I'll be building these two SG style kits, an GSM-1 and a GSJ-1 together and in parallel with identical finishes, so there didn't seem any point doing two build diaries. The GSM-1 is for me, and the GSJ-1 for a friend.

The kits have just arrived today (I forgot they were coming so it was a nice surprise!).

GSM-1:

The kit looks lovely. I have been lucky and scored a one-piece body. It's also pretty light. The neck is nice and straight. The neck is a very tight fit in the pocket, but this fit should relax after a few days acclimatising

GSM-1 body:


GSM-1 body and neck:


GSM-1 rear view. The factory look like they are in dire need of some sharper drill bits, but it's nothing that can't be patched up and any repairs will be hidden under copper shielding tape anyway.


GSJ-1:

This is a two piece body, but made from very similar pieces of mahogany. Again, the neck is a real squeeze to fit in the pocket, but should fit better in a week or so.

I had a look at the P-90 and it appears to be of a different construction to the one supplied with BlindDrew's ES5-V, as it has the proper dog-eared backing plate for fixing the bobbin, rather than it being of a soapbar-type construction with the bobbin being stuck to the plastic cover. But the two bar magnets used are definitely shorter than standard. I suppose magnets are relatively expensive,even ceramic ones, and if you can make 10 pickups from a ceramic bar that would normally make 9, then it's all money saved.

GSJ-1 body:


GSJ-1 Body and neck:


GSJ-1: Body join. The back of the body looks fine, but there is a slight glue line at the rear of the top where the two halves of the body weren't quite cut square to each other. No crack in the finish as such, as it's filled with glue. Obviously it would be nicer if it wasn't there but I can live with it. Going Heritage Cherry for the finish on both guitars, and as well as a red stain, I'll be using some Heritage Cherry nitro lacquer on it before the clear coats are applied, so that should hide most of that.


There's also a small annoying ding in the top that's been filled with mahogany-coloured filler. But it's not that big and it should be near-invisible once finished.


Got a couple of other projects on the go as well, but we've got a spell of good weather, and my plan is to get them all ready for spraying at the same time.