Custom SV-7 Build and Newbie Questions

Hello everyone!

I just got my first kit in the mail a few days ago, it's an SV-7 (they don't offer this model anymore?) with some custom options. Maple fretboard with no inlays, 27" scale, reverse headstock, black pickguard instead of the pearloid white, and no monkey grip. I also ordered some Dimarzio pickups to swap in later on and will maybe upgrade the trem down the road.

Haven't picked a colour yet, still have to sand, fill some nicks, and prime anyway. I'm planning to paint it with Duplicolor acrylic lacquer and finish the neck and fretboard with tru-oil, but I also want to paint the front of the headstock body colour. Should I paint and clear the front first, and then just apply the tru-oil up to the edge of the clear coat?

I also had a question about neck height. As you can see from the last photo, the neck sits about a centimetre above the body. I did a test assembly and had to lift the bridge pretty far off the body for it to play properly. A proper set-up would help I'm sure, but I'd like to get the fretboard closer to the body as well. Would it be as simple as sanding down the back of the neck where it joins?

https://i.imgur.com/XnCJgWdl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3hbTPQg.jpg

This is my first build and any input/advice/critique is appreciated!

Welcome to the forum mate!

Sick looking kit, look forward to how it goes together.

You can sand down the heel, though you need to take a huge amount of care that you don’t mess up your neck angle, or induce a side to side angle etc.
Pop your bridge down to where you want it for comfortable playing, then lay a straight edge down your fretboard across the top of the bridge. The gap between the straight edge and the bridge will be how much you need to take out, plus your desired string action at the body end (I think it’s usually gauged off the 21st fret?).

if you do need to do some surgery to it, make sure you mark where the heel currently fits into the rout and use that as a datum to mark your new heel depth. You then work parallel to that datum to get your new depth and preserve your neck angle (if any). You’ll want to be as careful as you possibly can be to keep that bottom face flat and parallel to your datum, else problems will follow.

if you have taken more than a couple of mm out then you may also want to check the length of your neck attachment screws. It’d be heartbreaking to do all that work only to drive a mounting screw right through your fretboard! (Ask me how I know😢)

Best of luck with it, be patient, ask as many questions as you need.
some times the wood will change your plans for you, and you can end up with something you didn’t plan for that ends up being cooler. It’s all a learning experience. Above all ENJOY!

Thanks for the tips! I think it`s going to be a long process but hopefully I`ll have more progress pics to upload soon