Solo APK-10 Parlor Acoustic Kit
Earlier this year I purchased this Solo APK-10 Parlor Acoustic Guitar Kit from solomusicgear.com. I wanted a fun mid-winter project to break up the customer work and electric builds I’ve been working on. The kit came very fast and seemed to be of really great quality. When I tested the neck joint fit, it was dead on. No adjustment necessary!
Although the kit was very nice for the price, I wanted to do a few upgrades to it. The hardware and bridge that came with it were very low quality, which makes sense for this price point. I’d rather have the parts be low quality vs. the wood, fit and finish. You can always replace parts, but you really can’t replace wood without making the kit not worth it money and time wise.
Here is a list of upgrades I did to the kit:
Finished with Sutherland Welles Murdoch's Uralkyd 500 topcoat.
Added a custom AG headstock inlay out of ebony and Mother of Pearl.
Replaced the plastic fret markers with Mother of Pearl.
Re-radiused the fretboard to 16”.
Replaced the nickel frets with Jescar stainless steel jumbo frets.
Replaced the bridge (not sure what wood it even was...) with an ebony pyramid bridge.
Replaced the plastic nut, saddle, and bridge pins with vintage bone.
Upgraded to nickel Hipshot locking tuners.
I love how this build turned out! The guitar plays and feels great. It’s going to be my go-to couch guitar. Thanks for looking and I’ll see you next time!
