Body Tops on Our DIY Guitar Kits: Solid Caps & VeneersUpdated a month ago

When choosing a DIY guitar kit, it is important to understand the difference between solid maple caps and maple veneers.

A. Solid Caps

A few of our kits have a solid carved maple cap: a thick piece of solid maple, carved and glued onto the top of the body. It is not a thin veneer, so it is far more forgiving to sand. These kits are:

• Semi-Hollow PR w/ Solid Carved Maple Cap, Pearl White Inlays
• Semi-Hollow PR w/ Solid Carved Maple Cap, Abalone Pearl Inlays
• Semi-Hollow PR w/ Solid Carved Maple Cap & Trapezoid Abalone Inlays
• Basswood Semi-Hollow PR-style Guitar Kit, Carved Maple Top

Three of them have a mahogany body under the cap, and the fourth has a basswood body. Each product page shows the top in its Body section as Solid carved maple cap.

B. Veneers

On every other kit with a figured maple top, the maple is a veneer: a very thin sheet, typically about 0.5mm. The veneer is carefully cut and glued to the top of the guitar body to achieve a high end visual appearance.

Because of its thinness, veneers require extra care during sanding and finishing. Over sanding can easily cut through the veneer. For first time DIY builders, we generally do not recommend veneer topped kits.

Our guitar kits feature flamed maple, spalted maple, or quilted maple veneers. The best way to make these figured maple patterns stand out is by staining the veneer rather than painting it opaque. In the video below, we demonstrate proper staining techniques to help the natural grain and figuring stand out.