Burny RLC-65S Solidbody

Yes, folks, it's another Far Eastern solidbody that bears a remarkable resemblance to a Gibson Les Paul Custom. Judging by the headstock inlay, empty battery compartment and unusual control layout; I believe it to be a modified RLC-65S. 

My take on this guitar is that somewhere down the line, the neck-position sustainer pickup was replaced with a chrome-plated covered humbucker; and all related circuitry, controls and switches removed [master volume, master tone, sustainer volume and on/off mini-toggle switch]. 

The guitar was then rewired in the classic configuration of twin volume and tone controls; with the original holes being re-used. This would explain the empty battery compartment and haphazard control layout. 

This black beauty was made in Korea, according to the sticker on the back of the headstock. Among its most pertinent features are a solid wood "sandwich" body, set-neck construction, bound rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets, shielded control cavity, gold hardware, binding on the headstock [five-ply], front [seven-ply] and back [five-ply] of body; and a four-ply black pickguard. 

Work done on this Burny RLC-75S includes nut replacement, fretboard reconditioning, thorough clean and polish, electronics servicing, and setup with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys. With that, I humbly conclude this post. Thanks for visiting and do drop by again real soon. Meanwhile, stay home, stay safe; and a Happy New Year to everyone :)

RC Stromm LG-1 Solidbody

Kids today are so lucky! We never had a music room or bona fide music lessons in school back in the '60s and '70s. But I guess times have changed. This RC Stromm solidbody lives in the music room of a local primary school and them lucky kids get to play it. It was brought in recently by the school's music teacher, who asked for a string change, setup, fretboard reconditioning and nut work. Seems that the nut slots had been cut a little too narrow and deep at the factory, and thus were "pinching" the strings; if you know what I mean.

A closer examination revealed other issues which included a dry rosewood fretboard, excessively-high action; and insufficient neck pitch. After the old strings were removed, the frets were cleaned and polished; and the fretboard reconditioned with lemon oil. One thing I really like about this fretboard is the comfortable 14" radius and above-average fretwork on the medium-jumbo frets. No sharp fret ends here!

Following this, the neck itself was removed and a neck pocket shim added to increase neck pitch. After reattaching the neck, the guitar was strung with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (010-046); and then the really tricky nut work began. The nut slots were widened slightly and the top of the nut itself reprofiled so that about half of the wound strings were exposed. The truss rod was also gradually tightened over a day, and I'm glad that I finally managed to get the neck relatively straight; with a just a smidgen of relief.

Setting the saddles to match the fretboard radius and intonating them was relatively painless, thanks to the smooth-turning saddle height and intonation screws. Of course, the saddles had been prepped beforehand with my tried-and-trusted lube; Singer Machine Oil. 

I guess that's all for this post. Thank you for taking the time off your busy schedules to pay my humble blog a visit. Do drop by again real soon, by which time I should have more tales of my adventures in the world of guitar repair to share; and more pics for you to enjoy. Stay healthy, stay safe; and God bless you :)