Look what arrived at the post office today! From the moment I saw this kit I wanted it badly, and so of course, I bought it. I opted for no hardware as I have bits and pieces scattered around the place that would be suitable for this kit.
First impressions:
-The body and neck have been sanded relatively smooth before being packaged up and sent to Oz. I will do some of my own sanding despite some of it already being done for me. Better safe than sorry.
-The grain on the basswood and flame maple is really nice and should look even better once dyed. The basswood has a little flame here and there.
-The routing and pre-drilled holes are really clean, no chip-out or anything like that. Light machine marks on the body but nothing too problematic.
-The inlays have little to no filler used and no dried glue all over the fretboard (usually from sloppy inlay or fret installation). The ebony fretboard is all black, no light-ish brown grain pattern anywhere.
-The frets are nearly level. Only 3 frets are needing to be fixed. Fret ends are slightly sharp but is tolerable, definitely better overall fretwork from this new supplier.
-Neck is nice and snug (too snug, may need sanding down) once placed in the neck pocket and the tuner holes are aligned correctly with the nut. A small shim has been glued in place on the side of the neck pocket, I don't mind as this tells me that the factory did pick up an issue and resolved it at the factory before sending it out. I shaped the headstock before taking pictures as I wanted you guys to see what the guitar would look like with it's 'traditional' headstock.
I think that's everything? This kit is obviously from a new supplier so I thought I'd tell you guys what the quality is like.
More to come.... hopefully
P.s Simon i remember you asking whether or not the neck profile was a standard C shape or a speed profile. Can confirm that it's very similar to a C shape but slightly slimmer.