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").

Gibson Les Paul Studio 2015: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

This is the second instalment of a three-part series on a Manhattan Midnight Gibson Les Paul Studio 2015. For detailed specs on this guitar, kindly visit the Gibson Legacy Archive.

I'd previously removed the stock Gibson G FORCE™ Tuning System and Zero Fret Adjustable Nut, so the headstock was now bereft of any hardware. After preliminary cleaning, I was able to test-fit the replacement tuners. They dropped in easily without any peghole reaming; so all I had to do was drill holes for the mounting screws and fasten the securing nuts.

Besides this, the Zero Fret Adjustable Nut was dismantled down to the screws, scrubbed as clean as possible, polished with Autosol; and lubed. Polished brass is a thing of beauty, I tell you. The rosewood fretboard was also degrimed and reconditioned with lemon oil, and the frets cleaned and polished. 

I did notice that the covers of the "57 Classic" neck and "57 Plus" bridge humbuckers appeared to be brushed steel [actually satin nickel-plated]; which was quite unlike any of the Gibson pickup covers I'd come across so far. These were relatively easy to clean and polish compared to the rest of the body and hardware.

While removing the black "supreme grip" speed knobs, it became obvious that both volume pots were of the push/pull variety; implying that both pickups could be coil-tapped for single-coil tones. Meanwhile, the broken black ABS output jack plate was replaced with one from StewMac, while the whole body, back of the neck and headstock were cleaned and polished with Gibson Pump Guitar Polish. Once everything was spick and span, the Les Paul was put back together again, strung with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, tuned; and set up for low action and maximum playability.