Helping a kid out

jollygreenaudiophile2-
I totally agree on the potentially overwhelming nature of the kit assembly process.  It wasn’t lost on me the amount of skills required to do it justice.  That being said, I’m definitely ‘all in’ if he is.  I’ve been a hobbyist of many things over the years from model trains to hot rods and have a small workshop where we would have all the necessary items to build it.

The Bottlehead route is an inspiring one for sure.  Something I never would have considered had Tomic not made me aware of them.  I personally love the idea of imparting these skills and investing the time into building something that will last…who knows, after I’m long gone it could turn up on some vintage audio website as a rare anomaly of a bygone era when people actually used to build things.

I rarely see him during the week now that the world is getting back up to speed so I will run all these options by him when we meet up next.  I’ve decided to cap any financial input from him at $200, any additional parts, tools or labor above and beyond that I’ll cover.  I had a quick chat with his old man to make sure I wouldn’t be stepping on any toes.

On another note and my apologies for being off topic, but I can’t believe how good that little system sounds all on its own…(must be the speaker wire).  The Dual must have a million miles on it but a little TLC and a new cart has it playing like new and those little Elacs are awesome for the money.  
I will keep everyone apprised of the situation especially since this thread has somewhat taken on a life of its own.  Many thanks for everyone and their gracious offers, let’s keep the conversation going!

The skills are nowhere near overwhelming. Take a look at a solid state amp like the Dynaco ST400. If it isn't at least ten times the parts I will be shocked. And I built that at his age. By myself. Totally by myself. Hasten to add, no internet back then. When I say by myself, I mean by myself! 

This Bottlehead, all there is, roughly a dozen caps, about that many resistors- you can see the whole thing right here https://bottlehead.com/product/reduction-1-1-phono-preamplifier-kit/  Can be done in an evening or two- it is just not that hard! 

Soldering, within a couple tries he will have that down pat. The solder flows towards the heat. Don't drip blobs. Hold the iron on the part until it gets hot enough to make the solder flow into the joint. Couple tries he will have it down pat. Just not that hard.  

If you like the way it sounds now just wait till you hear it with this phono stage. The kid will freak. You will freak. Seriously. So totally worth it.  

Overwhelming. Don't make me laugh. 

Easy does it Millercarbon, I never said it WAS overwhelming, just potentially so for a young kid with a life outside of audio.  When I was his age was a long time ago and very different.  There were a lot fewer distractions. I am (was) an engineer by trade and fully capable of assembling this kit with him and have done similar projects across many different hobbies countless times in the past.  My relationship with him is currently very good and I don’t want to impose myself or my enthusiasm on him.  He doesn’t need another old man nor am I qualified to be one.  My intent is to let him steer the ship and to explore this hobby with him as he sees fit.  Spending a few evenings in my garage putting together a kit may sound good to him or maybe not.  It may be the best audio component he’ll own for a while or it may not.  Those are all decisions I respect him enough to make on his own.  Right now it’s just a kid listening to records on an old Dual in his basement with his ‘not girlfriend’ and enjoying every moment of it.  How many of us would love to be back then or there when life was so damn simple? 

Additional thumbs up on the Sinatra album by the way…its fantastic.