Saga TL-10 Kit

okay, my first saga tele kit was the basswood one, and it went together right out of the box and everything fit just about perfectly. it's all sprayed and wired up and it looks and plays great! it looks like a mid 50's vitage tele! i put fender custom shop pick ups in it and it sounds very nice. in all i spent a little ofer $200 on the project, plus my time...most of which was painting, and cutting the headstock to the right shape.

my second kit is the alder body one we see on ebay.

not put together yet, but it should sound terrific with the custom electronics dropped in.

well, almost all the parts are an 'upgrade' from the basswood kit. the pickups-even though i don't plan using them-look a bit nicer made. also, the bridge has 6 adjustable saddles instead of the standard three. and the selector switch is heavier and feels a bit more solid. the knobs are higher quality too.

the body is good and heavy, and it's sealed pretty well. but the wood isn't really suited for a clear finish, so plan on painting it a solid color. there are a fer dark knots in it. maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't invest any time in trying a clear finish on it.

the plating is all heavy and very good. the bridge is stamped from thick metal, it's much more solid than the original fender bridges they used in the 60's and 70's. but an 'ash tray' cover won't work because there are no side lips.

i guess my main complaint is that the cutaway is a littl too chunky, and the pickgurad is really way off in relation to the cutaway. also, they only drilled the 4 holes in the body for the neck, and the holes aren't really aligned, so the neck mounting plate is at a funky angle.

the neck pocket is a little off-the net is set about a half degree leaning left...

i can fix the plate and neck poket. i don't think it's feasable to trim the cutaway because i just don't have the tolls to do it and this wood is HARD...much harder than basswood!

...on the 'up' side, they didn't scoop out the back like they do on the basswood model. although that's actually a nice comfort feature.

i'll need to explore cutting a new pickguard, but i think the instrument will not look like a 'real' tele to the trained eye.

they didn't do an upgrade on the tuners, unfortunately. the ones in the basswood kit are just passable...only if you don't play professionally. otherwise, if you play a lot, it's worth the money to get a better quality set of mini-tuners.

well, all the wood is solid, straight...the guitar is going to be pretty heavy when done. this guitar should last forever. the neck is hard rock maple and the board is indeed rosewood though they do apply a dark sealer on it...on my first kit i removed it but that was such a hassle so this time I'm not going to mess with it. it will eventual wear off...but that will take many years given that i don't play that much. i think the frets will wear down before the sealer goes away, so what's left will come off if/when i have a refret job done.

i didn't ask for any spport. the kits are sold as is as kits, duh. though the supplier did write a nice set of instructions that are much better than the ones that are written in china.

i don't think the dealers selling these kits can be making more than $30 of $40 on each sale, so you know, you get what you pay for and i can't blame them if they get frustrated by people coming to them for every little problem they're having with the kit.

it's a nice kit. if you have basic wood shop equipment (mostely just a good quality bandsaw and power drill), you can get it just perfect if you awre willing to invest some time. otherwise, it's a much more challenging kit to put together well than the basswood tele kit is. in the end, both guitars are going to sound pretty much similar. i plan to put a p-90 tele style hot wound pu in the bridge on this tele, and than the other one will be a 'stock' tele. if you don't have experience with precision woodworking, this may not be the best choice for you. on the other hand, fro my experience the basswood models go together right from the box in 15 minutes and you can plug and play in an hour or two. you still need to set it up-how fast you can do this is all dependent on your experience in setting guitars up. for some people, it may be worth paying a good repair shop to set the ut, neck and action.

were it was made i have know clue.
it came with the Telly type pick ups big single on bridge and lip stick tube on the neck wich sound fine .I think its base wood wich is a little soft but sounds worme.all and all i was happy with bodie elecktronicks switches and knobs.now the neck i screwd up rite away, as I tride to cut it out with a coping saw and the blade wanderd on the back side taking off to much meat.just as well i wanted a maple fret bord ,and the tumers wer junk.e bay telly neck with tuners 95 bucks. then came the bridge.big uneversell type throuth body ore brige mount fore strings. had to go.fender reissue 70's six saddel 20 bucks fender ferrels 12 bucks.and a cupple houres at the drill press to cut the string holes rite.it took more than onece the fault of my owne jacking the beautyfull epoxey butter scotch finish I spent two weeks on . the price i payd fore every thing i could have bout a mexecan telly and had change fore a hamburger an coke.but if you want to build a ax i think its a grate way to go.i love mine it was fun to build it sounds and plays grate.did I save money? No would I do it agane? yes

for the surf music and bluse it works fore me I rilly like it my frends enjoy playing it the pick ups are adaquit fore what i use it for.

its a kit so fit and finish is rilly is the time you put in to it.I tund the neck in to a club rite off and got a fender neck and used a genuine telly bridge so the action is prity sweet. so i cant give a real opion on the stock set up

the strap buttens are nice. i trust them as far as aney fender button
I have onley had this for 3 mouths but the components seme to be adaquit.just the conecters are a little margenal. I would cut them off and sodder them proper.

who is Saga