Combine Newsletter - June 2025
May's Guitar of the Month Winner!
We’re pleased to announce that Jack S. is the latest winner of our Guitar of the Month contest!
Curious about his process? Here is his story:
"I purchased the fretless 5 string bass kit from Combine and here is what I did with it. First I wanted to have active electronics instead of the passive pickups and electronics that came with the kit so I had to cut out a battery cavity in the back of the guitar. I also wanted a smoother edge to the top and back surfaces so I again used a router to round over the edges and improve the contours.
Then the body needed sanding and the wood grain needed to be filled before starting on the finish. I had some finish left over from a previous guitar that I built so I decided to apply a cherry burst finish on this instrument. Four coats of Amber nitrocellulose lacquer, five coats of Red, and seven coats of clear then wait 10 days for the lacquer to cure before light sanding with 400 grit and then buff and polish. The neck was finished in a wipe on clear satin polyurethane and the head stock was coated in a spray on gloss finish polyurethane.
After all that work I installed the EMG pickups and a BQS active preamp set to complete the build. I installed “D’Addario XL Flat Wound Chromes” strings. I finished the setup by doing a little adjustment on the nut to accommodate the new strings and set the bridge height to match the curvature of the neck. It has turned out to be a pretty nice instrument to play. " - Jack S.
Jack's win has earned him up to 50% off the base price of his next DIY Guitar Kit, and his build has been shared on our website and social media!
His guitar is built using our Fretless 5-String Electric Bass Kit.
NEW MULTISCALE BASS KITS AVAILABLE!
Build your ultimate bass with our new extended range DIY kits, featuring swamp ash bodies.
Go fretless, headless, or multiscale — the choice is yours!
June's Guitar of the Month Contest
We know you're all busy working away on your builds, and we expect some of you will complete them in time to enter June's Guitar of the Month contest! The winner will receive up to 50% off the base price of their next DIY Guitar Kit, and their build will be shared on our website and social media.