Bulldog Les Paul Kit Review
Bulldog Guitar Bodies

The Bulldog LP-S Kit As Advertised:

The LP-S Features: (current price $270 + S&H)

• Maple Top with Flame Maple Veneer
• 3 Piece Mahogany Back
• Cream Binding on Body
• One Piece Mahogany set in neck
• 22 Fret Rosewood Fingerboard with Cream Neck Binding
• Mother of Pearl Crown Inlays
• 24-3/4 Scale Length
• 2 Way Truss Rod
• Routered for 2 Humbucker Pickups
• Nut Size: 1-11/16
• Neck: C Shape
• Weight: Roughly 6.5 lbs

Images From BulldogBodies.com:

The LP Solid Top Kit Kit as Advertised

The Solid Top LP Features: (current price $470 + S&H)

• Solid Flame Maple Top
• 2 Piece Mahogany Back
• Cream Binding on Body
• One Piece Mahogany set in neck
• 22 Fret Rosewood Fingerboard with Cream Neck Binding
• Mother of Pearl Crown Inlays
• 24-3/4 Scale Length
• 2 Way Truss Rod
• Routered for 2 Humbucker Pickups
• Nut Size: 1-11/16
• Neck: C Shape
• Weight: Roughly 6.5 lbs

These kits are available here: http://www.bulldogbodies.com/

The Bulldog Bodies Les Paul Solid top Guitar Kit as it Arrived:

NOTE: This is the second kit I received the top veneer was bad on the LP-S and one of the fret marker inlays was basically clear on the first one Bulldog Bodies sent. I called and was given a reasonable explanation So… I figured I’d give Jay at Bulldog Bodies a second chance. The first LP-S Kit I had in my hands with the exception of those two flaws was pretty much of the same quality workmanship as this kit I am reviewing.

It is important for me to note that I paid for this kit and the suplier Bulldog Bodies was unaware this kit was going to be publicly reviewd, this way I am at least partially assured to have an acurate sample of the product that is available from this company.

I think it is also important to add to this review that because the first kit sent was flawed I found that Jay of Bulldog Bodies is easy to deal with and there was no hassle at all with the return. When the second kit was delayed he contacted me with the offer of a full refund if I didn’t want to wait for the LP-S Kit… This is when I decided to upgrade to the LP Solid top… Just because and he shipped it right out.

 

The routing is sharp and clean and the wood quality is acceptable. I checked and the control cavities are a precice fit for Gibson OEM covers. This will also take short shaft pots.

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The top is remarkably well carved and the seam is basically invisable… This top is not a bookmatched AA Flame… It is pretty much run of the mill maple with some flame in it but it is a fair piece of wood.

Again, just like the control cavities on the back the routing on the top is impeccable on this example of the Bulldog Bodies LP Solid top Kit (The LP-S kit was not too bad either however I did not spend as much time looking it over).

The body binding is a little whiter than I would have hoped for but it is fit very well. The seam with the top as well as the sides is tight and clean all the way around… After seeing a few examples of binding on Aisian kits before I am actually impressed with this one.

The fit of the neck is pretty good but will definitly take a little work to prefect (the gap you see here is a bit exagerated by the shadow.. It is about .009″)… The heel of the neck has already been a little worked by me ( I got bored last night), as it came it was pretty chunky.

The neck fits straight and like I said, it will take a touch of work for that perfect fit… The tennon s offset to the bass side… I was like Hmm I wonder why… Perhaps someone in ths “know” will comment and let me know. Again here you can see the clean routing. The angle of the setneck is pretty much right on (Thank god) so fitting work will be minimal.

The inlays are not bad… Not great but not bad, the color and figure of the inlays are just a bit mismatched but they are cut in well. The fret work and binding are “acceptable” ande the rosewood is fairly nice in apearance.

 

 

The neck is straight and sawn correctly. The truss rod functions properly and the fretboard is pretty darn level. The headstock is just about right on the money when compared to a Gibson Les Paul Historic… The holes line up within 1000ths of an inch when compared to an OE overlay. The neck is abot betwwen a 50’s Chunky and a 60’s slim.

 

Overall Quality Bulldog Bodies Les Paul Kit first look

This kit, the LP Solid Top as shipped comes in at $495… That’s a small chunk of change for a kit so if all you’re after is a guitar I’d say just go buy a Gibson. The LP-S Kit with a veneer top would be $295 shipped so ??? Hmm Still if all you want is a guitar go get an Epiphone. Now if you want to enjoy the actual process of building a guitar and don’t have a whole woodshop in your garage…

This example of the Bulldog Bodies LP Solid top kit just out of the box… I’m going to rate a B, if the inlays were better and the maple cap a littile finer I’d rate it an A. On the plus side the routing is very clean and accurate, the binding is well done, the neck is straight and clean and suprize… The kit weighs in at only 5.7 LBS.

This Kit will be finnished in the traditional ways Aniline Dyes, Nitrocellulose Lacquer etc. and I will be checking in here all through the process. It will be getting all new Gibson Nickel Hardware, ABR-1 (Tone Pros Historic Klusen Style machine heads) and a pair of PAF type Nickel covered Humbuckes, CTS Pots and Jensen Caps… Perhaps I’ll set it up with coil splitting… I have a quandary though.

What color should the top be?

To be continued…

(rather than creating several posts I have decided to simply add to one unified review)

Finishing The Maple Cap

The top required very little finish sanding and like noted the binding was installed very well, there was a very small amount of “glue” at the seams in the cut out that sanded out very easily. After sanding to a 400 the top was ready to receive the aniline dye.

The Neck Pocket and Setting the Neck

You will notice that the neck is set in that last image up there, I didn’t even bother to document setting the neck because after the lightest amount of sanding and clean up the neck dropped right into the pocket exactly as it should… Even the little gap at the heel closed up tight with the addition of glue providing a little “lubrication”. That was it, glue, clamp and 30 minutes later it’s done. No problems at all perfect fit at the perfect at the perfect angle… After that BYO kit ordeal this was a very welcome… I’m impressed so I’m going to give this kit an A for fit. I am still puzzled by the tenon being offset though.

At any rate, here is a shot of the tedious way I like to shape the headstock:

So far, I am very satisfied with the quality of this kit’s fit, even so the price for the solid maple cap is a little stiff and for that I would expect better matching of the back halves and more uniform inlay color and appearance (these are my only two gripes at this point with this particular Bulldog Bodies kit) Up to this point I’m giving this kit a B+ overall…

We will see if it hold that grade as the build continues.

Bulldog LP Kit Solid Top Review Update

Okay… I’m impressed.

 

 Here is the finished guitar with a hand rubbed Nitro  finish and sporting All Gibson Pure bench stuff and Nickel Hardware… This one turned out really well.  After the setup it plays very smoothly and the “tone” has that sublime quality that just happens when it all goes right… Too bad I can’t play for beans… However my daughter tried it out for me and wouldn’t give it back.

This particular example of the Bulldog Bodies Les Paul Solid Top LP kit gets an A- to an almost A (yes it’s upgraded from the B+) The inlay color evened out after they were polished a bit and the only real remaining flaws in this guitar are mostly mine.

 

 

Review Update 7/1/2012

Since originally writing this review I have heard the quality of these kits are becoming less than exemplary… Many credible complaints about fitment and QC issues have been brought to my attention by  members of many guitar forums. Because of this I no longer recommend this kit for a novice builder.