Stans ES-1GL

[stan]

After much anticipation, it finally arrived in time for my birthday - a lefty ES-1G

I intend for this to not only be a build thread, a how to, but also a look at what to expect when ordering a PBG kit. The ordering process is easy , and after some short emails with Adam, I was confident to order.

I was pretty impressed with the service, the gang at PBG do a good job.

I decided to go with the bone nut upgrade and the DB awesome fret job - well worth it, top notch work.

So for those who want to see exactly how the kit comes, and the condition they arrive in, here goes.

Beefy box, bubble wrapped body parts and plenty of paper packing. Kit arrived with no damage at all.

Here it what it looks like, after the inner packing removed:

[stan]

The wood finish is better than I thought, there are a few manufacturing scuffs and such, but all will sand out, and nothing will need major attention or repairs. No big scuffs or deep dints (no dints at all). The body is bound on the upper and lower edges, no binding on the neck or headstock. Headstock is preshaped and very nice.

A closer look at the machining and body:

[stan]

This timber will come up beautifully. The plan is for a Cherry Flamenco top and Black Magic Woman back, sides and neck...

Some more pics of the body, lovely shape:

[stan]

Dingo Bass did a lovely job on the frets, so worth it to get this done. It feels playable already.

There is a little nick in the wood on the first fret position and one down the other end where all the patterning is, I might seek advice on how to fill these. I am thinking some glue and wood sandings, they are very minor, but I don't want them on the fingerboard surface, should be very easy to sort though.
looks nice though:

[wokkaboy]

looks good Stan, be careful when sanding those rough edges near the binding the cap is quite thin.
Also you should rub a damp rag over the body near the binding to see if there is any glue. I'd make sure the pickup routes are wide enough, place the pickups in to make sure they fit well and check the neck feels good slotted into the body
Good colour selection cherry and BMW, the BMW is one of the harder wudtone colours to get a consistent finish

[Brendan]

Stan, looks like you've got yourself a pearler... Good luck with it - the CF and BMW will be a good mix and look great...

[stan]

Thanks for the advice and comments guys!

Got the bone nut upgrade as well, that will need to be glued in. Original was removed, I presume by DB (thanks).

Headstock shape is very Gibsonesque and won't get any more shaping - this is how it came and is quite nice.

[stan]

The neck itself is nicely shaped, very smooth and the scarf joint is nearly imperceptible - it's excellent (see last pic, straight out of the box).

[stan]

The pups and neck test fit fine.

The hardware in general seems pretty good.

I have to say though, that the knobs seem a little cheap. I'll compare them with Gibson aftermarket and may upgrade. Dont get me wrong, at the price point of the kits, the whole deal is exceptional, but I'm a bit of an OCD details guy, so happy to make an upgrade.

[stan]

Gold hardware for this model, and it looks pretty nice.