Pit Bull Guitars
26 reviews
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My experience with Chinese made guitar kits has been somewhat hit or miss. I had major issues with my latest Pitbull kit. The flamed maple veneers on these kits are very thin. After doing the first light sand (by hand, 240 grit), I noticed that the top had delaminated in areas and chipped off around the pickups. There was also a deep gouge with… Read more
some kind of filler under the veneer that made the veneer proud. After applying stain, I could see the body filler had blown through the veneer and where it had chipped off around the pickups.
After emailing Pitbull, I was advised that this factory defect wasn't covered by warranty because I'd applied stain. Ironically, the fault wasn't fully visible until I'd applied the stain.
The solution offered to me was to buy another body from them with at 15% discount code and wanted me to send the original body that I'd purchased, back to them without compensation (they did offer to send a shipping slip).
I now have to sand off the veneer and paint the body a solid color.
On a brighter note, I ordered some nitrocellulose lacquer from Sydney Guitar Setups after talking with them about the problem and they included some extra clear coat in my order! I highly recommend them. (https://guitarpartsaustralia.com.au)
Built at least 15 kits from here. They have always gone above and beyond. Once I had a kit arrive and the bridge holes were slightly too big. I got on to Pit bull and they sent another kit out. I contacted them and asked for an address to return the first kit and was told to keep it to practice doing finishes on. Now that's customer service! … Read more
People that complain there were no wiring instructions are wrong. Look on their site and you will find instructions. If you are stuck then jump on the discussion thread. Saved me more than once asking people on there how to get around an issue. Short of that Google wire 2 humbucker, one vol, one tone (or whatever set up you have) and you can watch and copy as you go.
If you buy some resistors from an electronics store do you go and leave them bad feedback because they didn't teach you how to solder?
Useless kits - horrible service – Kits are ok, no introductions on how to wire up the thing. Owner is very blaze when it comes to issues... sent me wrong parts 3 times and kept telling me it's acceptable. It ain't bud. Dont support these jokers. Kit is fire wood.
It's held up well to constant playing and I'm contemplating doing a Telecaster bass kit soon – I built a Telecaster type kit a few years ago, and I find its the only solid body guitar I'm using even though I have more name brand instruments. I got the three piece ash body, and the grain and matching is so good you can't tell where they join! So I decided to just do a light butterscotch tint with dingotone and a thin timber varnish. I used… Read more
tonerider vintage plus pickups. Also I used better bridge parts. I love it because its just the way I wanted it and sounds great. Only nitpick is the "rosewood" fretboard. He grain is pretty inconsistent and unattractive.... so I ended up using black stain to make it look more like ebony. I'm not sure what material its made from, probably something cheaper than real rose wood.
Great quality and service – I love my Zebra wood, all gold strat (re-shaped to look more like a late 60s Yamaha. It plays great with only a basic set up. The fingerboard is super-thick rosewood. Tuners are super reliable, and best of all, the pups play with the same clarity and tonal colour of my very expensive fender originals. Maybe even a little bit better!
Quality kits which reward careful construction – I have purchased and built two bass guitars from Pit Bull guitars, both of which are enjoyable to play and sound very good. You should have realistic expectations when considering if the kits are right for you, as the quality of the final finish and fit come down to the care and skill you put into the project. There is a friendly and extremely… Read more
helpful and savvy online community which supports newer builders. My advice: Do the research so you know what you are getting into and understand what you will need to do. Secondly, do not be in a rush It will take some time to get the frets leveled and feeling great, and to achieve your desired finish. Plan on LOTS of sanding. If you choose to upgrade the hardware or electronics, you will be rewarded with and even more satisfying instrument.
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Having bought more than a few - can't recommend them enough – Having bought and built quite a few guitars from Pitbull over the past few years, I am stoked with the quality and support provided by the crew.
A hobby I never imagined for myself, that ends in new guitars I could never just purchase! – I have bought (and built) 4 kits from Pit Bull. The second last of those became my main instrument, so I recently bought another identical kit to build another. Their service is always first rate, and the community is so helpful.
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The best kit guitars for the money – I have purchased (and built) 14 Pitbull Guitar Kits over the past seven years. Actually I'm still building 3 of them. I still have every single one of them and play them all the time. I have recorded with them and myself and friends of mine have gigged with them. I have only ever had one issue with one purchase with Pitbull, one of the necks was twisted, it took one email and had a replacement neck almost straight away.
The Best Online Service! – I have purchased 7 kits from Pit Bull Guitars. I had a bit of trouble with one kit which Ben sorted out straight away. I couldn't be more happier with their online service. It would be one of the best going around and a lot of other businesses could learn so much from these guy! There's so much to learn about guitars building a kit. Patience and research is the key to a successful build.
Not bad for the price – Just recieved ST-1L lefty Strat. Shipped and received in one week half way around the world. Amazing! Very nice overall and worth the price. The neck fits nicely in the joint and the shaping is well done. Frets look very level and the neck is nice and straight. There are some troublesome issues however. The headstock is too small for… Read more
the standard Strat template forcing me to have to scale it down. There are flaws on the side of the fingerboard that have been repaired with putty that is lighter in color. I'll have to dig it out or try and stain it. The side dots are horrible. They are way too small and some of them are misaligned. I'm going to have to drill all of them out and redo them. The description says the neck is maple but it sure looks like basswood to me. It weighs much lighter than maple should and the texture has that fuzzy basswood feel. I'll know for sure once I saw into the headstock. None of these problems are show-stoppers but it is a bit underwhelming compared to other kits I've used.
Update: Just shaped the headstock. 100% basswood, NOT maple!!
Great service and top quality – Fantastic range of kits. Have bought 7 of them and not one issue or problem. Great service and very quick.
Always received in good condition and on time – I enjoy working with timber, my association with Pitbull Guitars has been a good experience. There was no major challenges that I could not understand. My Guitars are a testament to good designs and well cut out timber.
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Lit was exactly what I wanted! – There were very minor issues straight up front but all were sorted immediately with no arguments. Guitar turned out looking great!
Fantastic Result and a great learning experience – I opted for the Pitbull EXA-1 kit, which is an Explorer shape. The neck was the perfect profile for me, not unlike the neck profiles on early 80's Ibanez or Greco V's/Explorers. Although the Pitbull forum (with loads of advice/guides and help from the other builders) recommended loads of sanding should be done, I found the kit to be very well… Read more
finished on delivery and I completed all necessary sanding (by hand) in only 1-2 days. In fact I completed the entire build in only 10 days, with my 90year old Dad, who had came to visit. Here is a short video of the finished guitar and I have a complete build diary on the Pitbull forum, which you may find to be a handy guide, if like me you are a newbie to this. Highly recommended!! Give it a go, its easier than you think! :)
My Go-To Kit Provider – I've purchased 5 kits with Pitbull Guitars, and have always been very pleased with what I receive. Their kits are very reasonably priced, and are always solid quality. I'm not saying all kits come in perfect, I've had a couple of blemishes before, but the key word is blemishes, not true issues. Compared to what I've paid for and received from… Read more
other kit sites, Pitbull has always been above and beyond. I also can't say enough about their customer service, they respond quickly, and take care of issues quickly too!
Excellent company and great kits – My first kit was a custom spalted maple cap IB-4, really good quality and went together really well. Pit bull guitars are excellent at communicating and have no problems fixing any issue you have. Can’t recommend them enough!!! Thanks guys
Excellent quality and great service! – I have purchased four guitar kits from Pitbull over the past few years and have been very impressed with the quality and service. The fast replies to email questions is great and there is an excellent User forum to assist in building these guitars.
Great value kits and amazing customer service - produced gig worthy guitar – I purchased one of Pitbull Guitars last November and completed late Feb 2022. Kit arrived in great condition with all the parts as advertised. During the purchase process Pitbull kept me well informed around delivery and offered amazing customer services providing quick response to questions. The online forum is an amazing source of… Read more
information to help you build a gig worthy guitar to your own specificiations. Please note the kits are great value for money compared to other more expensive kits out there so don't expect 10mm maple caps etc. Every challenge I encountered could be overcome with help from the forum and Pitbull customer service. (in my experience, builders who received kits with unfixable issues received replacement parts and continue on to build amazing guitars) My finished guitar (first time building) turned out better than expected and plays and sounds better than my brand name guitar.
Second to none customer service – Although not a premium product, the kits go together nicely with a little bit of tweaking. Occasionally things get through QC which shouldn’t but it’s how a company responds which counts. My experience (and others I’ve seen on the Pitbull form) is that if the customer is not happy, Pitbull will make amends-no hassle to the customer. What tipped me… Read more
over the edge in my decision to buy a kit with Pitbull was their experienced and friendly online community forum. As a first time builder I would not of had the confidence to attempt my first kit without the online forums. I have brought 4 kits in total. Another great feature is you can customise kits if you are prepared to wait as custom orders take significantly longer to arrive.
7+ kits completed, still building – I have purchased more than 7 kits from Pitbull, and three separate necks for my own custom builds. In terms of value for money, I rate them very highly, wood quality can vary, but I have yet to have a major issue with any of the kits I have purchased. I have had some smaller issues, things like missing parts, glue spots and similar, but these were… Read more
either quickly rectified or par for the course at this sort of price range. Pitbull’s forum provided me with excellent resources and advice from skilled veteran builders, who had literally “been there, done that and made all the mistakes” and were happy to help me to a good result on my first couple of builds.
You get out of these what you are willing to put in whether that be time or upgrades to personal taste. For the price point, the kits are a good starting base to build knowledge, techniques and build skills.
Six kits and all have been great – I have purchased six different kits from these guys and they have all been high quality. One was a special order (I am a lefty and some types are hard to come by) and despite a long wait time it went together like a dream. Had some part problems with two kits but when I spoke to Pitbull they sent out replacement bits and pieces. All the holes… Read more
pre-drilled were correctly placed and the timber in the bodies was good quality with some very nice grain. The last one came up a treat with no stain and a clear finish. After sales service was excellent and I would definitely go back again.
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Careless and Expensive – A friend bought me a guitar kit as a gift. After spending days sanding and preparing the kit, I realised the hardware provided was the wrong set. After waiting for over a month to have them resent to me - the one bits and pieces I received were wrong again... Then when it came to actually assembling them some of the holes were incorrectly placed… Read more
- there was no hole drill to earth the thing. No instructions were provided and I was continually told to look on the forums - because frankly the couldn't be bothered helping me. I didn't bother finishing it - well its not playable - its just an expensive ornament. Don't bother with Pitbull.
Waste of time, waste of money – I ordered a kit from these guys. Kit was average quality for the price and I had to re drill holes. Instructions were hard to find and the kit overall is poor quality for the price.
Hybrid Mustang Duo Sonic Build – It was not my first build when I tried this Brand. I was surprised at the wood quality and cut, which was more than expected. Hardware / Pickups are useable but you may want to update after the build. My one came up great. Accurate and very Playable. Its actually my first go to player when gigging out. Sounds / Plays great.
A hassle from beginning to end – My partner bought me a kit for my birthday. It arrived with the wrong electronics. Spoke to the owner, he sent the right electronics 2 weeks later. As Im assembling the guitar notice he resent me the wrong volume and tone pots. Again spoke to the owner - 2 weeks and Im still waiting for the parts. The kits aren't the cheapest but the build… Read more
quality is questionable so is the packing of accessories. What was meant to be a fun hobby has just turned into a headache.
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