LP-style Guitar Kits, A DIY Classic

The single-cut LP-style guitar kit is a very popular choice for DIY guitar builders.

A number of guitar brands offer their own versions of this style of guitar. The most famous examples being Gibson's Les Paul®, PRS® singlecut, Ibanez® ART series and ESP® LTD EC series.

But how simple are DIY guitar kits to assemble?

Do they sound anything like the real thing?

A history lesson, LP-style Guitars

You are probably familiar with the name Les Paul®, one of the early pioneers of electric guitar and a highly regarded musical pioneer in his own right. Gibson® and Les Paul® collaborated on the first version of the Les Paul® introduced in 1951, featuring the distinctive archtop single-cutaway body, two P90 pickups, and a distinctive trapeze style bridge.

Also read: Archtop Guitar Kits Review

Ten years later most likely due to dwindling sales, Gibson® re-engineered Les Paul®, adding an additional cutaway and reducing the thickness of the body which eventually went on to become the Gibson SG®. Best known as the guitar of choice for players such as Angus Young, Jerry Garcia and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath.

Also read: Iconic Electric Guitars and How to Build Them (Zakk Wylde’s ‘Grail’ Guitar)

Les Paul® himself wasn't overly impressed with the SG® and parted ways with Gibson® during this time. However, after a number of well-known guitarists such as Eric Clapton started using the traditional Les Paul® the guitar regained its popularity and Les Paul® again started working with Gibson®.

Why build your own LP-style guitar?

Why not build a ST®-style or TE-style DIY kits?

Why are LP-style guitar kits are popular?

It really comes down to the style of music you prefer playing LP-style kits are fitted out with two humbuckers (more on guitar pickups here) allowing for more gain than a single-coil guitar such as an ST®-style guitar, making them ideal for rock and heavier styles of music.

Recommended: Beginner Friendly Guitar Kits

This guitar bodies are traditionally a warmer sounding instrument and many argue they also have better sustain, largely due to the set neck as opposed to the bolt-on neck most commonly seen on Fender® style guitar kits.

While some may make the point that these qualities are only the case with an actual store-bought instrument, many of these characteristics of the guitar are due to the style of the guitar e.g. the shape of the body, timber used for crafting the body, the bridge, and electrical components.

Also read: Guitar Kit Styles For Musical Genres

Obviously, if you're buying a sub $300 guitar kit the pickups and associated hardware won't be of the same quality (far from it in fact) but in most cases, the body will be made from mahogany with a flamed maple top.

In most cases however the maple top is a veneer (1mm-3mm in depth) as opposed to a maple cap which is typically 10+mm in depth.

LP-style DIY Guitar Kits

Most of our in-stock LP-style kits come with mahogany, alder or basswood bodies and have flamed, quilted or spalted maple veneers.

All holes are pre-drilled, which will obviously save a lot of time and effort but does increase the chances of screw hole misalignment which can be a problem.

The neck is also a bolt-on which will obviously be a lot simpler for assembly.

Most of our in-stock kits come with all the necessary hardware and electronics but make sure you read the product descriptions because some of our kits are sold without hardware.

Since we produce them in batches the prices for our in-stock kits are lower than our Custom Shop kits. All in all a well-regarded DIY guitar kit for the price and a good starting point if this is your first build.

Summing Things Up

As you can see from our LP-style kits page you have a few choices when it comes to purchasing a guitar kit. If you are new to guitar kit building, however, we'd recommend sticking to our in-stock DIY kits as it is made with ease of assembly in mind.

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