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NGD: 1977 Aria Pro II LC-550 (Les Paul Custom)


cliffenstein

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Some years ago I owned an LC-500 and loved it. I sold all my gear at one point and have sorely missed it ever since. I honestly never thought I'd have a chance to get another one. Then I happened upon an LC-550, which is the exact same guitar but with gold hardware instead of chrome. The Wilkes Barre, PA Music-Go-Round had it for sale for just $400. Being that I knew what it was, I grabbed it quick...real quick.

 

I brought it home and changed a bunch of stock parts to mirror Ronnie Younkins' from Kix 1971 LPC (his guitar has been my favorite Les Paul since I was a kid).

 

1. Replaced all gold hardware with chrome (down to the screws).

2. Replaced the stock Aria Pro Alnico V pickups with an old Gibson 490R/498T set.

3. Put on strap locks.

4. Replaced the plastic input jack plate with a nickel one.

5. Replaced pickup rings and poker chip (black to cream).

6. Replaced the knobs (black speed knobs to gold top hat with silver inserts).

 

I then dropped it off with Doug at DWard Guitars to get the rosewood fretboard ebonized (dye it black and then seal in the color with oil), cut the nut so that 11's don't bind, and a setup.

 

This guitar is flat out awesome. It was made in 1977 (with the "made for export" headstock design) to almost exact 1974 LPC specs (differences are lack of open book cut in the headstock, double arrowhead inlay instead of split diamond, wide binding at the cutaway instead of thin binding, and maple neck instead of mahogany).

 

.8" at the 1st fret

.96" at the 12th fret

1 11/16" bone nut

Maple neck

Mahogany pancake body w/solid Maple cap

Long tenon

ABR-1 bridge

 

Weight: 9 lbs

 

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The wood, pots, toggle, input jack and back control cavities are all that remains of the original guitar.

 

i mean the finish, the binding and the inlays, especially at the headstock, most lp custom of the age 40+ like mine show hairline cracks in the finish, in the headstock plate and the inlays, its normal for the age and nothing to worry about, but your lawsuit does not show such signs, thats why i commented it :)

something like this:

 

da79a8eb0e86cf5e5853864bf7a9c18b--ricky-nelson-les-paul-custom.jpg

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i mean the finish, the binding and the inlays, especially at the headstock, most lp custom of the age 40+ like mine show hairline cracks in the finish, in the headstock plate and the inlays, its normal for the age and nothing to worry about, but your lawsuit does not show such signs, thats why i commented it :)

something like this:

 

da79a8eb0e86cf5e5853864bf7a9c18b--ricky-nelson-les-paul-custom.jpg

 

 

Ah yes...that would be because this has a poly finish, not a nitro one. Plus, the previous owner REALLY took care of this thing. There's not a crack anywhere to be found.

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The more it's exposed to extremes of temperature, or rapid temperature changes (guitar case left in a cold guitar trunk for two or three hours brought into a warm room and opened up right away, etc.), the more likely the nitrocellulose lacquer will check and crack.

 

Checking still happens here, but it actually seems to be a bit less common and severe on guitars that have spent their lifetimes in Southern California due to the milder weather.

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as its not a structural issue and just on the surface, IMHO its a nice touch of patina

 

i like it when instruments age and show some wear of their usage. yeah i try to be careful and avoid scratches and stuff, but i'm not too anal about it :)

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