Friday, July 26, 2024

Techno RD41 Headstock Repair | Part 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Preamble

This post is the first in a series of four on the headstock repair carried out on a Techno RD41 acoustic. Before going into the actual repair itself, though, allow me to share some information about this guitar. Alright then, here we go. 

"Techno Guitar RD41EQ3T" is what's printed on the soundhole label of this acoustic, purchased by the owner earlier this year. As usual, I decided to do a little research, and spent the better part of an hour at Techno Music India. Sadly, the RD41 wasn't even listed there. I guess  it's no longer in production. Ah well, that's enough griping, methinks. 



RD41EQ3T Soundhole Label



Top

Let us now take a closer look at the RD41EQ3T. We'll begin with the body, specifically, the softwood top. There's no pickguard, and binding is five-ply black/white/black plastic. Particularly attractive is the five-ply soundhole rosette, comprising alternating rings of an abalone-like material and a dark-colored wood. Rounding off the top is a dyed hardwood bridge. The two pearloid dots on either side of the bridge pins most probably conceal bridge mounting bolts.



Softwood Top

Close-Up of the Top

Five-Ply Binding

Five-Ply Soundhole Rosette

Dyed Hardwood Bridge



Back and Sides

The hardwood back of this RD41 features rather attractive '3D' striping and single-ply black plastic binding. The sides, meanwhile, are of the same wood as the back, and bound in three-ply black/white/black plastic. The left side of the upper bout houses a Techno T-170 onboard preamp. Among the highlights of this preamp are three bands of EQ, a phase switch, and a tuner. 



Hardwood Back

Close-Up of the Back

Single-Ply Binding

Hardwood Sides

Close-Up of Right Side

T-170 Three-Band Preamp

9V Battery Compartment/Output Jack

Rear End Strap Button



Neck and Fretboard

Moving on to the neck, what you see is straight-grained hardwood lacking any figuring or flaming. The neck heel, however, is far from plain, as it's decorated with a black plastic heel cap. Last but not least is a dyed hardwood fretboard featuring 20 frets, pearloid fret markers, and white side dots.



Hardwood Neck

Neck Heel/Heel Cap

Dyed Hardwood Fretboard

Pearloid Fretboard Dots

White Side Dots


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