Solo SB Style DIY Headless Bass Guitar Kit, Maple Neck, Ash Body

This kit is pretty well made. All the body routings were great and the neck/neck joint/fretboard/frets were constructed and dressed really well. The figure in the ash body was wonderful. I could have done without the light finish that was on the body as I wanted to treat it myself, but it was easily removed. The ash was also too caramel colored for me, so I bleached it all. I also routed outthe center following the neck and inlaid a strip of ziricote wood. I’m replacing the bridge. I would probably use the one this kit came with if it didn’t have a giant brand name on the front of it. Also the tuners didn’t seem as well crafted as I wanted. I’m also replacing the pickups. I did not try the ones that the kit came with, but I figured anything I put in would sound better. I chose Bartolini. Over, it shipped fast, and right out of the box would have made a great bass...I just wanted to add some more flair. I would recommend this kit and Solo to anyone.

This is BY FAR the worst kit I’ve ever built. So many problems let’s go threw them shall we… electronics pre wired WRONG The “nut” where the strings lock into, the screwed arnt nearly long enough and if you put ANY and I mean ANY tension on it once you finally manage to get it in there you will strip it. And by far the worst thing about this is the bridge If had not one but two of the “tuners” Decide they want to strip They cannot even tune to a standard EADG. I wasted over five hours trying to get this bridge to work out I’ve tried everything I can do. It’s a shame this kit had potential But please for the love of god DO NOT get this kit

All around it's a decent kit. Headless hardware is typically more expensive so it's important to remember that this is still a fairly affordable kit for a headless. I'm pleased but I do have some gripes. Pros: -Decent quality, wood looks pretty too. -Most of the components were wired already. Most holes are pre-drilled other than the pickup mount screw spots. Get a light grit sandpaper for the neck to smooth it off but you should be expecting to do this type of thing. -No sharp fret ends. May change with neck shrinkage in a few years. -Single-ball string system. This is a huge one for me. No need to buy double-ball strings. Cons: -Fret levels are not amazing, but it's passable. -Pickups are incredibly low output. There is no 9v pre-amp (I like not using batteries though!) But these pickups are insanely weak. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong. The pickups when boosted do sound good though for cheap ones. -Action was high. But a quick neck shim fixed that. -"Headstock" string mount is not great. I actually had to take a drill to widen 2 of the slots through the neck so that I could get enough string through it so I could take enough slack out so I could tune it... (edit: this was using the included strings) -Bridge hardware is not good. This is my biggest problem. The tuners are very hard to turn. Luckily I tune down to BEAD so this is not a huge thing for me personally. But just be aware that you are going to have hell with that thing unless you keep the allan wrench for it handy. I also used some WD40 on the threads which significantly helped but still it was uncomfortable to use. -No instructions. Not a huge deal but just a heads-up. They give you a url to go to for wiring diagrams. But one main thing I ran into is there was no info on how to attach the ground wire to the bottom of the bridge. I'm being very hard on this product. I understand it's a fairly affordable kit. But these are just some of the issues I've run into. I've contacted support with questions and they've been helpful and respond pretty quickly. Hopefully the product will improve on what I've addressed. Overall it's going to be hard to beat this for the price which at the time of this review is $220 USD.