I bought this kit largely because one of the bands I'm involved with is a 50's rock show band, and visual is VERY big.. I'm about to get going constructing this bad boy... Have already acquired a lot of what I'm going to outfit this with. The original nut is going bye-bye, would have had to file a LOT to get it set up correct. Got a Graph tech TUSQ XL PT1412-00. Yes, its slightly wider than the neck at that point, but I also wanted the B and G strings to sit a little closer to the edges like my Fenders. Got a set of Hipshot HB6MG 3/8" ultralite tuners, they'll slide right in, and its a huge upgrade. I have Hipshot kick ass bridges on my Fenders, and this one's not going to be any different. The string to string width is adjustable enough, so that's not an issue. My Fenders also got retrofitted with Audere preamps, and I'm very happy with those. Got a Classic pre with the 3-knob setup (vol/blend, 400Hz, 800Hz, treble and bass). might have to modify the control cavity to make it fit, we shall see.. Haven't settled on pickups yet, but the routs are very close to the EMG40 size. Quite a few choices in that configuration.
One thing I will address, the body isn't totally flat. I will be making a fixture so that I can plane it down using a router. The initial plan was to go black/white with this, but since I'm going to have to plane this down some, I'm going to get some 1/8" thick mahogany for the top and possibly stain the neck to match. the back surfaces of the body will be a solid color yet to be determined.
I build high end bass cabs as a side business (greenboy AB), so I have a pretty well equipped shop. Woodwork is what I do...lol.. One of the things I found out this is crazy light. Haven't yet put this together far enough to determine strap balance, but if needed some weight could be strategically added underneath the mahogany top..
Also have been doing some research on finishes, and being in the US I can get Varathane Ultimate waterbased polyurethane. Some guitar builders here have used this quite successfully, and drying time is much quicker than some of the traditional ways of finishing.
As I get going on this, I'll post pics with the progress...