Hi everyone,
so this is my new RD-1, my first build,which I hope will be...well, playable at the very least ! I'm not aiming for "great" just yet.
I unpacked all the bits and pieces, checked and double-checked that all the parts and screws were there, and did a mock build, which turned out all right. The neck fits quite snugly into the pocket, the wood shows no trace or scratches. So far, so good !
There is, however, someting wrong with the headstock : the top two machinehead holes are misaligned by a couple of millimeters. Beside any aesthetic consideration (it's not THAT noticeable), I hope this won't have any effect on the playability or on the tuning stabilty of the guitar. Has any of you ever experienced this problem ?
Apart from that, I've started gouging away some of the body for a belly cutaway. Also, the Gibson RDs I've seen have a much more angular shape, the body edges on the pitbull kit are much more rounded. So I've started altering the upper contours on the body using a powered sander, although I'm not sure about what I'm doing. I don't really have woodworking tools at hand, so if anyone has advice for me on how to proceed, I'd be very grateful
I also want a pickguard but couldn't find any pre-cut, RD-shaped pickguards online, so I ordered a 3-ply sheet from Axetec and will have to find a way to cut it (bandsaw ? jigsaw?).
And then...I will get started on the sanding !
That's it for now, thanks in advance for any advice. I'm frankly amazed at the level of craftsmanship displayed by some of you guys !