Very nice get, Dan - a lovely example. Congratulations!!
I was s**t scared to touch any of mine when they got a bit out of whack - I've been keeping my friendly neighbourhood luthier in caviar and champagne!
However, I bit the bullet with one that had an underbow and needed some bridge adjustments - no problems! Take it slow and easy with the truss rods and the hardware and it's not that scary after all!
As far as strings are concerned, I use
nothing bit Ricks on my Ricks! I've tried others but I just don't get the same result - especially with toasters. My recommendation, but I'm sure there will be others.
Congratulations again. Oh, by the way, here's mine:
