Description
Review of the Leo Jaymz DIY TL Style Electric Guitar Kit with Mahogany Body and Maple Neck, TL LJ Headstock
This is a build kit, not a finished instrument. It supplies a bolt on neck single cutaway guitar in unassembled parts: a solid mahogany body already deeply polished and sprayed with a base varnish, a maple neck with a maple fingerboard, machine heads, wiring, screws and a strap, with all pickup and control cavities pre routed. The buyer finishes the body, assembles the parts, sets the instrument up and tunes it before it plays a note. It is listed under electric guitars but should be judged as a project rather than a playable purchase.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The body arrives sanded and base varnished. Sealing and levelling a raw body is the longest and least enjoyable stage of a guitar build, and having it done removes several hours of work and the risk of an uneven surface under the final colour.
- All cavities are pre routed. Cutting pickup and control cavities accurately requires a router, templates and practice. Pre routed cavities mean the parts line up without woodworking tools.
- The wiring is plug in rather than solder. This is the single biggest barrier removed. Soldering guitar electronics needs an iron, practice and patience, and a bad joint produces intermittent faults that are hard to trace. Connectors sidestep all of it.
- Copper foil shielding, a strap and locking strap buttons are supplied. Copper foil lining the cavities reduces the hum single coils pick up from mains wiring, and strap locks stop a guitar sliding off the button. Both are usually separate purchases.
- A 25.5 inch scale with 21 frets is specified. That is the standard scale for this body style, so replacement strings, bridges and necks from the wider aftermarket will fit.
Cons
- This is not playable out of the box. Anyone expecting a guitar to unpack and tune will be disappointed. The build requires finishing the body, assembling the hardware, fitting the neck, setting the string height and intonation, and tuning.
- The listing never names the pickups. The spec table records a single coil pair configuration, but the manufacturer description only says the cavities are drilled for pickups and control knobs. It does not confirm which pickups are supplied, what output they have, or whether they are supplied at all beyond the general claim that all components are included.
- The spec table lists stainless steel strings in a light gauge, but the description never mentions strings. A buyer cannot tell whether a string set is in the box or needs ordering separately.
- The package dimensions of 29.13 by 20.08 by 3.15 inches are questionable. A neck built for a 25.5 inch scale runs roughly 32 inches from headstock to heel, so it would not fit inside a 29 inch box. Either the neck ships differently or the dimensions are wrong.
- No finishing materials are included and the colour field reads “TL LJ Headstock”. Paint, stain, lacquer, sandpaper and masking are all on the buyer, and the colour field records a headstock shape variant rather than a finish, since the body ships unfinished.
Detailed Product Description
The body is solid mahogany. Mahogany is denser and heavier than the alder or ash usually associated with this body style, and it produces a warmer, thicker sound with more midrange and less of the bright snap the shape is known for. Anyone building this expecting a classic bright twang should know the wood choice pushes the sound in a different direction. The guide on guitar body shapes explained covers how shape and wood interact.
The neck is maple with a maple fingerboard and 6mm pearl dot inlays, 21 frets and a 25.5 inch scale. A maple fingerboard is bright and hard wearing but needs a finish coat, since bare maple absorbs dirt and darkens under the fingers, and whether the supplied neck is already finished is not stated. The neck is bolt on, which is the right choice for a kit because the pocket alignment is mechanical rather than glued and can be corrected. Machine heads are single sided, matching the headstock shape.
The spec table gives a hard tail bridge, meaning the strings anchor to a fixed bridge with no tremolo. That is the sensible choice for a first build, because a fixed bridge is far simpler to intonate and holds tune more reliably.
What Comes with the Product
The listing states the kit contains the mahogany body with base varnish applied, the maple neck with maple fingerboard and pearl dot inlays, single sided machine heads, all wiring cable and screws, copper foil shielding, a guitar strap and strap locks with a quick retainer system, with all cavities pre drilled and the wiring supplied as plug in connectors requiring no soldering.
Not included and not mentioned anywhere: any paint, stain, lacquer, sanding materials or masking tape; an amplifier; a cable; a tuner; a gig bag; a case; setup tools beyond what is listed; and any printed build instructions. The listing does not confirm whether a string set is supplied. Anyone buying this should assume the finishing supplies and the setup tools are extra costs.
Who It Suits
This suits someone who wants the building experience as much as the instrument: a hobbyist comfortable with hand tools, patient with finishing, and happy to spend evenings sanding and spraying. It also suits a player who wants a custom finish on a familiar body shape without paying for a custom order.
It does not suit a beginner looking for a first guitar. A player who cannot yet tell a well set up instrument from a badly set up one has no way to judge whether their own build is right, and a poor setup makes learning much harder. It also does not suit anyone on a deadline, since finishing coats need curing time between applications. Reading the guide on guitar action and setup explained before starting is close to essential, because setup is the stage where a kit build succeeds or fails. Comparable kits include the Leo Jaymz DLH0051 left handed TL kit, the BexGears YGK-ST kit and the BexGears okoume DIY kit.
How to Maintain
Before anything else, let the finish cure properly. Fresh lacquer stays soft for days or weeks depending on the product, and assembling too early leaves permanent marks where hardware presses into the surface. Once assembled, treat it as a normal electric guitar: wipe the strings after each session, keep it away from heat and direct sun, and store it in a case or bag.
Check the neck bolts after the first few weeks, since a newly assembled bolt on neck settles into its pocket and the screws can loosen. Recheck the intonation at the same time, because the neck seating shifts the effective scale length a fraction. If the fingerboard is unfinished maple, keep hands clean and consider a light finish coat, since bare maple stains quickly and cannot easily be cleaned afterwards.
Tips and Recommendations
Test fit every part before applying any finish. Discovering that a bridge screw hole is a millimetre out is a minor annoyance on bare wood and a serious problem on a finished body.
Apply the copper foil shielding before the electronics go in, and make sure the foil sections make electrical contact with each other, otherwise the shielding does nothing. Work in thin finish coats rather than thick ones, since thick coats run and take far longer to cure. Expect to redo the string height and intonation two or three times before the instrument feels right.
Product FAQ
Is this a playable guitar out of the box?
No. It is a kit of parts. The body needs finishing, the instrument needs assembling, and it needs a full setup before it can be played.
Does it require soldering?
No. The listing states all wires use a plug in design, which removes the need for a soldering iron.
Is paint or lacquer included?
No. The body arrives polished and sprayed with a base varnish only. Any colour, stain or topcoat is a separate purchase.
What scale length and fret count does it use?
The listing states a 25.5 inch scale with 21 frets, which matches the standard for this body style and means common replacement parts and string sets will fit.
