10 Best DIY Guitar Kits in 2023

Our first product is an excellent DIY guitar kit from Toninga. For a reasonable price, it gives you everything you require to build an awesome-looking, electric guitar.

Inside the kit, there is a pre-made neck, which has been made from maple, as well a fretboard made from rosewood that’s already attached to the neck. It has lovely inlays that look like flowers, adding to the gorgeous aesthetics of the instrument.

The body is also made from rosewood, as well as basswood. It’s been polished but hasn’t been finished, which allows you to give it your own paint job. The pickups are already fitted into the body. But you’ll need to add the bridge and other hardware, which are also part of the kit.

Putting the kit together is quite easy. It’s a good choice for anyone who is purchasing their first DIY guitar kit, in our opinion. The price is hard to argue with too.

Pros:
+ High-Grade Materials
+ Easy to Set It Up
+ Gorgeous Looks
+ Great Sound
+ Affordable Price

Why We Liked It - It’s the perfect DIY kit for someone who wants a lovely-looking and great-sounding guitar for an affordable price.

Next up on our list is this budget-priced DIY kit from Bogart. If you’re a fan of Fender Stratocasters then this is a solid choice, in our opinion.

Let’s begin by looking at the body. It’s constructed from basswood, which the manufacturer has sanded but has left unfinished. This gives you the freedom to create your ideal aesthetic as you can then paint it and varnish it how you please.

The neck has been made from maple and it has a pre-fixed fretboard made from a laminated poplar. The headstock – like the body – has also been sanded but not finished so you can also customize it.

Also included in the kit are the necessary screws, nuts, electronics, and other small parts that you’ll use to construct the guitar. It’s important to note that this kit will require you to use tools that aren’t provided by the manufacturer.

Pros:
+ Unfinished Body and Headstock for Personalization
+ Very Cheap Price
+ Stratocaster-Style Body
+ Sustainable Materials
+ Easy-To-Follow Instructions

Why We Liked It - It’s a budget-priced kit that includes sturdy parts that have been made from sustainable tonewoods. The ability to customize the body and headstock is a big plus too.

We’re now going to feature a wonderful kit for building your own ukulele. This is a superb choice for any DIY fans who want a super cheap uke that will be great fun to build at home.

The kit is composed of a fingerboard, neck, bridge pad, bridge nut and saddle, sound points, tuning pegs, and box. All the wooden parts have been left unfinished. This is a good feature as it will allow you to paint or stain it to your own style. It also makes it a fun gift for a friend if you decorate it with them in mind.

The top and back have been made from basswood. This material is perfectly suited to ukuleles and helps to give the instrument a rich, bright tone.

It’s a simple product to put together. It comes with all the instructions you need to build it yourself.

Pros:
+ Ukulele Kit
+ Fun to Build
+ Decorate Yourself
+ Low Price
+ Ideal For Kids

Why We Liked It - It’s a great option for anyone wanting to build their own ukulele. The construction process is easy, making it a fun project for kids or families.

For all the fans of Telecasters, the Festnight Muslady DIY electric guitar kit is an excellent option. It gives you the classic style of a Tele along with the legendary sound you know it for. Like any other of the best DIY guitar kits, it comes with everything you need out of the box to get up and playing.

It's made up of a mahogany body, a maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. Just like the famed Telecaster, it comes with 2 single-coil pickups, a metal bridge, a 3-way toggle switch, and a volume and tone knob. You finish the top yourself, which gives you the option to paint or stain it however you like.

All the hardware is included. The fretboard comes fretted as well. If you've ever wanted to put together your own Telecaster, this is the guitar kit that'll let you do it.

Pros:
+ Telecaster design
+ 2 single-coil pickups
+ Mahogany body
+ Maple neck
+ All hardware included

Cons:
- Not as perfect as factory Tele

Why We Liked It - You get to build your own Telecaster right at home. How awesome is that? You can make it look however you want with your finish, and there you have your own homemade Telecaster.

The Solo Guitars' 'build your own' guitar kit allows you to put a TC style guitar together. It comes with all of the tough woodworking already done for you, as well as all of the hardware you need to crank up the octane.

This guitar has a basswood body that already has a poly-sealant on it. The neck is made of unfinished maple, with a blackwood fretboard. The Solo guitars DIY also has strings, a pickguard assembly, a neckplate assembly, and all of the in-between components you'll need to get started.

The Solo guitar 'build your own' is basically as good as any other. It isn't at the top of the list in terms of reputation, but you can't go wrong.

Pros:
+ All components included
+ Budget-friendly
+ Easy to put together
+ Basswood body
+ Poly sealed

Cons:
- Not the most reputable
- Lots of parts to put together

Why We Liked It - This DIY guitar kit is super solid. It's very similar to a telecaster design with a black pick-guard. It comes with everything you need, and is relatively affordable as well.

If you're a rockabilly fan, or you just love the way a hollow-body guitar sounds, and want to build your own, the FretWire Hollow-Body electric guitar kit is one of the best ways to go. It's made of Basswood and Maple, with a rosewood fingerboard that is slick and fun to play.

It has two-tone and two volume knobs with a 3-way toggle switch for pure tone building. With an archtop design, a really banging jazzy sound comes out. Two humbuckers give this guitar a ton of sustain, and a Bigsby tremolo bridge gives you lots of whammy power.

It has all the hardware you need, is factory drilled and set for perfect fits. Just find the finish that suits you, slap it on and you'll be ready to play your favorite blues and jazz records.

Pros:
+ Archtop and arch back
+ Basswood body and maple neck
+ Rosewood fingerboard
+ Easy to put together
+ 2 humbucker pickups

Cons:
- Higher price
- Niche sound style

Why We Liked It - Hollow body guitars have a very distinct sound. Not many DIY guitar kits allow you to build your own retro jazz style guitar. However, this one has a really sturdy body and a comfortable neck, letting you twang it up with your own homemade guitar.

The FretWire Spalted Maple top 'build your own' guitar kit is another excellent way for you to experience a raw, unfinished feel with a Telecaster style body. While the body is made using Basswood, it has a spalted maple veneer top, which gives it more of a rustic look and style.

It has all of the necessary components you need to put it together. With a bolt-on pre-fretted neck, it fits in snuggly and tight. The only holes you'll need to drill are for the pickguard. Other than the pre-drilled holes, everything is unfinished and needs a final touch of coating to give it the protection that the guitar needs.

Pros:
+ Telecaster style
+ Maple neck
+ Spalted Maple top
+ Basswood body
+ Single-coil pickups

Cons:
- Need to buy finish
- Not the best for every style of music

Why We Liked It - It has single-coil pickups, maple neck, a 3-way toggle switch, and volume and tone knobs to control everything. It's also fairly reasonably priced for a DIY guitar kit.

As far as design goes, the Saga 'build your own' guitar kit is very similar to others in the sense that you get a Telecaster style guitar. Like many others, it comes with a maple neck, basswood body, rosewood fingerboard, and the pre-drilled holes you need to put it together easily at home.

It's relatively affordable and easy enough to put together. One huge plus about this kit is that you don't have to do any soldering compared to some other DIY kits out there. It also has an uncut headstock which allows you to create your own design.

The single-coil pickups give you a raw sound that has stood the test of time, and the pre-mounted pick-guard saves you a bit of extra work when you're putting it together.

Pros:
+ Uncut headstock
+ Pre-soldered components
+ Telecaster design
+ Single-coil pickups
+ Basswood body, maple neck, Rosewood fretboard

Why We Liked It - It doesn't stand out in terms of style, but it plays well and is easy to put together. It's as reliable as you need, and all around is one of the best electric guitar kits you'll find.

This is a mammoth of a project and is one of the more complex electric guitar kits you'll come across in your search. This is solely due to the fact that you're dealing with a double-neck design. If you want to look like Jimmy Page, then the FretWire double-neck kit is great for you.

With six and twelve-string options, you can play a wide variety of songs and spruce up your playing wonderfully. You get six single-coil pickups, configuration for 12 and six strings, a 5-way toggle switch, volume and tone knobs, basswood body and maple neck.

Again, it comes with everything you need; you just have to put it all together, including the bridge, tuners, neck, knobs, and pickups, and you're ready to go. When you consider the amount spent, and how much fun this project would be, it is also well-priced.

Pros:
+ Six single-coil pickups
+ Maple neck, basswood body
+ 12 and six string configuration
+ Double-neck guitar
+ Pre-drilled and soldered

Cons:
- Extra assembly time
- Extra neck not always necessary

Why We Liked It - Having a two neck guitar can be a lot of fun. It lets you play songs in a different style when you want to. This is a super fun project to work with and sounds great with the six different single-coil pickups.

To round out our list of the best DIY guitar kits is the Seismic Audio Premium Traditional. There's not a lot that stands this kit out from the rest, as it comes with all of the parts you need. It also has a basswood body with a maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard. The headstock is unfinished, giving you a little room for creativity.

With this guitar, you get two single-coil pickups, vintage-style T-saddles, a volume and tone knob, and sealed tuner pegs. Along with everything else you need to fasten and secure it all tightly. It's reasonably priced and is fairly high quality, which is why it makes our list of the best electric guitar kits.

Pros:
+ Traditional Telecaster style
+ Maple neck, Basswood body, Rosewood fingerboard
+ Easy to assemble kit
+ Solid-body electric guitar

Cons:
- Similar style to many others
- Not the cheapest kit

Why We Liked It - This is a solid choice for anyone who wants one of the best guitar kits in a traditional style. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, but it will sound great and will be a fun project to work on.

DIY Guitar Kits Buyers Guide

Important Considerations

Quality

When you're trying to build your own guitar, you want to make sure that the quality of the materials used is good. The body, neck, top, tuners, wiring, pickups, and all the nuts and bolts need to be sturdy and reliable. Luckily, with all of the options we've listed, the quality is definitely going to be high.

Style

The style of your guitar is likely important to you. We've featured a lot of guitars you can build that are Telecasters. However, there are plenty of different types you can work with. Also, since most of the guitars featured are unfinished, you can tweak the look of it to fit your preferred style with paint and stain.

Putting It All Together

It's important to keep in mind that, with a guitar kit, you'll have to be the one that puts everything together. This is obvious, I know. However, this means that you have to ensure to take your time with the kit and be careful to follow all instructions. 'Build your own' guitar kits are still complicated and have the potential for error. So the actual end quality of your guitar will be totally up to your craftsmanship.

Pickups

Depending on what style of music you're playing, you'll want to pick guitar kits based on the pickups provided. Single coil pickups will give you a sound that's great for country, folk, and rock. Whereas humbuckers will offer a more sustainable tone that is great for cranking up the distortion.

Wood

The wood used on your neck, body, and fretboard will make a big difference. Many of the best DIY guitar kits come with basswood or mahogany for the body, maple for the neck, and rosewood for the fingerboard. These are all highly used woods for guitars and will work well from top to bottom.

Tools You'll Need

You'll likely need to use certain tools that aren't included in the box to put together your guitar kit. Just make sure that you have the right tools on hand to bolt on the neck and create the true style of the guitar you're trying to build.

Price

Keeping in mind the fact that you're going to be building the guitar, you may want to pick one with a lower price point. It will give you a little margin for error if it's your first one. However, if you're confident in yourself and you're ready to take on the challenge, then one of the more expensive guitar kits will be suitable.

Conclusion

Any of the guitar kits we have mentioned would be a good fit for basically any style. Our top pick, based on all the criteria, is the FretWire Offset Single-coil, but you can't go wrong with any of the other choices. Happy Building!

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