RCE HSS Solidbody Overhaul

Rumor has it that RC Stromm used to be known as "RCE" in its infancy. For those of you who aren't familiar with RC Stromm, it's a line of affordable made-in-China guitars and basses distributed in Malaysia by Kuantan Music. Which brings us to this particular RCE HSS sunburst solidbody; the owner's very first guitar. It was sent in for a major overhaul which included a good clean and polish, hardware servicing, electronics upgrade, shielding; and setup. And since the guitar was already in the shop; he also asked that the "RCE" logo on the headstock face be removed.

You know, lots of nice things have been said about Gibson Guitar Polish. Just do a search on YouTube and you'll see what I mean. And guess what? It's not all hype, this stuff actually works! As you can see in the pictures below, the whole guitar was covered in years of caked-on dirt, grime, crud and a greasy film of lord-knows-what. It was as if the guitar had been hanging on the wall of a busy restaurant kitchen for quite some time. I'm glad I had this polish on hand for this job, as it certainly got rid of all that gunk in no time at all.

Removing the RCE logo was a lot harder than I'd thought. I was expecting a waterslide decal, but it was actually some kind of thick black paint with a raised profile that you could feel with your fingertips. Trying to wipe it off with various solvents did not work, so out came the razor blade and a scrape-scrape-scrape we did go. This was followed by a thorough sanding job and refinish with Tru-Oil. By the time I was done, I dare say that no one could tell there had ever been a logo there.

Electronics-wise, all components except for the pickups were replaced. The two single coils were also rewired, as the leads were a little too short. Shielding was done in the usual manner; foil for the back of the pickguard and conductive shielding paint for the body cavities. And, of course, the rosewood fretboard was cleaned and oiled; and the frets polished. Speaking of fretboards, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this one had a radius of 14"; which is flatter than that of your typical Les Paul (12") or Strat (9.5").