Res-O-Glas Bodies
Our goal when designing the Res-O-Glas was to create a body that accepts as many guitar parts (both new and vintage) as possible. We believe we have succeeded doing this by offering our customers two different guitar bodies to choose from. The only difference between these bodies are their neck pocket widths and the way they secured the selected neck to the Res-O-Glas body.
The first, is the “WL” (Wide Load) guitar body. The WL Res-O-Glas body accepts commonly available necks that are 2- 3/16" in width at the base (such as Telecaster style necks).
The “R” (Retro) accepts vintage Valco 3-bolt trapezoid necks or other necks narrower than 2-3/16" wide at the base. If you have an old vintage house brand era neck that you've been wanting to use in a project - this body is perfect for you. We include instructions on how to convert these narrow guitar necks to fit in our R style guitar body.
The WL (Wide Load) A killer Res-O-Glas guitar body modified to fit the most common guitar components sold today. Features all of the benefits of the Repro (R) model with the addition of a wider neck cavity to accomodate 2-3/16” four-bolt neck configurations (such as Telecaster or Epiphone Les Paul Junior style necks). A standard four-bolt neck plate is concealed within the body allowing a traditional means of securing your guitar neck.
WL Res-O-Glas Body Only includes: two-piece body with select hard maple center, screw mounting posts, body screws and white stripe body trim piece.
WL Res-O-Glas Body Kit & Accessories includes: two-piece body with select hard maple center, screw mounting posts, body screws and white stripe body trim piece, two-piece pick guard, screws, two pickup ring mounts and vintage style tailpiece. The pickup rings have also been modified – both the height and the width were increased to accommodate standard pickup dimensions commonly used today (visit FAQs section for more details on selecting pickups).
GuitarKitsUSA sells the following parts for the guitar shown above:
| Res-O-Glas "WL" Guitar Body | $235.00 |
| Stainless Steel Slant Tailpiece | $24.99 |
| Pre-Drilled Transparent "Wing" Pickguards | $16.99 |
The following parts for the guitar shown above were purchased from other vendors:
| Modified Floating Bridge With Tune-O-Matic | $22.99 |
| Epiphone Neck With Tuners | $35.00 |
| Pre-wired Used Soapbar Pickups | $70.00 |
| Input Jack | $3.00 |
| Volume & Tone Knobs | $3.99 |
| 2 Epoxy Syringes | $7.00 |
Approximate Total Build Cost: $420
The R (Repro) A true to original spec reproduction of the famous 1962 fiberglass Airline Guitar body (aka the J.B. Hutto, Jetsons, Jack White guitar). Complete with 3-in-line bolt neck configuration that fits most 50’s and 60’s Valco style necks that have trapezoid shape heels (Airline, Tosca, Supro, National, Atlas, English Electronics). Got an old Valco neck and some cool vintage pickups you’ve wanted to use in a guitar project? Wait no more…build an authentic Res-O-Glas guitar. No painting or buffing required. Available in Body Only and Body Kit & Accessories formats. We do not sell Necks, tuning pegs, strings, bridges or electronics (pickups / pots/ input jacks). In order to complete your guitar, you will need to source these items separately. See Retro Specs & Features for more details regarding the measurements and specs of our products and components.
R Res-O-Glas Body Only includes: two-piece body with select hard maple center, screw mounting posts, body screws and white stripe body trim piece.
R Res-O-Glas Body & Accessories Kit includes: two-piece body with select hard maple center, screw mounting posts, body screws and white stripe body trim piece, two-piece pick guard, screws, two pickup ring mounts and vintage style tailpiece.
GuitarKitsUSA sells the following parts for the guitar shown above:
| Res-O-Glas "R" Guitar Body | $235.00 |
| Accessories Kit (Tailpiece, Pickup Rings, Selector Cover) | $40.00 |
The following parts for the guitar shown above were purchased from other vendors:
| Reissue Floating Rosewood Bridge | $79.99 |
| Vintage Valco Neck w/ Replacement Tuners | $120.00 |
| Vintage Valco Bridge Pickup | $100.00 |
| Used Seymour Duncan Neck PIckup | $70.00 |
| Volume & Tone Knobs | $2.00 |
| Pots, Input Jack, Selector and Wiring | $13.00 |
| 2 Epoxy Syringes | $7.00 |
Approximate Total Build Cost: $670
Anatomy / Specs
The Guts of a Res-O
The top two photos show the interiors of original Res-O-Glas Guitars from the 1960s. When you open up a vintage Res-O-Glas Guitar, you never know what you’ll find inside. That’s because Valco often used spare parts when completing these guitars, making no two exactly alike. Epoxy filled in gaps between the wood blocks and body, and scrap wood was often used from other guitars in their production line. We have recreated our guitar bodies to match the vintage parts wherever possible, but improved its design and consistency in a number of areas.
Center Wood Block
The original center blocks were composed of several wood pieces glued together using various types of wood that Valco had left over from other guitar models. Our improved design uses a single piece of select, hard-maple. One piece for the top block and one piece for the bottom. The pieces are hand contoured to fit the shape of the guitar body.
Hand-carved center block for R body style Hand-carved center block for WL body style
Strap Buttons
The original Res-O-Glas guitars were not designed for extended road abuse. The strap buttons screws were often not secured into any wood. We have changed the design to extend the wood blocks wherever possible to allow the strap buttons to be firmly anchored in wood.
Foam
If you have a vintage Res-O-Glas guitar from the sixties, most likely the foam has deteriorated or is no longer firmly secured in place (see photos above). The foam is used in Res-O-Glas Guitars to relieve tension from the two guitar halves being joined together. We have improved the foam using a stronger, high quality black neoprene foam.
Fiberglass and Gel Coat
The premium color gel coats used in our bodies adds durability and is able to withstand multiple polishings over the years. A great improvement over the original and a shine that could not be achieved with home spray methods. Best of all, it looks great right out of the box!
Body Screws and Grommets
Most vintage Res-O-Glas Guitars have stress fracture cracks near the holes where the screws met the back of the guitar body. The back of our guitar body (shown below) employs a nickel plated finish cup washer to disperse pressure more evenly across the areas where the body is fastened together.
