what can I say... a "KIT" is not just the collection of "pieces" that make up an instrument... the quality of the Kit depends on the quality of the materials and the workmanship of these "pieces". Just to give an example, without naming names, some kits provide wooden jacks, spruce soundboards, precious woods (e.g.: lime, pear, boxwood...); in others you find plastic jacks, Sitka spruce boards... From this point of view, there are excellent kits that, in my opinion, are even better than what is observed in some harpsichords built artisanally from raw wood.
Obviously, the quality of the instrument also depends, or rather above all, on the tremendous amount of work that the Kit requires: a Kit is nothing more than the starting point, the "conception" of the instrument, and the so-called "assembly" work (in reality, it is much more than simple "assembling" since it involves drilling, trimming, thinning, gluing, decorating, stringing, and tuning) is a long gestation...
Just think about the importance of thinning the soundboard... the delicate phase of gluing the bridge to the soundboard; gluing the soundboard to the case; the voice of the instrument depends in large part on these processes.
To give you an example, if (as happened to me with an acquaintance) the bridge is glued poorly, the soundboard does not receive the vibration of the strings as it should and the instrument remains "weak"... then (as in that case) the blame is placed on the Kit...
Furthermore, think about the holes for the string ends: in the Kit you find the bridge and the nut, but you will have to mark the exact point and drill yourself... and if you are not precise, you risk the strings being "out of place" (too close or too far from the jack) with inevitable mechanical problems and unevenness of timbre.
Finally, think about the tuning work (i.e., the cutting of the plectra): the most "artistic" part because with it the attack, volume, and fullness of the sound are determined...
In short, creating a Kit is no joke at all; it requires a good dose of discipline, a good knowledge of these instruments, creativity and practical sense, in addition to obviously an adequate working environment (not necessarily a workshop but not even a corner of the living room) and minimal equipment (e.g., clamps, drill press, thickness gauge, planes, sander, etc...).
That being said, if you start from a good Kit and work well and with passion... I think the result has nothing to envy from the work of a very skilled harpsichord maker.
