Happy NGD!
Filing the fret ends at least is a good idea if they are too sharp. Once it's playable enough to you - truss rod adjustments, action etc - just throw a JB in it and rock on 🙂
LE: Now that I saw the distance to the bridge, I'd go for a Distortion with hex screws for the EAD strings...
Don't remember where I read it, but apparently RIP was recorded dry and the effects were added afterwards. And both used JBs in the bridge for recording. Marty's sick vibrato didn't come from his fingers, it came from the pickup 😁
As the title says, where to buy good quality cloth tape from? I had 2 attempts from 2 separate eBay sellers and they are both pretty rubbish with those tiny micro strands coming off the tape and making a mess around the pickup cavity. From the various images posted online I can't tell anything...