A question we commonly receive is "Do you have any kits that don't require soldering the electronics?"
The short answer is, no. They all require at least a small amount of soldering. The reason is that the wires pass through the body to the various components, so they can't come pre-wired. Some kits require a lot of soldering, others (like ST style kits) only need the output jack wired.
But when I hear that question, I think there is more to it. People might be concerned about having to buy a new tool. A soldering iron will cost $10-50. Or, they might be nervous about learning a new skill. Some people have even said "I don't know how to weld, so I can't do this."
Rest assured, soldering is not difficult to learn. And you can pick it up much more quickly than welding!
I was thinking of a way to display this, and I decided to teach someone how to solder on video. I chose my 13 year old daughter. Here is how it went:
As you can see, she did it. Ruby is plenty bright, but I believe you can, too.
There are lots of reasons to buy a DIY guitar kit and build a guitar of your own. Don't let soldering slow you down! By the time you are done you will have learned a new skill, acquired a new tool, and accomplished something you didn't think you could. All three of those are big wins as far as this DIY'er is concerned.