landen Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 I have a grizzly catalog and saw their samba kit guitar, it kinda looks like a prs. I was thinking of trying to build my first guitar and was wondering if anyone has these kits? what do you think of the quality? And does anyone know where I can get info on Samba guitars? I tried searching the net but no luck. thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 i don't know if you are talking about the one i bought.i got the one that costs about $350 i think. it is very decent.the top is veneer and the body is multiple piece mahogany.but if that doesn't bother you then go for it. i have not put mine together yet though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landen Posted February 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 the kit is $395 and it has gold parts and a floyd rose. Is veneer and multiple peice mahogony not good? Sorry, I dnt know anything bout wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Is veneer and multiple peice mahogony not good? it's not bad.but grizzly says it is a maple top.it is not...it is a veneer,which means the guitar will not sound like a mahogany guitar with a maple top,it will sound like an all mahogany guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonjackson Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 is there a big quality difference between saga and grizzly guitar kits?! grizzly giutars costs twice as the sage, but seems to be more qualitative... is it worth the money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 I don't think anyone here has put one together yet. I'm sure Wes will give feedback when he puts his together. I'm sure the quality is MUCH better than the Saga kits, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 I'm quite curious, too, as these look decent quality. Regarding the veneer-- how do they veneer a compound curve, or does the photo only make it LOOK like a compound curve when in fact it's not? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Regarding the veneer-- how do they veneer a compound curve, or does the photo only make it LOOK like a compound curve when in fact it's not? I imagine its pretty thin and that they use a vaccum press to form it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 it is a compound curve.that was the first thing i noticed.i don't know how they did it but it is very well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 It is pretty common on "maple topped" import guitars to have a veneer. I have an Agile Les Paul copy with a flame maple veneer. It looks great. I suspect having a maple neck might help getting back towards the classic Les Paul tone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 it is a mahogany neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Ah, so it's the Heirloom guitar, then. The Samba isn't quite like a PRS (though similar) and comes with a maple neck. The Samba looks pretty sweet, but I'm not sure I like a Floyd on a PRS style guitar. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landen Posted February 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Hey westheman, Do you think you can show us some pics of the guitar kit? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptPokey Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Hey all, I'm glad to find some posts about the Grizzly kits. I talked with their folks at the NAMM show and the ones I talked with didn't know much about them. The big buck tools, they knew about. lol One of their customer serv. guys knew a bit more, but still couldn't answer all of my questions. Anyway, a couple of questions and comments. Westhemann- can u tell me what the width of the neck is at the nut and also the scale length. U probably know, but if u measure from the nut to the 12th fret that's 1/2 the scale length. Also, u said the maple is a veneer, can u tell me approx how thick it is along the edge of the body. Finally, do the pickups have 2 or 4 wires coming out of each one? If they have 4, then u can re-wire it to split the humbuckers for a single coil sound ala PRS. Thx Devon- I just did a parts Strat with a Saga body and it was okay. The first one they sent didn't have a good joint where the body halves were glued, but they exchanged it with no hassle. I used a J.B.Player Strat neck that I had sitting around, Fender Tex. Spcl's and gold hardware from Stew Mac. I had Acme Guitar wire up the pots, etc and then I wired in the pickups and jack, etc. It was for my son and I don't think he's picked up his Tele since! Javacody- Just an FYI, Les Pauls have always had a mahogany neck. Maybe some of the 'entry level' ones had maple, but that would be the only ones. Same for the PRS guitars. Most of those have mahogany necks. The McCarty's have an all rosewood neck option. Those feel 'played in' out of the box, but I haven't decided how I like the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 I think he meant if you used a maple neck it would partially even out the darkness of the solid mahogany body. A parts strat with a Saga body is a far cry from a Saga kit. If you upgrade all the hardware and electronics you'll have a guitar that sounds alright (probably), but the workmanship on the kit still shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptPokey Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 (edited) I almost forgot, u can look at the assembly manual for the Heirloom kits at Grizzly's web site. I glanced at it and found a couple of glitches..as in they only talk about bolt on necks and the Samba and PRS style kits have glue in necks..that much I did find out when I called their cust serv. folks. Also, if you've never built a guitar, Stewart MacDonald has a great video that's done by Dan Earlywine about building a solid body guitar. He does a Strat type, but it's very thorough and has a lot of good info. Edited February 26, 2005 by CaptPokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptPokey Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 I think he meant if you used a maple neck it would partially even out the darkness of the solid mahogany body. A parts strat with a Saga body is a far cry from a Saga kit. If you upgrade all the hardware and electronics you'll have a guitar that sounds alright (probably), but the workmanship on the kit still shows. ← True on both counts. I haven't seen a complete Saga kit other than zip-tied to a display a yr ago at NAMM, so I can't comment on their overall quality. This yr Grizzly had their President's guitar (the one on the cover of the catolog) on display, and it's realy done well! If that any indication of the kind of quality he wants in his products, I'd have to vote for a Grizzly kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Which one of his guitars was on display? I like the one with the macassar ebony back and sides, but I think the maple one with the pharoah is just terrible. I think that has got to be the gawdiest inlay I have ever seen. It looks like he laid sheet after sheet of MOP on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptPokey Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 If memory serves, they had a couple on display, one being the blonde one with the spider inlays that's on the catolog cover. "Gawdy" is being polite. lol I was refering to the workmanship NOT his taste in design. Hey, to each his own, right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitroheadz Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 I have a grizzly catalog and saw their samba kit guitar, it kinda looks like a prs. I was thinking of trying to build my first guitar and was wondering if anyone has these kits? what do you think of the quality? And does anyone know where I can get info on Samba guitars? I tried searching the net but no luck. thanks for your help. Hey MAn I bought a Grizzly guitar kit, with the floyd rose, and I am totally stoked on the kit....it plays much like a PRS, but better somewhat...I ended up replacing the pickups with a George lynch at the top and a pearly gates at the bridge, and it made a huge difference in sound. I used 30 coats of LAquer to finish it, and I even inlayed Paua Abalonr in the neck and the body.....I also inlayed a 1/4 carat champagne diamond in the Head and a 1/5 carat emerald in the back of the head.....If you want to seea pic let me know......... Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Somebody here had a Grizzly kit they were working on. I remember looking at the progress pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 i have the fixed bridge kit from about a year and a half ago...i have not done much to it yet...but it is decent quality. overpriced though i personally think...if memory serves they cost about $350 for the good kits...and at that price you can get a fully assembled cheapo set neck guitar at any guitar shop and replace all of the hardware. something you should know is that the "top" is a veneer...and the part that makes up the "carved" section of the top is multiple pieces...and i mean MULTIPLE...you can't tell how many exactly...but it is visible in the lower horn area from the side. so to hide that you must put a solid finish on the back and sides... bottom line is i do not really think it is a deal.i thimk you can get a saga kit for much less from brian... don't be fooled by the hype from grizzly...the workmanship is no better than any other kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherokee6 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 My $.02 on the maple neck LP's: My LP Recording in the pic is solid mahogany (I left it natural) and has a 3 piece maple neck that apparantly is quite coveted by a lot of LP players per several musicians and guitar shops. It feels great and I would never venture to put a mahogany neck on it. I guess it's there to brighten up the tone from the lo-impedance pu's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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