Oh what a feeling…. Tightening the last screw.

There are quite a few screws holding the Ridgewing body together. Twelve M3 SHCS’s attach the bass grill to its body frame. Eleven more for the treble grill. Three adjustable M4 SHCS bracket engaging screws on the treble frame’s inner face, six M4 flathead machine screws holding the joining bracket on, and finally, three M3 SHCS’s to hold the acrylic pickguard on. Around the grills, the M3 cap screws look especially sharp if they are stainless steel with a brass washer, and they stay that way. Regular cap screws made from hard steel tend to rust over time, which really spoils the view.

I am particularly fond of this color scheme – flat black frames with gloss black grills that seem to sparkle even though they are black. The clear pickguard is very elemental, allowing the guitar to look the same in a black-and-white picture as in a color picture. Using a color tinted pickguard over this two-tone black body makes quite a statement, and works best if the color is coordinated with the translucent bridge cover.

These grills obtained their visual magic in a genuine New Hampshire spray booth.