My son's building one of these and replacing the bridge pickup with Seymour Duncan. Any tips on swapping the wires? The stock pickups have two wires but the Seymour Duncan has five.
Cool build!!! Saw that kit on Amazon but was a little worried about the neck joint. Nice to see yours fitting so well. 1 tip on the tung oil: I used to use the same stuff you have. Pretty sure it’s pure tung oil. Not sure if you have the same issue but it takes like 2 weeks to fully cure. I’m super impatient so I switched over to using watco tung oil 1 step finish. I think it looks great and it cures way quicker! A day or 2 and I can handle it without that gummy feeling.
This is an awesome build! I do have a question though. How did you swap the pickups with the solder-free things on the electronics. I was going to replace the bridge with a dimebucker and keep the original pickup on the neck. Would I have to solder anything?
Thanks for the watch and reply. You do need to solder when replacing the pickups. It’s not super hard if you know how to solder, and soldering isn’t too hard to learn. It’s a good skill to have if you tinker or mod guitars
@@usedguitarsandbooze How would I go about that, would I remove the wires on the existing pots and replace them?, or would I cut the adapter off? Thank you!
@@theebman I would just remove the adapter. You should see at least three wires- a braided wire which is a ground, a black wire which is most likely a ground, and then a colored wire which is most likely the hot. Based on what pickups you are putting in, you'll need to know hte matching wires. This page is helpful obsidianwire.com/blogs/product-support/pickup-color-codes
@@theebman pretty much, just make sure you are matching the grounds with the grounds and the hot with the hot. If you aren't comfortable doing it, you can always take it to a guitar tech for them to do it for you, or to at least look at what you're thinking and to tell you it's correct.
i put both e strings on before clamping that way i can move the neck if i need to. i see people blindly clamping necks and it makes me cringe lol. i did that on my second explorer kit and i wont do it again.
hey im interested in building one of these but i have no expierence on any guitar work let alone a kit but i would like to know. if you had known the issues before you started building what would you have done to prevent the strings being misaligned and the neck hitting the ring? just asking in case i do get the kit and want to prevent this from happening.
Buying a kit with a bolt on neck is an easier way to start, but if that's not an option, I guess in hindsight I could have strung up one string prior to gluing the neck to check if it looked right. Thanks for watching the video and the comment. Have fun with your build!
@@usedguitarsandbooze I found a kit from guitar world with a bolt on neck, only catch is, is that its about 100 bucks more lmao. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question and also the fact that you made this video in the first place. it means a lot to beginners like myself. Thank you!
@@usedguitarsandbooze I built a Solo Guitars Tele kit as a starter as I had never built one before. Ended up having to shim the neck which gave a nice action. Still have a little fretwork to do as I didn't quite get it correct the first time, and swap the nut for something worthwhile other than plastic. Other than that it plays fine and the bridge pickup is rather aggressive to the point of 'lets shred on this thing'. Tuning stability will be the nut job. I work at a wheel refinishing shop. My next build will be in what is called 'hypersilver' which is an OEM wheel color. Very hard to match, but looks like smoky dark chrome when done right.
Thanks. The neck being off where I needed to reset the bridge, and the pickup ring not fitting after getting the correct scale length. Thanks for watching!
My son's building one of these and replacing the bridge pickup with Seymour Duncan. Any tips on swapping the wires? The stock pickups have two wires but the Seymour Duncan has five.
@@jasonmartinez9032 this might help: images.app.goo.gl/8fXSXCAQwc6QYfbo9
i did a tung oil finish on one of my explorer kits and i really liked the look and how easy it was to do.
Agreed on how easy it is. Definitely simpler than painting.
Cool build!!! Saw that kit on Amazon but was a little worried about the neck joint. Nice to see yours fitting so well. 1 tip on the tung oil: I used to use the same stuff you have. Pretty sure it’s pure tung oil. Not sure if you have the same issue but it takes like 2 weeks to fully cure. I’m super impatient so I switched over to using watco tung oil 1 step finish. I think it looks great and it cures way quicker! A day or 2 and I can handle it without that gummy feeling.
Awww I just saw the neck alignment issues. Bummer.
The oil does take a lot of time to cure. Thanks for the recommendation and I’ll try that out in the future!
This is an awesome build! I do have a question though. How did you swap the pickups with the solder-free things on the electronics. I was going to replace the bridge with a dimebucker and keep the original pickup on the neck. Would I have to solder anything?
Thanks for the watch and reply. You do need to solder when replacing the pickups. It’s not super hard if you know how to solder, and soldering isn’t too hard to learn. It’s a good skill to have if you tinker or mod guitars
@@usedguitarsandbooze How would I go about that, would I remove the wires on the existing pots and replace them?, or would I cut the adapter off? Thank you!
@@theebman I would just remove the adapter. You should see at least three wires- a braided wire which is a ground, a black wire which is most likely a ground, and then a colored wire which is most likely the hot. Based on what pickups you are putting in, you'll need to know hte matching wires. This page is helpful obsidianwire.com/blogs/product-support/pickup-color-codes
@@usedguitarsandbooze After I remove the adapter would I just solder the corresponding wires together?
@@theebman pretty much, just make sure you are matching the grounds with the grounds and the hot with the hot. If you aren't comfortable doing it, you can always take it to a guitar tech for them to do it for you, or to at least look at what you're thinking and to tell you it's correct.
i put both e strings on before clamping that way i can move the neck if i need to. i see people blindly clamping necks and it makes me cringe lol. i did that on my second explorer kit and i wont do it again.
Agreed, and I’ll do that in the future. The neck pocket was so tight I didn’t think to bother.
Im thinking of getting one too but I want bolt in neck, do you think its possible?
I’m sure someone makes one with a bolt on. I’m not sure if this manufacturer does. They are easier to build with a bolt on.
How long did you clamp the neck for!?!?
@@M.O.T.H.51H8 rule of thumb is 24 hours.
@@usedguitarsandbooze thanks
hey im interested in building one of these but i have no expierence on any guitar work let alone a kit but i would like to know. if you had known the issues before you started building what would you have done to prevent the strings being misaligned and the neck hitting the ring? just asking in case i do get the kit and want to prevent this from happening.
Buying a kit with a bolt on neck is an easier way to start, but if that's not an option, I guess in hindsight I could have strung up one string prior to gluing the neck to check if it looked right. Thanks for watching the video and the comment. Have fun with your build!
@@usedguitarsandbooze I found a kit from guitar world with a bolt on neck, only catch is, is that its about 100 bucks more lmao. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question and also the fact that you made this video in the first place. it means a lot to beginners like myself. Thank you!
@@ryoga7599anytime! Reach out if I can help!
@@ryoga7599 Anytime!
How’s the neck on it? Does it feel cheap or does it feel like a ML neck?
For all these kits so far I have no complaints about the necks. All in all they aren’t too bad.
To me it's even better than some of the korean models. But I wouldn't say the american model it's that very better. Namastè.
Thanks. It’s a really fun guitar to play!
I would fill the original bridge holes and move them a hair over. Wood plug and a sharp chisel?
@@JohnBaker-vm1wf that could work. These kits are always a challenge, but they are fun!
@@usedguitarsandbooze I built a Solo Guitars Tele kit as a starter as I had never built one before. Ended up having to shim the neck which gave a nice action. Still have a little fretwork to do as I didn't quite get it correct the first time, and swap the nut for something worthwhile other than plastic. Other than that it plays fine and the bridge pickup is rather aggressive to the point of 'lets shred on this thing'. Tuning stability will be the nut job.
I work at a wheel refinishing shop. My next build will be in what is called 'hypersilver' which is an OEM wheel color. Very hard to match, but looks like smoky dark chrome when done right.
🤘🍻🤘
@@forrestcrabbe Thanks for watching!
Great video!! which are the two issues?
Thanks. The neck being off where I needed to reset the bridge, and the pickup ring not fitting after getting the correct scale length. Thanks for watching!
@@usedguitarsandbooze ok, Thanks!
Those jumbo output jack covers they use look bad.
It is an interesting look.
"I don't drink Bud light" good call
Thanks. So many better options out there.