Good source for a first kit?

[JasontheMason]

Sorry to ask such a vague question my for my first post, but I'm considering buying a kit and I'm not sure who to buy from. Is there anything close to a consensus on who to buy from? Martin, Blues Creek, Stu-Mac, LMI, etc...do all of these companies offer essentially the same product? Does the quality of the materials vary much between these companies? The research I've done so far seems to indicate that Martin's manual has a lot to be desired but I haven't found anything on who consistently provides kits with quality materials. I'm understand that everyone who sells kits probably has sold both kits with wonderful wood and kits that maybe sneaked past quality control. Is there any consensus among experienced kit-builders on who offers the best product?

I have a Martin OOO-15S and a Taylor GC3. I'm looking for something that sort of bridges the gap between the mahogany-top 12 fret Martin and the spruce-top 14 fret Taylor (which is roughly between the size of a OO and a OOO) so I'm thinking of a OM or 14 fret OOO with a spruce top and rosewood sides and back. So, back to my original question, who am I most likely to get the best quality kit from?

Now, for those of you who really like to offer opinions...which of the major kit dealers offers the best VALUE?

Thanks for any advice or experiences you care to share.

Cheers,

Jason

[David L]

Hello Jason and welcome to the forum! I would encourage you to purchase your kit from one of the sponsors of this forum (they can be found on the left hand side of this page). Mostly Kenneth Michael Guitars and Blues Creek Guitars, they both provide quality kits as do some of the others that you mentioned, but Ken and John are major supporters and contributors of this forum. Thier tech support is (through email) pretty much 24/7, I've always gotten a prompt response from them both.

David L

[Darryl Young]

If I were buying, I would buy from either Blues Creek or KMG.......can't go wrong either way. But if you don't, you can still get a lot of help around here. Buy Bill Cory's book if this is your first one. Very practical, cheap, and will walk you through all the build steps.

[Jim_H]

I've built kits from both Blues Creek and KMG and was successful with both.

The availability of those folks here on these forums is a large reason people are successful with those kits.

[Ben-Had]

Jason, in case your still not sure:

BLUES CREEK KMG