Rocktile E-Gitarren Bausatz JAG-Style - Retoure (Zustand: sehr gut)

Phew, this guitar was a pain in the ass, and some of it could have been avoided. I'm actually giving it 2 1/2 stars, I'm wavering between "I don't like the build at all" and the end result, which is quite ok after all.
I will also compare it with the direct competition - the JAG kit from the big "T"'s own brand, because that was also the reason why I ordered this kit, because it lacked the vibrato, which for me simply belongs to a Jag/Jazzmaster.

First of all, the good news: I was thrilled when I unpacked it, because one "feature" that this kit lacks is the grease-applied pore filler, an absolute blessing for picklers like me, saving me 2 days of miserable sanding work that is still not enough to get everything down completely. Here, on the other hand, is raw wood that is practically ready to stain, and then a really pretty piece, too bad that I had planned fabric covering here of all places and have nothing of it, but my first thought was "wow, I'll have to order another one to stain!".
The neck also made a good impression, fits perfectly into the body, fingerboard is comfortable, frets look good, so I set to work with a lot of positive energy and vigor.
Fortunately, this is not my first kit, because the first flaw, but not too bad at this stage, is the instructions. One set of instructions for all the kits at once, quite opaque, very small print, good thing I didn't have to look after the basics and already know most of it by heart.
But then... Electronics. I was put off by this from the start, because I'd never soldered before and to be honest, the enclosed circuit diagram was no help at all, I didn't understand a thing. So I looked for instructions on YouTube... uff. While there seem to be multi-part assembly instructions for all the other kits, here is just an ancient summary from someone who has swapped all the electronics for others and films his elbow while soldering, while nothing at all can be seen of what he is doing. This is where I got a bit annoyed, I couldn't find any help anywhere on the net. A single picture would have been enough, a photo of what it looks like finished, just the underside of the pickguard. In the end, I completely disassembled my competitor's JAG to see how everything was soldered. And oh wonder, all I have to solder is the pickups to the switch, it's just a matter of knowing. Whereas the competitor's kit had clearly color-coded cables leading from the pickup to the switch, here came the guessing game of which cable end had to go where on the switch. As I said, it's a pixel-perfect step, a diagram would have been enough, but it took me hours and I completely lost my nerve.
OK, now to attach everything to the pickguard - oh no... at least two more nuts and washers would have been needed on the pots and switches because the pots stick out far too far, the rotary switches hover 3-4 mm above the pickguard and the switch sticks out like a little phallus. Fine, I can go back to the hardware store and get some nuts/washers.
Unfortunately, I can't find any nice words for the tuners either - extremely stiff, almost jammed.
When everything was FINALLY put together and strung at 4 a.m. and I was dead tired and just wanted to turn the whammie bar into the holder... the entire holder of the vibrato came loose and plopped into the body, whereupon I had to take the whole thing apart again. That was the end of my mood and I just wanted to chop the whole thing into firewood.
Well, the next day I calmed down a bit, the guitar turned out quite nice, apart from the knobs being way too high and yes, it doesn't play badly and all, but the unnecessary quality defects and the instructions left a very bad taste in my mouth. Especially the point with the soldering - all it would have needed was a photo, or a simple illustration "the cable there" and everything would be fine, because the actual work is super simple - it just lacks proper instructions for beginners.
In this respect, you can certainly make something out of the kit, not bad as an upgrade basis for the experienced, although the pickups sound quite ok, but for beginners a horror. And perhaps another side blow - why not make this simple soldering work completely unnecessary by simply using plugs like the big competitor? And then please rework the instructions or go into more detail about the individual models. I actually already had the next kit in my shopping cart, I really like the look of the HB-Style, but to be honest, after this experience I don't trust myself with a semi-acoustic with similar flaws and will probably have to make friends with the more expensive and pore-filled kit from the competition, a real shame.

The pictures of the assembly instructions are not even remotely coherent. Even the instructions of a Swedish furniture manufacturer beat those for this guitar by lengths, there at least the model drawings match! Also in the assembly video nothing is sufficiently to be recognized. The colors of the wires of the pickups are not assignable thanks to B/W photos, in the video just as little.
What is the use of my electronic knowledge and manual skills, if the creator of the manual does not have the same in the slightest?
In addition, German designations in the soldering diagram would be an advantage.

On the premise that you can't expect a Fender Jaguar to match the original at this price, I have to say I'm pleased.

Disadvantages:
- the neck is thick and not very smooth, compared to other Fender imitations I must say I was hoping for something better.
- Tuner, so far no disadvantages
- Body, the wood is not of excellent quality, some screws once screwed in knocked out the hole (and I didn't use force!) which required correction. The alignment between the pickguard and the holes in the guitar needed some adjustment, the jack for example didn't have the space it needed and it was necessary to dig the wood a bit.
- electronically, the pickups don't seem to be aligned exactly with the strings, as if the pickguard had been cut with some approximation.

Pros:
- Straight neck, frets already filed down and no truss rod adjustment needed.
- Tuning pegs, for now, hold tuning and appear to be of acceptable workmanship.
- Body, no defects and very good appearance of the natural wood.... I painted it surf green, but could have just left it natural
- Electronics, clear schematic, everything or almost everything pre-soldered, it plays right off the bat with no problems and not many hum loops, although I haven't shielded it yet

in general I can say that the fun is assured and you get a product in line with the price, provided you have a little "craftsmanship and skill in diy.

Worked well

Full-fledged instrument with a high fun factor! Some courage, some skill, a maximum of pleasure for little money. Will not be the last project ...