Ibanez Roadstar II RS405

I just went through my files of repair folders, came across this. I don't think I've posted this work. This one was a job back in 2015. I'll try to remember a much details about this guitar work.

Firstly the guitar was re-fretted by someone else. I can't remember who. The owner was indeed pissed about the result he got. A lot dripped super glue all over the fingerboard. I couldn't throw in any feedback about the work during his guitar talk instead I just spoke with my ears most of the time. Its obvious there will be a tall order for the next tech(me) to deliver.

After he was done with the bantering, I put forth a few questions pertaining this Ibanez to do work. Common questions like his playing style, what does he want done,his other guitars at home etc

He told me he has an Ibanez S540 series at home but this RS405 didn't play well like his S (no puns intended). I suspected the huge difference is at the fingerboard aside from the obvious  pickups and tremolo configuration.

 After he understood about fingerboard radii and how it can affect playing style, I suggest widening the RS405 default 7.25" to 16" fingerboard radii. Lengthy leap this one would be. I never attempted this before. Despite my promise, I foresee future failure on my end. Hehe

I started with 12" sanding beam and not long after a couple of dot inlays had came off at the higher register. I consulted the client again and taking into account the thin rosewood slab so the max it can go is 12". I told him this would still be better than the dreaded 7.25". He understood the situation and agreed to settle at 12" radii.

Then comes the dot inlay work. I must confess I never done such work before. Thanks to youtube and forums, I managed to get some info about polymer clay and a new tool (oven).

The clay colour wasn't white enough to match the stock inlays. Its just have to do to at best cover my mistake. The owner was told about this and thumbs up for being a good sport. He told me I wont learn anything until I try it. Thanks again bro. Yes I agree. I need more customer like you to progress. He he

The rest of the work are general cleaning and setup. The stock(I think) pots are still in working condition. New Poly cap and Switchcraft output jack soldered. I forgot to ask the client what was the default colour. I do not know whether this is stock or sprayed over. I will do a separate post of the Ibanez Hard Rocker. Good toremolo I must say.

Unskillful tech
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