?
My kit came with a basswood body which is of a lighter colour, matching that of the maple neck and headstock. If it's unstained, and judging by colour, it could in fact be mahogany... On their website, Thomann only say these kits come with solid wood body, so I guess their stock changes from time to time depending on what kind of wood they can source. There are more variants of mahogany...
Agathis is often stated as "mahogany" so it could be agathis, too.
Great review Pete. No bull. No faff. Love the playing too.
Impressive sound and playing, insightful product review, and a fun video overall, Pete.
It's proof that player's skill makes instrument brand largely irrelevant.
I've built an identical Harley Benton DIY Tele from Thomann myself. I met the very same merits and flaws. Mine also had the poor fretwork, badly cut pickguard and misplaced screw holes. In fact, one of the frets was pressed into the fingerboard so deep it was totally unplayable - I had to remove the fret and put it back higher, and I still have quite a bit of fret buzz. I'll have it set up by someone in the skill.
The lesson is, when you buy such a kit, always check the neck and frets before you invest any serious work into the body, so you can send the product back in case it's uncontrollably bad.
I also built a jazz bass from the same source, the fretboard and everything else being flawless, so I suppose there is a strong luck factor to getting a decent kit. With Thomann, you can always return products if you're not satisfied.
I bought a tele kit from Grizzly several years ago for about $100, on sale. Exactly what you said, good and bad. The ugly, not so much. Mine ended up well balanced, and I didn't have to do much modification on the pickguard. I would recommend anyone who gets a kit to assemble it themselves, but take it to a local shop for set up, afterwards. I ended up spending only about $30 more. Worth it for a decent throw-aroubd guitar.
Great video. thanks.
Cool demo song and it sounds great! :D
Damn, that riff just works. In my head I'm already writing Soundgarden/NIN type lyrics :O)
Thank you for your video.
It makes me to buy and build that kit myself. What is the weight of that guitar? Thank you!
Excuse my poor english. I want to buy the same kit but i don't understand your opinion about the string attack. I'm used to low attacks, does this guitar have a very high attack? Can you get off quite a bit without "fret noise"?
Great video idea.
Im new to guitars but love wood working. I have family members that play guitar could you make a video explaining how the fret work could be addressed on one of these kits?
ok, I am thinking about my first Guitar build...1 minutes later, whoa, that tune, OMG you are killing it and I could care less about your thoughts on the guitar kit. That tune was freaking awesome!!! Please, someone tell me that's recorded on a song somewhere
Great video !
+GuitarCook tv Thanks for watching! :)
I've done 3 cheap diy kits. (2 basses and a guitar). Totally worth it. On 2 of them, i upgraded the pickups instead of using the pups that came with the kits. The cool thing for lefties is that you can get body styles that manufacturers don't make left handed versions of. For example, I did a lefty explorer and lefty iceman. Gibson and ibanez don't make lefty versions of those guitars.
Honestly. Give this man some lemons and watch him turn it to gold! Soo good.
Love this guy so much!
quite fancy doing a firebird kit guitar. modding it for metal. that riff pete. my god, u make up juicy riffs.
Why did you not cut a Telecaster shaped headstock?
Helps if you could hear it solo without the fill. Also your amp type is going to play a big role in the sound, tube amps are warm, and solid state amps tend to be bright and too clean they lack warmth. But this also depends on the style of music you play.
Is there any way you can post tabs for that song, because it seems like so much fun to play!
Thanks Pete you answered many Questions
sounds great . how did u achieve such sound?
Nice guitar and tone. How does it sound with transparent drive and fuzz?
Dude, make an entire video with that riff, it sounds amazing
+Suyanomi Plays Thanks! :)
I bought a $60 kit jazz bass and it turned out AWESOME
I have seen a couple of videos of people building their own guitar and getting a bad result in terms of how the guitar sounds. But of course that does not apply to you Pete, if you can do it with a 5 pounds guitar with a copper knob then no wonder you made this guitar sound good haha. Keep up the videos!
Btw can we have a "What if Gojira tuned up?" video please
I was not expecting that...
2:40 the riff is amazing ! LoG like !
i have a $160 semi hollow les paul kit. it plays fairly well, I need to paint and do a lot of other stuff still but its not too bad.