If you want to take on a challenge, refine and build up your luthier and woodworking skills, and have tons of fun in the process, then building your own acoustic could be the perfect project.
After reading this guide you’ll be able to go out there and build your own acoustic guitar from a quality starter kit. The best part is, your completed guitar will match the quality of an acoustic worth a low 4-figures on the market (and this is non-embellished).
I’m going to introduce you to the best acoustic guitar kits available today. These are quality kits where the critical machining has already been done for you, and all you need to do is step in and complete the assembly.
You don’t need a big shop for this either. In fact, all you need are a few specialty woodworking and luthier tools you can pick up before you begin (we’ll cover required tools further down in an exhaustive list).
To put it bluntly, there aren’t many great acoustic guitar kits on the market. You’ll find a bunch of electric guitar kits, ukulele kits, and even cigar box guitar kits, but good acoustic kits seem somewhat elusive. Why is this?
Well, the main reason is the difficulty of assembly. It takes much more effort, tools, and know-how to build your own acoustic from scratch (compared to, say, an electric guitar).
But it’s incredibly rewarding when you do finally build your own!
After scouring acoustic guitar kit manufacturers in an attempt to find the best, we narrowed it down to the following:
This acoustic guitar kit is modeled after a vintage Martin Guitar, is built from AAA tonewoods, and includes an instruction booklet along with a DVD course on guitar making.
All of the critical machining is done for you, so you don’t need a big shop to build it up from scratch.
Our Pick
This is a great kit where you’ll be able to build up a quality solid spruce top acoustic guitar.
All critical machining steps (such as soundboard finishing, fretboard slotting, fingerboards, and neck-joint machining) have been done for you, leaving you in charge of the remaining assembly process (body assembly, fretting, etc.)
Runner Up
We’ll explain in detail why these particular acoustic kits are both the best and most frequently purchased.
It won’t be easy. This is one of those cases where “It’s much harder than it looks!” rings true.
Unless you have extensive woodworking experience, it might take you a bit of time to get up to speed and building.
However… don’t let this deter you. What some may find difficult others embrace as an incredible learning experience.
In fact, if you really do want to practice and build up both your luthier and woodworking skills, there’s no better project than building an acoustic guitar.
You’ll need some space to work, such as a worktable or workbench, and you’ll also need some specialty tools (which we cover in the ‘tools required’ section below).
The best advice is to take it slow, invest in the right tools, and get your acoustic built right the first time. It takes anywhere from a week of working on it daily all the way up to 8 months of occasional work as a hobby. There’s no set timeframe.
How quickly or how relaxed you decide to build your acoustic guitar is entirely up to you, but I want to reiterate something because it's incredibly important: Slow down, invest in the right tools, and take the time to do it right!
And if you take the time if you do it right, and if you’re patient with yourself throughout the whole process, you’ll end up with a masterpiece acoustic guitar that sounds crisp, has impeccable tone, and feels alive.
The StewMac Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Kit is our first choice because of quality, reputation, and the professional direction provided during assembly.
Not only do you get a full manual explaining the build process step-by-step, but you also get an instructional DVD with videos on how to build your own acoustic guitar.
Todd Sams and Dan Erlewine, two professional luthiers, explain the art of guitar making in a clear and easy to follow video series.
And if that’s not enough, I took a look at this glowing review from luthier John Calkin (published in the journal of the Guild of American Luthiers):
When a professional luthier says the guitar you build (without embellishment) is comparable to a commercial acoustic guitar in the 4-figure price range -- I’d say that’s impressive!
Here's a complete list of what's included in this kit:
Nowhere else do you get a kit with such meticulous guidance, quality, and care for your build.
As soon as you open this kit up, it actually feels like they want you to be successful. A lot of assembly kits, unfortunately, are quite the opposite.
This is a great kit overall and highly recommended if you’re going to take up the task of building your own acoustic. As I mentioned earlier remember to slow down, get the right tools, and make an acoustic guitar masterpiece!
Best Acoustic Guitar Kit
