Modifying a Harley Benton Jazzmaster Kit |

Kit guitars are a fun and inexpensive way to create your own uniquely designed guitar - as part of Thomann's DIY Kit Challenge this Harley Benton Jazzmaster kit will be transformed into a bizarre instrument, just as soon as I figure out what to do with that body...
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[@ScienceofLoud]

Kit guitars are a fun and inexpensive way to create your own uniquely designed guitar - as part of Thomann's DIY Kit Challenge this Harley Benton Jazzmaster kit will be transformed into a bizarre instrument, just as soon as I figure out what to do with that body... Harley Benton DIY Kits: Jazzmaster - thmn.to/thoprod/464648?offid=1&affid=367 For other kits visit - www.thomann.de/gb/thlpg_zaurmxslaa.html DIY Challenge Info - www.thomann.de/blog/en/diykitchallenge22/ Tools and Parts: Alegree Parts - www.alegree.co.uk/ Crimson Guitars Tools - www.crimsonguitars.com/collections/fretting?ref=csguitars Micromesh pads - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334238666431 This video contains product provided by Thomann and Alegree More details on how CSGuitars implements product promotion - www.csguitars.co.uk/disclosure #kitguitar #diykitchallenge22 #harleybenton More from CSGuitars: Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars Join CSGuitars Discord - discord.gg/csguitars Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - [e-mail] ____________________________________________________________________ *Description contains affiliate links. Purchasing using one of these links will generate a small commission for CSGuitars at no additional cost to you.* Affiliate Links: Thomann - www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?offid=1&affid=367 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/2mGGg Reverb - reverb.grsm.io/csguitars Crimson Luthiery Tools - www.crimsonguitars.com/?ref=csguitars + Discount Code 'CSGUITARS5' for 5% OFF Gthic Jewelry - gthic.com/?aff=230 + Discount Code 'colin20' for 20% OFF Title graphics and logo by: www.studiosmithdesign.co.uk/ Join the discussion at: Facebook - facebook.com/csguitars Instagram - instagram.com/csguitars/ Discord - discord.gg/csguitars

[@Skovfalken]

Why not a black and blue body?

[@warlockconnor7712]

Why not go for a dinosaur theme

[@BaldPerspective]

Cover it in fur or do an EVH stripe scheme. I dare you, good sir lol.

[@mystro569]

Black to white fade burst so the pickguard stands out against the white

[@juanziegler1471]

and learn!! well done

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey Colin, you're building an offset kit? How awesome, mate! Guess which kit I'm working on and is currently drying in the barn... 😅 This is gonna be awesome, I can't wait to see your guitar when it's done. Cheers man! //Kris

[@gospelballer33]

Any left handed kits yet ???

[@mitchconnerandsometimesjlotoo]

Dear Thomann, Please please please do a kit with the tremolo like Colin and perhaps surf green would be sweet.

[@insane_floki2205]

Maybe a thinner neck 305mm is way to thick for me tbh😅😅😅

[@SomethingvagueNM]

To me, Jazzmasters and Jaguars always seem outlandish and overengineered in the best possible way. I would love to see this thing just take on an absolutely absurd color scheme. Like hot pink, metallic red, and lime green. Just really call attention the fact that this guitar is something different.

[@jonnylawless6797]

I've always wanted a hot pink or safety green Jazzmaster lol

[@joeolivas]

Exactly what I was thinking! A neon pink like a Racer X era Paul Gilbert color. Tassels optional.

[@jeffbrown3009]

I am so glad to see more votes for Hot Pink

[@Dudeitsmeee]

A wild color, but with a contrasting color pickguard! Say hot pink/pastel blue, lime green/yellow... I'm currently doing a metallic red jazzmaster with a pearloid blue guard. will look rad at the end

[@Ever-Happening]

imagine for a second a purple burst one, would be so cool!

[@jacob_krause_official7286]

Half joking but also half serious, you should cover the body in fluffy white fur somehow XD Or any color I just think white would look great with that pickguard

[@JackieTheCatfox]

As a furry musician, I like this idea. Although maintenance of that guitar could be awfully difficult. Not to mention the smell that fur would pick up over time...

[@paullee3660]

How about burnt and branded with the CS Guitars logo?

[@meadish]

A fluffy white sheep hide look would be very, very epic.

[@wvo2m]

He be better off adding some haggis fur on it.

[@briw4647]

I would stain it translucent cherry red, it would take the stain very well being a light wood, and the grain would really pop. Coupled with the black pickguard, it would look stunning

[@Spider602]

honestly, the natural looks pretty clean

[@AM2PMReviews]

Just got a pink one of these and changed the pots, bridge, and put on a tremolo. Now I want to buy a kit.

[@Joe-hm1zk]

I think a proper paint job opposed to a stain would look great on it. Would cover up the wood plugs nicely.

[@brendanstill6747]

I'm an absolute sucker for a good purple burst on a guitar and I think that would look fantastic on this one!

[@patrickhunter]

Colin, that headstock is PERFECT

[@terryvoorbij6260]

"They say jazz is more about the notes you don't play." hahahahaha legendary man! Cool video!!

[@BetaGott]

White Tolex/vinyl for the body like an old Höfner would look sick imo

[@periurban]

Interesting! The only part that doesn't really work for me at the moment is that pick guard material. It's kinda gathered in points where you had to bend it around the curves, and it just looks daft. As for finish/colour, I'd love to see it in some kind of outrageous shocking red. Tidy up the pick guard and the black would work nice.

[@helojoe92]

I think the pickguard issue could be solved by doing enough relieve cuts on the backside and then burnishing the edges. That should help to make it conform to the pickguard underneath much nicer!

[@periurban]

@@helojoe92 I'm not convinced that would solve the issue. It would need to be heat molded or the material would have to be stretched in some other way. It's all good, and I'm sure it'll end up looking great.

[@helojoe92]

@@periurban I'd give it a try anyways^^ But taking a heatgun and/or some moisture to it should help aswell 👍🏻👍🏻

[@MrCElk]

I'd swap out the scratch plate for clear perspex, shield the cavity with copper tape and stain, orange in the middle to black round the edge. Great video as always.

[@tahamaki36]

Finish suggestion - find someone with a laser etcher big enough to cover the surface of the guitar, burn in a dinosaur outline of a different species from what's on your flying V (maybe something from the herbivorous groupings?), working a design around the area that can mask the plugs, and then give the whole thing a coat of poly... or heck - do you think the Crimson melamine would work on the body?

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

I know how much work it takes to make a video, but some of your videos look like they took double the work. Just thought I would give a salute, that's all.

[@wintlock]

White fur finish with fuzzy dice knobs and the square shiny bits off a disco ball for some kind of accent or inlay somewhere

[@willonglet391]

Flat black with a neon green splatter would be sick! Too many jazzmasters look pretty, make it look cool!

[@jspamerson2265]

purple with matching headstock. ..but it needs a new pickguard as well. ..maybe purple mirror or chrome.

[@JosephGallagher]

Shou sugi ban the body!! Black and honey browns wood and the black pickguard must look amazing

[@InsaneWayne355]

With those wood plugs in place, I would avoid staining. That would only accentuate the plugs.

[@jasonweber7426]

I actually love the angled, polygonal look of the pickguard

[@SpenserPaul616]

This is hands down the most amazing background song you've had

[@grene1955]

I think the finish should reflect your Spaceman, Robbie the Robot vibe from your intro!

[@segazora]

Graffiti yellow with the black pickguard sounds awesome

[@rehenes3844]

I’d really love to see a second Channel where you’d upload the unedited guitar builds

[@nobnobnobnob]

I usually hate epoxy top videos, but this guy is on a different league.

[@deancosens5710]

Unusual for a Jazzmaster I think - translucent white to show the grain would look great with the black/white of the pickups and guard!

[@daviddevoti3526]

Lime green 🍏 in the center. Darker green on the outside and back to create a green burst. Lime green the headstock. Just a thought.

[@oncameramastery]

Great job Colin, adding a jazzmaster vibrato is a great job!

[@thetincan_man]

My only suggestion, make it green. Not like a lime green but something darker and rich, green is good and this all I have to offer thank you

[@jonnyroxtar]

I have plans to refinish a squier jazzmaster i bought and love to bits with Rimmel Siren nail polish. Its a metallic classy colour and Nitrocellulose to boot. Might need a few bottles though.

[@9372duffy]

Great fun!!

[@ThatMattGoodMusic]

I think a competition Mustang style colour scheme would be cool, but with a black stripe to match the guard and headstock. Maybe black stripe over Yellow or an off white?

[@DarioVarasG]

Yellow would be an interesting choice. There isn't many yellow guitars and the few that actually are gravitate towards Jackson/shredder stuff. A vintage classic in something like a "banana yellow" resembling the shade of fiesta red, daphne blue, olympic white, etc; would be a killer instrument. Greetings from Patagonia, Chile

[@creepingjesus5106]

Needs a covering of nice flower pattern Fablon on the body. Go totally cottage core. Sure my mum's got some left over from The Past, cos she used acres of it, on kitchen drawers, covering school books, me...

[@dylanadams1455]

I quie like it in a natural finish, but I can also see a deep, metallic Gold with that black scratchplate.

[@jasonmoore5675]

I absolutely love jazzmasters. Great vid. I laughed really hard when you said jm people get bent out of shape when people say jm pups are p90s. I have done that lol. I would do 3 tone sunburst with the headstock as is or seafoam green and matching headstock. Brown tort pickguard is a must to complete the look.

[@jcugnoni]

Great start !. My suggestion/idea: do an hotrodded jazzmaster with traditionnal hardware but higher output pickups (like hot p90) and a 'muscle car' paint such as a racing metallic blue (automotive spray paint on a primer coat) with two white stripes (decal or painted).

[@onefatstratcat]

I think I'll buy one and get out my wife's Bedazzler and go to town :)

[@jesselawson224]

You should do a sparkle finish for sure, maybe a gold sparkle!

[@lightninginmyhands4878]

Sick jams. I’m getting Circa Survive vibes

[@guitarfreak521]

I would paint it teal. I think it would look nice with the black pickguard and everything.

[@adamduncan123456]

I love that you did almost all of the wood routing and shaping by hand. The countersink in the headstock was a nice touch 🤌. The finish should be a Scottish flag!

[@omegavisualbranding]

I have also put a JA from HB together but with a Bigsby term with a roller bridge. I painted the body with gold glitter from the same material which is on greeting cards cause I do screenprinting as a job. The headstock is also gold glitter which has the form of a fender head. I changed the P90 pickups with other better-sounding pickups and It sounds and looks fantastic. Nice to see you modding that guitar and looks terrific too.

[@scottreynolds6317]

I would suggest a slightly transparent yellow or butterscotch for the body. Match the neck and headstock to that.

[@nathanbartlett5284]

like the natural finish.. just a light stain would be good. great video and documentation. well done.

[@kevincomellas4908]

Look up industrial gray Harley Davidson paint. Would look awesome with that pickguard.

[@kurtiscorban408]

I suggest that you go for like a racing livery, perhaps wrc Audi from the 80’s, or a Volvo perhaps? I’m not sure, but as a jazzmaster player myself and a shade tree mechanic, I would love to paint my guitar like a race car.

[@battoisoutto6657]

Jaguar spotted fake fur would be hilarious. I personally feel a cheap kit like this allows you to do maniacal things that you would never attempt on a regular guitar. Another thing that could be fun if you want to lean into the outlandish colour idea is to hydro dip the body with vibrant colors. A psychedelic paint job would be fitting for that body shape. But I personally feel fake fur with googly eyes would be attention grabbing. But then again I’m obviously mad. Quick edit, what about seeing if you can send electricity through the body in order burn lightning patterns into it. That would be an interesting thing to see as well give people a clear indication of just how crazy dangerous electricity is.

[@bstoner1300]

Zebra stripes would fit the black and white theme on the fretboard and pickguard

[@brianb115]

Very impressive.

[@angusorvid8840]

Damn! Cool Jazzmaster! Looks and sounds awesome. I love those pickups, very big, warm and bright.

[@KC3UVF]

Since you went with the plain black contact paper on the pickguard, it has to be white fur ala ZZ Top :) I did a Harley Benton T Style kit last year. Was a great little project, and turned out to be a pretty decent little guitar.

[@shredrick25]

It'll be beautiful if it will be painted sparkle blue. ❤️🎸 ...love your vid sir.😊

[@Kelvin-ud4pz]

Love the GTHIC jewelry man! I have that same necklace, and have been looking at that ring for a while now!

[@dantofoz11]

Paint it something vaguely resembling Sherwood green - I think it is the most beautiful looking Jazzmaster, but they're not easy to find.

[@ibalrog]

There are tons of good options for how to finish that body, but honestly, I'm really liking the look of it as is. A proper satin finish over the natural wood would work marvelously with that pickguard. The maple neck is a bit flashy next to it, though, from some angles.

[@ploonhimself4803]

Light blue teal with a cherry blossom branch 🌸 painted on it

[@plasticoflamingo2952]

A white to black burst. I wouldn't choose it for myself, but with the color of the pups, and pickguard, it would be pretty cool. And unique. Maybe a little of the black peeking out from under the trem, too.

[@rocksteadyska6933]

For me, Jazzers and Jags have always had that look that always screams sunburst, plus it would be cool to see somebody try one by hand

[@pcbullets8726]

Nicely done Colin! Metallic green would look pretty sweet on that ax!

[@godofrock50]

I'd love to see a do it yourself silverburst or something similar

[@PlanckRelic]

Painted pale blue, maybe with some metal flake, would be good with the tortoise shell. Consider doing the front of the headstock to match.

[@matyfu]

Matte black, with black screws for the pickguard and even a black tip for the bar!

[@johnnytwo-shoes9798]

A guitar build montage to rival even the most classic 80s character development montages

[@marknorman706]

try wood carvings or appliques, hit with nitrocarburizing (blowtourch) patterns or highlights

[@brianfrolo245]

Nice mid century modern headstock ❤

[@alexcorona]

To not get those bad edges on the pickguard you need to heat up the decal/vinyl. Then stretch it over and cut with a blade.

[@tippybooch]

I'd like to see that technique, hydro dipping I think it's called? When you float paint on water and then pass the object through the paint layer in to the water. Get some real trippy vibes.

[@alococuccoyo6103]

Stain it and then paint over the stain. And then sand through it to give it a wild burnished look!

[@keithberwanger6595]

Hey since you are in Europe-a-land you have access to RAL colours probably pretty easily. RAL 4006 (traffic purple) is a personal favourite. 6021 is famous for its use on old MAHO equipment and looks super industrial. Or if you're a mad man just Flock It!

[@davel_ggw]

Looks and sounds great! I am a sucker for natural wood finishes and I already love the way it looks, so I would go with a finish that retains that natural look. Or white/vintage white always looks good on Jazzmasters, especially with a black pickguard.

[@arkium8639]

Looks great so far. Always loved the jag body. Keep up the awesome work cant wait to see the final results

[@NateBrotzman]

Ice blue purple with pearloid pickguard or Olympic white with sparkles and black guard

[@arkistriph1]

Jazzmaster, 60's surf, hotrods, pinstriping.

[@justick]

Great video watching you build and create the whole thing!

[@andiebetjemann7920]

Build that Kit myself with that kind of tremolo system... and also forgot the groundwire of the bushing of the Bridge. But If you Drill a hole from the trem cavity to the Electronic cavity, there won't be a need for the String. My Suggestion for the Finish is Fabric. IT would Look unique, If the guitar was covered in Tartan or Tweed.

[@MrSJPowell]

Those kits look fun. A candy coat of some sort over a sparkle finish is always cool. Not sure how difficult that would be though.

[@thecaveofthedead]

As a surf player, there's nothing like the Fender offset vibrato system. The mechanical design builds in a kind of dampening so that it's not nearly as jumpy as a Strat or Floyd Rose trem. This is perfect when you want to play really smooth dips and use a very rounded vibrato. And yeah, if they aren't staying in tune, they're not set up right. I had to retune once at practice yesterday - and mine has the cheaper Japanese version, not the better made Fender AVRI trem.

[@dylanromansky7228]

I'd love to see the rhythm circuit get implemented on that guy

[@arachnenet2244]

Maybe cover it with a cool pattern and then burn and varnish the rest? That way you make it nice and dark and the unburnt pattern gets pronounced (and it doesn't become one big black hole with that leatherette pickguard).

[@way2sh0rt07grad]

You should paint it brass color. I think that would make the pickguard and knobs pop. Usually a huge fan of natural wood, but something about that guitar screams "paint me".

[@ioncewas]

I suggest British Racing Green with white racing stripes.

[@hardyhardyha5767]

Personally I'd do a swirl paint job for it. It's always fun and you're never know 100% what you're going to get.

[@federicokastro]

that's looking amazing, considering the fretboard and pickguard colors I'd go for a dark metallic red, that would also look amazing if you wanted to add gold hardware, and just as an idea, how about staggered tunners and get rid of the string trees

[@matiosmi137]

Please decoupagé this body! A few fancy napkins, blotting paper, transparent nail polish and here you go with some artsy look.

[@axilleas]

Could you do white stain/see through white? It could end up looking really cool.

[@chadtindale2095]

I like a wood stain combined with a paint. So, stain the whole body black or grey. Then give it a couple coats of poly. Then paint the edges a hard black. Is a sponge to go gradually from the solid black edges to the transparent middle of the guitar.

[@megan_alnico]

I finish I've always wanted to do but haven't had the right guitar for is to use gold foil. What you do is make a bunch of deep gouges in the body at all kinds of angles and then fill all those crevices with gold foil. Gold foil kits come with an adhesive you use and I think that might. After that you could fill the rest of the gouge up with epoxy resin make it level. Then paint the entire guitar a black or blue or something dark and sand it back to reveal the gold. Then the standard coats and polishing and stuff like that. I think it'll be a cool look.

[@camarotrash]

1. I like the Tune-o-matics on my Jazzmasters, but I don’t use the tremolo arm and have a Kurt complex. 2. I have an affinity for the guitar colors of the ‘60s: Surf Green, Daphne Blue, Fiesta Red, etc. (see also: Kurt complex). I also like the Swirl jobs on a lot of the Jacksons and Ibanez guitars you see a lot of the shredders playing.

[@firsteerr]

can i give you a tip ?? see that area you dished out for the trem ? get a plug cutter and make the plugs for the original tail and stop , it would match almost seamlessly a bot of fuss but thats just me

[@LukeZalvino]

Always loved Army green type paint jobs. Or u could do the racing stripe which is awesome

[@joehunter3519]

Candy Apple red would be cool

[@jamier1641]

IMO I think a 3 color flame burst would look cool. I would also get rid of the cream color knobs.

[@garrettboomerbender]

Also remove the foam behind the bridge and add the roller pots and switch

[@fuzzboi2712]

Sandblasting it with a cool sparkly color would look cool. Or staining like the sonic youth jazzies.

[@FrankFerret]

For whatever reason, that handsome black pick guard is reminding me of older Les Paul studio guitars, which were a wine red stain. Maybe that's a direction?

[@JackieTheCatfox]

I'd love a nice stain on that guitar! Something that lets the grain of the wood pop :) I'm sure whatever you come up with and choose will be super cool!

[@nowherebrain]

I didn't know you were forster bitologist...or you studied flatsawlogy??? nice to know a lot of us are competent woodworkers...really cool to see you using a router etc...winding your own pickups as well??