Nightburst
New member
This project has been on delay forever! I think I started 4 years ago but just never got around to it. I remember that when I started the this there were no RG's with tom style bridges, only those dreadful fenderish hardtail bridges.
The one I have is a 270DX, it's the first guitar I bought brand new from a store in 2002.
I'm not particularly attached to it because it's a cheap mass produced basswood model that isn't anything special. The floyd on this one was total crap, it wouldn't hold tune and was a bit too low profile for my tastes.
So I decided to glue in a block of mahogany and to install a tom/string through set-up just like esp and schecter for example do. I believe that scenario to be optimal for getting some more body and resonance from this guitar. Comfort and looks are also a major factor, it just looks and feels 'right' to me. The gibraltar III bridge is one of the most comfortable bridges I've played, feels really smooth. The string trough really helps the guitar to resonate much more than it did before. The fact that it's completely stripped is also a factor in this of course.
I stripped the body with a heat gun, fist I started sanding but that was starting to cost me a fortune on sandpaper pads. The heat gun method is much easier but also trickier, keep it on one spot too long and it will burn the wood under the finish.
Also cut my own pickguard, it's impossible to find a HH RG pickguard for me, and I've searched a lot of places. I ended up buying a HSH and a blank so I had a template to cut out my own. It turned out allright but I made some small mistakes, like the cut outs on the neck pickup and the bridge.
There's still a lot of work to be done, I want to angle the neck a bit so I can adjust the action, it's pretty low considered but I'd like it just a little lower. It's a shred stick after all!
It intonates but I'll have to move the bridge more backwards if I want to use it for lower tunings.
Needs a new nut, going to get a flame maple veneer top and I'll attempt some binding for the heck of it. I'll spray it with nitro but I haven't decided on a finish colour yet. Any cool suggestions on that are more than welcome!
Still need to fill up the middle pickup slot so I can choose if I keep the pickguard on or not.
Oh yeah, the pickups are a '59/Jazz hybrid in the neck and a C5 bridge.
Enjoy the pics, I'm going to play it now!
The one I have is a 270DX, it's the first guitar I bought brand new from a store in 2002.
I'm not particularly attached to it because it's a cheap mass produced basswood model that isn't anything special. The floyd on this one was total crap, it wouldn't hold tune and was a bit too low profile for my tastes.
So I decided to glue in a block of mahogany and to install a tom/string through set-up just like esp and schecter for example do. I believe that scenario to be optimal for getting some more body and resonance from this guitar. Comfort and looks are also a major factor, it just looks and feels 'right' to me. The gibraltar III bridge is one of the most comfortable bridges I've played, feels really smooth. The string trough really helps the guitar to resonate much more than it did before. The fact that it's completely stripped is also a factor in this of course.
I stripped the body with a heat gun, fist I started sanding but that was starting to cost me a fortune on sandpaper pads. The heat gun method is much easier but also trickier, keep it on one spot too long and it will burn the wood under the finish.
Also cut my own pickguard, it's impossible to find a HH RG pickguard for me, and I've searched a lot of places. I ended up buying a HSH and a blank so I had a template to cut out my own. It turned out allright but I made some small mistakes, like the cut outs on the neck pickup and the bridge.
There's still a lot of work to be done, I want to angle the neck a bit so I can adjust the action, it's pretty low considered but I'd like it just a little lower. It's a shred stick after all!
It intonates but I'll have to move the bridge more backwards if I want to use it for lower tunings.
Needs a new nut, going to get a flame maple veneer top and I'll attempt some binding for the heck of it. I'll spray it with nitro but I haven't decided on a finish colour yet. Any cool suggestions on that are more than welcome!
Still need to fill up the middle pickup slot so I can choose if I keep the pickguard on or not.
Oh yeah, the pickups are a '59/Jazz hybrid in the neck and a C5 bridge.
Enjoy the pics, I'm going to play it now!
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