Building a Bolt Guitar - now BUILT

Keefy

Jeremiah said:

Keefy said:

Jeremiah said:

BoltGuitarsUK said:

jaytmon said:

Very interested to see how this turns out. Thanks @TTony for sharing the process. 

@BoltGuitarsUK apologies if this is clarified elsewhere but a glance at your website looks like the T-style is currently the only one on offer. Is that right? Are there plans to do more? Or even specify a contoured T body…

Hi @jaytmon the 'Thunder Road' is our flagship model, but we will absolutely be releasing new models as soon as we're able. The current feeling is a Les Paul Jnr double cutaway, or a Strat? Would love to know what the Fretboard thinks. 

A Strat kit would be great if it had universal pickup routing and a choice of pickguards with SSS, HSS or HH configurations.

Oh, and a decent 6-screw tremolo rather than 2-point.

FTFY

The thing is, you can get Strat bodies drilled for 6-screw tremolos in any number of places, but if you want a 2-post you generally have to go with a much more expensive custom option, e.g. Warmoth. It would be nice to have a UK alternative.

Fair enough! I’m happy building amps but I’ll leave guitar building to the experts.

TTony

Another hour or two this morning, and the Bolt is Built


First, second and third impressions are all VERY POSITIVE.  From the moment I opened the box and saw the quality of the components all neatly arranged, to the moment that I plugged in and strummed the first E chord (it has to be an E!), it's been faultless.

For the deal that Bolt are doing for tFB members at the moment, it's a steal.

TTony

The put-together went with hardly a hitch - I'd have done the ground wire to the bridge a little differently, but that's a bit of tom-a-to / tom-ah-to.

Having the control plate pre-wired helps considerably.  I had to make 6 solder connections (2 wires ea pickup, live and ground to output jack) and that was all.

There's clearly been some set-up work done beforehand.  The nut is cut pretty much perfectly and the action is just about perfect (could possibly be a mm lower if that's your thing), but it certainly doesn't need any fettling to be perfectly playable.  

The pickups both sound Tele-ish to my ears - through my 40yr old 30w tranny combo that serves as my workshop amp.  The neck is probably on the big side of average (similar to a GSP neck to anyone who's tried one of those), but with the oil finish it's smooth and very comfortable to play.

The finish achieved what I wanted - the washed / faded effect rather than solid colour, so you can still see the grain pattern underneath.

I've not bothered with any of the £199 MiC kits personally, so can't do a side by side comparison, but I've read enough reviews and build threads to know that you generally have to chuck half of the components and replace with parts that work, and then spend some time with sandpaper, chisels, dremels, hammers, (whatever is your tool kit of choice) to get it assembled into a playable guitar. 

With this kit, it has gone together perfectly.  I've needed to use a couple of drill bits, a drill, and a couple of screwdrivers, a soldering iron and an old t-shirt cut into little pieces for the finish.  Everything else was in the box.



Conclusion?  Definitely worth the £price.  It's a kit that a first-timer could put together and make themselves a very decent guitar.  The online tutorial videos are excellent and make it foolproof.  

Teles aren't really my thing, and I do NOT need any more guitars.  But I'm tempted to go buy one now!

https://boltguitars.co.uk/

Thanks to Sam @BoltGuitarsUK ;for sending the demo kit.  The business deserves to be a success.

freakboy1610

That looks fantastic Tony. The washed out white looks great with the black pickguard and, as you've said, the neck looks lovely. Mrs F was looking over my shoulder and asked what it was. I've explained it and showed her all the photos while she's been on hold for EE and she's suggested that it would make a good birthday present for me! Good work mate.

Chris.B

That looks like a great Tele. Thanks for documenting the build and for the "job done" photographs.

I wonder if Bolt will ever offer a lefty version. I know it's probably not an easy thing to do for a small company. 

To the guys at Bolt, well done and good luck with your business. 

TTBZ

Looks awesome @TTony ! This curvy pickguard looks so much cleaner and nicer than the usual clunky telecaster pickguard.

hollywoodrox

Congratulations ,what an amazing kit ,thanks for taking us through your experience 

Philly_Q

I can't get over that flame maple neck.  Was that just luck or are they all like that?

SteveF

Philly_Q said:

I can't get over that flame maple neck.  Was that just luck or are they all like that?

Mine is like that too. I haven’t managed to start mine yet as I’ve had a few bits of real life to deal with but aiming to get going very soon. I’ll pop a similar thread up when I do (as someone who doesn’t have the prior experience in building guitars that Tony does). 

SteveF

Tony this looks great and glad to see it looking so straightforward. Itching to get going on mine now. 

BillDL

I love the look of the guitar with the slightly visible grain and that gorgeous neck.  It looks very much like a "custom" guitar that would have cost a massive amount more.  One of these kits is definitely on the cards for me in the near future. 

TTony

SteveF said:

Tony this looks great and glad to see it looking so straightforward. Itching to get going on mine now. 

3 tips @SteveF ;

1. Watch their video guides a couple of times before you start.  You'll miss some bits the first time around.
2. Use some wax on the screws when you put them in - makes it a bit easier getting them in, and out again if necessary (bridge!)
3. Make sure you can get the ground wire from the control cavity through the hole under the bridge plate *before* you put the bridge plate on.  

Definitely put a thread up on here - interested to see how you get on with it.  

BoltGuitarsUK

TTony said:

The put-together went with hardly a hitch - I'd have done the ground wire to the bridge a little differently, but that's a bit of tom-a-to / tom-ah-to.

Having the control plate pre-wired helps considerably.  I had to make 6 solder connections (2 wires ea pickup, live and ground to output jack) and that was all.

There's clearly been some set-up work done beforehand.  The nut is cut pretty much perfectly and the action is just about perfect (could possibly be a mm lower if that's your thing), but it certainly doesn't need any fettling to be perfectly playable.  

The pickups both sound Tele-ish to my ears - through my 40yr old 30w tranny combo that serves as my workshop amp.  The neck is probably on the big side of average (similar to a GSP neck to anyone who's tried one of those), but with the oil finish it's smooth and very comfortable to play.

The finish achieved what I wanted - the washed / faded effect rather than solid colour, so you can still see the grain pattern underneath.

I've not bothered with any of the £199 MiC kits personally, so can't do a side by side comparison, but I've read enough reviews and build threads to know that you generally have to chuck half of the components and replace with parts that work, and then spend some time with sandpaper, chisels, dremels, hammers, (whatever is your tool kit of choice) to get it assembled into a playable guitar. 

With this kit, it has gone together perfectly.  I've needed to use a couple of drill bits, a drill, and a couple of screwdrivers, a soldering iron and an old t-shirt cut into little pieces for the finish.  Everything else was in the box.



Conclusion?  Definitely worth the £price.  It's a kit that a first-timer could put together and make themselves a very decent guitar.  The online tutorial videos are excellent and make it foolproof.  

Teles aren't really my thing, and I do NOT need any more guitars.  But I'm tempted to go buy one now!

https://boltguitars.co.uk/

Thanks to Sam @BoltGuitarsUK for sending the demo kit.  The business deserves to be a success.

What a fantastic job @TTony, and a huge thank you from all of us here at Bolt for documenting the build on here. I'm chuffed you found the process enjoyable, and the course and process easy to follow along with. 

To answer your question @Chris.B we are currently developing a lefty version of the Thunder Road model which we're hoping to release before the year is out, so keep em peeled for that! @Philly_Q All of our necks do have that magnificent flame in them, and our natural oil just makes it pop!

It's so great for us to see that all of the thought, time and effort that we've put into doing this thing has been so well received by not only people who are newbie builders, but also time served people like Tony who know their onions. 

Just as a reminder for anyone who's wondering "What's this all about?" there's a video below explaining the whole process: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHcNtm0ztig&t=4s


I'd like to personally thank the users of The Fretboard also, for getting involved in the conversation, offering the suggestions and valued feedback that you have- it has all been noted and taken stock of for the the different models we're intending to release. We're all so grateful for your kind words and well wishing, and as a result we've had a good few orders through, so much so that our stock is now getting pretty low (nicer problems to have). That being said, the offer for Fretboard users is still valid until the end of June, and once we're out we'll offer a waiting list for when we get more stock (our manufacturing process takes a while, as with all good things!) 

All you need to do is use the code THEFRETBOARD on checkout and you'll get 10% off.

Looking forward to seeing this guitar being raffled off to raise funds for a great cause. 

Cheers guys, 
Sam- Bolt Guitars. 

TTony

Having finished and assembled this guitar, it was unnecessarily taking up space on my main workbench.

Not wanting to scratch or ding it, I laid it carefully on top of a gripper mat on another bench, safely out of harm's way.  That was around lunchtime.

Next morning, I thought I'd move it indoors, completely out of harm's way, so picked it up off the gripper mat.  Except the gripper mat came with it.

I peeled it off, to see a nice and neat, if a little unusual, pattern across the back of the guitar.  Tried rubbing it off, tried rubbing even harder and then another coat of gloss, but to no avail.  The pattern was still visible.

Back out with the sandpapers (went back to 320 grit) to remove the pattern, but - naturally - also removed some of the finish, back to bare wood, on the edge roundovers.

Bugger.



But a couple of days later, I can report that the finish is *very* easy to touch up, and there's enough spare stuff in the kit to do it.

Bare wood edges are now once again white.  The back of the body is now pattern-free.  Still got to re-gloss and re-polish it, and it's taken another hour or two to sort out the damage, but the bottom line is that it was sortable, and relatively easily. 

Offset

When will you be auctioning/raffling it Tony?

TTony

Offset said:

When will you be auctioning/raffling it Tony?

Lee's dealing with that - I'm just the putter-togetherer @Offset ;

CHRISB50

It’s been said before, but worth repeating. That neck is lovely. 

digitalscream

TTony said:

Offset said:

When will you be auctioning/raffling it Tony?

Lee's dealing with that - I'm just the putter-togetherer @Offset ;

Yep, I'm going to be sorting it out - apologies. Was supposed to be at the weekend, but my brother unexpectedly got a call for a transplant, so massive upheavals going on!

I'll try to get it sorted in the next couple of days.

Offset

^^ Wow.  Hope all goes well Lee.  Raffling off a guitar comes a very distant second to that!!!

TTony

digitalscream said:

TTony said:

Offset said:

When will you be auctioning/raffling it Tony?

Lee's dealing with that - I'm just the putter-togetherer @Offset ;

Yep, I'm going to be sorting it out - apologies. Was supposed to be at the weekend, but my brother unexpectedly got a call for a transplant, so massive upheavals going on!

I'll try to get it sorted in the next couple of days.

Absolutely no rush @digitalscream - the delay gave me time to break it, and then fix it.