We've spent a lot of posts on this blog telling you how to build a guitar — soldering, finishing, shielding, all of it. What we haven't done enough of is showing off what happens after you're done. So consider this the start of a running series: Builder Spotlight, where we brag about the people who actually finished their DIY guitar kit instead of leaving it half-sanded in the garage. And for this one to work, we need you.
Why We're Doing This
Here's the thing about building your own guitar: the internet is absolutely stuffed with glossy photos of factory guitars, and criminally short on photos of the slightly crooked, entirely-yours instrument you built with your own two hands on a Tuesday night. We think that's backwards. A guitar you assembled from an electric guitar kit DIY style, sanded until your shoulders hated you, and wired without burning the house down deserves more than a dusty corner of your garage. It deserves an audience.
Plus, honestly, seeing real builds helps everyone else. Nothing convinces a nervous first-timer that they can actually finish a guitar kit build like seeing someone with zero luthier training pull it off.
What We're Looking For
We're not picky, but a few things make a submission stand out:
- Clear photos — front, back, and a close-up of whatever detail you're proudest of (that clean paint edge, the wiring job, the headstock decal)
- A quick note on which kit you started from and what you changed along the way
- The good, bad, and ugly — we'd genuinely rather hear about the mistake you fixed than pretend every build goes perfectly, because it never does
- How it plays now that it's strung up and ready to go
Builds at every stage count. You don't need a museum-quality finish to be featured — some of the most interesting builds are the ones where you can tell someone was figuring it out as they went, whether that started from an unfinished guitar kit or a full guitar body blank kit they customized from scratch.
It's Not Just About Bragging Rights
There's a real, practical reason to document your build beyond getting a shoutout. Photographing your progress — body, neck, electronics cavity, final assembly — gives you a reference for round two, whether that's a repair, a refinish, or an entirely new build with lessons learned. A lot of builders don't realize how customizable this hobby is until they see someone else's kit with swapped pickups, a re-shaped neck profile, or hardware that has nothing to do with what shipped in the box. Seeing how other people approached how to build your own guitar on their own terms tends to unlock ideas you wouldn't have thought of solo.
How to Submit
Send your photos here through our contact page, or tag us on social media when you post your finished build. We'll pick builds to feature here on the blog, and yes, we'll link back to your handle if you want the credit (or we'll keep it anonymous if you'd rather stay mysterious about your woodworking skills).
This is one of those posts that only works with your help, so if you've got a finished kit sitting around — even one you built two years ago and never showed anyone — now's the time. We built this company for woodworkers and first-timers alike who wanted to actually build something instead of just buying it off a shelf, and we'd like this blog to start looking like that community, not just like us talking at you.
Not Done Yet? That's Fine Too
If you're mid-build and not ready to show it off, no pressure — there's no expiration date on this. Keep building, keep taking photos along the way, and submit whenever you're proud enough of the result to let the internet see it. In the meantime, if you're still shopping for your first kit or looking for parts to finish the one you started, head over to vibeworksguitars.com and check out the current lineup of best DIY guitar kits and parts. We'll be here, waiting to feature your build next.