Well I guess I overdid it on part 1 really 'cause there's not much more to say.
This Kawai went back together really nicely after replacing the trussrod and it only needed VERY minimal work around the fretboard/neck joint to make it look barely noticeable. A little bit of shrinkage on the board was easily fixed with a fine file and then a quick cut and polish.
I used the original nut and fitted everything back in place and let it settle in for a few days while I did other stuff. These double acting rods are VERY responsive and this one works much better than the original ones used in these Kawais, and certainly MUCH better than the one that was in this one.
This has all of it's original parts including tuners and electrics back on it and it's a joy to play. These have fairly thick necks, which I'm usually not a big fan of but these get comfortable really quickly.
I took some meat off the very big metal bridge base to get the action down but there's still plenty of break angle after it heading to the vibrato so it works well. These have non intonatable bridges and it does a little hairy up over the 15th fret or so but I rarely (as in never) play up that end anyway. If I was going to be more serious about this one I'd put an aftermarket roller bridge on it.
I'm missing the vibrato cover off this one (I thought about keeping one off one of the ones I sold but ...) but one will turn up one day. The hardware is good quality and the electronics all work properly after a good clean and service. I like these pickups a lot and I rarely use anything but the bridge pickup so having an SD-3 or 4W would be wasted on me, although they do look cool with more pickups.
I'm not sure why I love this shape so much but for some reason it really works for me. The first time I saw one was in Bizarre Guitars by Rittor music and I instantly loved it. The offset SG shape with the oversize CBS Fender headstock just works and the metal scratchplate is a beautiful compliment to the body shape.
These are a big body but I've thought about making a TMI version with a slightly scaled down body and my standard headstock. Maybe one day?
Jobs like new trussrods are a lot of work for a "cheap Japanese guitar" but these early Kawais are really well made and probably a couple of years ahead of Teisco and other brands in terms of quality and design.
Anyway, as I said in the first blog I've sold a few of these but this one is a "keeper", at least for now, and it's a much more playable example.