https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:47:15 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189740 Tue, 18 Jul 2006 04:46:24 +0000 For me this is strictly a hobby, so the money is somewhat irrelevant. I'm not looking to get a good cheap guitar for $99, if I end up spending $250 total that would be ok - the fun is in the project. Then a Saga kit sounds about right, especially if you're not into the whole woodworking thing... The other option would be to pick up a body from Warmoth or Stew-Mac, a Mighty Mite neck, and round out everything else w/ parts from GF. That'd run you more than a Saga kit + upgrades, but probably end up w/ a better guitar.
Couldn't I just sand off the sealer so I could apply a proper stain finish? You could, but from what I've heard, that crap is really painful to get off. It is extremely thick, I know that much. I'm not talking about just a little layer here, it's probably a good millimeter thick, and very tough. Good luck getting all that off without damaging the flame top... Anyways, I did my finish on top of the sealer and it worked OK. I used the alcohol based dyes from reranch, wiped on w/ a rag, then clear deft lacquer (spray can) on top. You have to be very careful to use THIN coats at first w/ the lacquer, as any drops will disturb the dye, since it can't really sink into the sealer junk like it's supposed to. Like I said, I think it would be better if you bought a bucket of lacquer, some lacquer thinner, and tinted the lacquer itself, then maybe use a preval unit or something to spray it on. When I did mine, I basically put myself in the mindset of "well, if I screw it up, I can always paint it black". ;) Doesn't hurt anything to try a more complicated finish though.

Oh, and I just looked back at the posts and realized you're talking about the tele kit... someone else was originally talking about the PRS kit I think. The tele kit doesn't have flamed top (the LP and PRS kits do), and the wood might not be nice-looking enough for a transparent finish. They're usually made up of multiple pieces of wood (ie you can see where the blocks start and end) which is a problem. It's kind of a crapshoot though, some of them look ok from the front, some of them don't.

TZ]]> Guitar Players Discussion TimeZone https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189740 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189628 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 06:29:35 +0000
For me this is strictly a hobby, so the money is somewhat irrelevant. I'm not looking to get a good cheap guitar for $99, if I end up spending $250 total that would be ok - the fun is in the project.

Couldn't I just sand off the sealer so I could apply a proper stain finish? Not on the tele kit, the wood quality was not good enough. The sanding sealer was very thick, and would have been a killer job to remove, then it would have to be replaced with a stainable sealer. I didn't try a spirit-based sealer. That might have worked, but I had a particular set of chemicals in mind -- water-based stain, nitro sanding lacquer, finally nitro lacquer coats. Changed over to black nitro after the water-based debacle. OTOH, I used the intended stain and nitro lacquers on a fresh piece of maple (lap steel) and that came out beautiful. Oh well.

I would call the seller to see if the LP and PRS kits are sealed differently, as they should have maple caps. Might very well be the case.]]> Guitar Players Discussion gnease https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189628 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189625 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 06:01:08 +0000 Good points on the PRS... I mean, the whole point would be to stain it so you could see the grain. If it is sealed, you really can't stain it? Maybe the PRS kit is different, but I started with some really nice water-based stains from Stew-Mac on my tele kit. It was wipe on and wipe off. Too bad.]]> Guitar Players Discussion gnease https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189625 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189624 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 05:56:19 +0000
For me this is strictly a hobby, so the money is somewhat irrelevant. I'm not looking to get a good cheap guitar for $99, if I end up spending $250 total that would be ok - the fun is in the project.

Couldn't I just sand off the sealer so I could apply a proper stain finish?]]> Guitar Players Discussion The Dali https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189624 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189620 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 05:46:45 +0000 http://home.earthlink.net/~gmtarr although it looks a little different now. I replaced the chrome hardware with gold, and the black stuff with cream, fits better with the burst finish IMO. Actually I do have a pic of that here too: http://home.earthlink.net/~gmtarr/gear.jpg Anyways, if you want a good cheap guitar, I'd guess the Agiles are probably better (I have no experience w/ them, just know a few people here love 'em). If you want a fun project, the Saga is good, and will certainly be servicable when it's done, but by the time you get it the way you want it, you may have spent more than on an Agile... BTW, in my experience the wiring is total crap in Sagas. Also, the instructions on the LP were total crap. I threw them out when I noticed the diagram had three wires going to the switch, but in reality there were four wires on the switch. :roll:

TZ]]> Guitar Players Discussion TimeZone https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/paged/2/#post-189620 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189619 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 05:42:27 +0000
Good points on the PRS... I mean, the whole point would be to stain it so you could see the grain. If it is sealed, you really can't stain it?]]> Guitar Players Discussion The Dali https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189619 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189610 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 03:35:55 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Anonymous https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189610 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189608 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 03:27:33 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion gnease https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189608 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189592 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 01:18:19 +0000
Any picture you may have I would like to see. My head is spinning right now as to what I want to do...I might just mod the Squier first then see where I'm at.

Thanks]]> Guitar Players Discussion Anonymous https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189592 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189591 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 01:14:38 +0000
I have another Squier Strat I got from eBay for $100 coming in this week. I wanted to strip it down and try my hands a fully customizing a guitar. I want to use the GFS Wired Pickguard and try Wilkinson Kluson style tuners. Maybe even install a Vintage Style GOLD Tremolo to complete the picture! Shims and a truss rod are for neck angle and relief, respectively -- two different aspects of neck adjustment. The Saga guitars have truss rods. Shims might still be necessary in the neck pocket. They are "as required" on every bolt-on except those with the infamous Fender (or later on, refined and generally good G&L) Micro-tilt adjustments.]]> Guitar Players Discussion gnease https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/saga-prs-kit/#post-189591