Les Pauls and soapbars- Build vote

[caveman]

Carved top and you are totally correct about P90s.

[trill]

Flat tooooop. Also no binding, wtf.

 

And then sell it to me.

[Spudro]

Flat top, unbound. Somewhat thin body.

 

I honestly believe that it will sound better in a really big way. Let the wood party. Don't smother it with gloppy glossy paint. Thin coat or even no paint at all on the body.

 

I'm telling ya the tone truth. Thick bodies and thick finishes kill the wood's contribution to the tone equation.

 

If it is more important for the guitar to be pretty, you're on your own.

[MahaloVision]

OR should it be the Vintage Mahogany that they SHOULD have built? ie an all mahogany body, carved top, P90s and a wrapover bridge?

Here's how I'd vote:

[Professor Tom]

Flat top, unbound. Somewhat thin body. I honestly believe that it will sound better in a really big way. Let the wood party. Don't smother it with gloppy glossy paint. Thin coat or even no paint at all on the body. I'm telling ya the tone truth. Thick bodies and thick finishes kill the wood's contribution to the tone equation. If it is more important for the guitar to be pretty, you're on your own.

 

 

The guitar you are describing is the one in my avatar, a Gordon Smith GS-1, thin body, very light and resonant, honduran mahogany.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Flat top, unbound. Somewhat thin body. I honestly believe that it will sound better in a really big way. Let the wood party. Don't smother it with gloppy glossy paint. Thin coat or even no paint at all on the body. I'm telling ya the tone truth. Thick bodies and thick finishes kill the wood's contribution to the tone equation. If it is more important for the guitar to be pretty, you're on your own.

 

 

I don't do thick finishes, bare wood whenever I can, oil whenever possible. I like wood, I don't like plastic

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

that combo will sound exactly the same either way....provideing you don't make serious neck pocket changes to either design of course. the carved top will be harder to build.. neck angle, binding issues, pickup routing etc etc.. it's gonna boil down to cosmetics.. which way do YOU want it... Just my .02 worth Never let others decide for you... it makes your balls shrink.. have fun ! .

 

 

Not a case of letting others decide, it's a tad of fun, and from the descriptions it may even be obvious which way it might go.

The consensus on flat top is 1.5 degree neck angle?

[warriorpoet]

Yup still flat top and it'll have binding as it it'll have a black finish top and a brown finish sides, back n neck, so I'll bind it with some thin maple.

Ah, maple binding's a different story all together. Toss a solid rosewood neck on that puppy and go flat top

 

...just make sure to build a twin so I can buy it from you

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Ah, maple binding's a different story all together. Toss a solid rosewood neck on that puppy and go flat top ...just make sure to build a twin so I can buy it from you

No, the rosewood neck si still looking for a home, it's still earmarked to go on that chunk of streaky black limba

[vcnyls]

Hey Ratae, what have you built in the past? Can we see some pics?

This build is sounding awesome!

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Hey Ratae, what have you built in the past? Can we see some pics? This build is sounding awesome!

Mainly 'Casters, one setneck that was a cross between a LP and a PRS singlecut inasmuch as it was a bit slimmer than Paul, tummy cut and natural binding. I recorded it up as far the top carve and fretting IIRC and then once finished put it away cause it didn't fulfil my expectations as I couldn't get the top finished right as there was a big blemish in the flame that didn't show up on the wood to begin with. Once I clear my workshop this summer and reoutfit it with a small spray booth and spray the top.

You can just see the blemish on the top front bout

[Bruce Bennett]

Not a case of letting others decide, it's a tad of fun, and from the descriptions it may even be obvious which way it might go. The consensus on flat top is 1.5 degree neck angle?

 

 

That will depend greatly on how high off the body you want your neck.

for instance, Fenders have mostly no angle, but the playing surface is a nearly full 3/8" off the top of the body.

Rickenbacker is another example..

 

Neck angle depends on where you want the playing surface to be when it's all said and done.

 

you designing from scratch or building a specs on copy of something?

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

T you designing from scratch or building a specs on copy of something?

 

 

It'll be 75% LP Special inspired-ish type thing. I like unbound ebony boards, stainless frets and wrapover bridge on hardtails, so the Special seemed like the perfect candidate to use as influence

[Bruce Bennett]

It'll be 75% LP Special inspired-ish type thing. I like unbound ebony boards, stainless frets and wrapover bridge on hardtails, so the Special seemed like the perfect candidate to use as influence

 

 

If you wish to have bottom of the fingerboard right down against the top of the body. then 1.5 will be fine ( provided your bridge is not taller than .750 and your scale length is still 24.75)

 

see it's all inter-related. you could have no angle at all if you wanted . or a 3 degree angle depending on the bridge you choose. .. thickness of fingerboard. scale length.

 

unless you have a VERY clear idea of what you want this to be when finished. I would steer clear of making any beforehand decisions about neck angles until after you have the neck and body made... then worry about joining them together. then you can "mockup" and measure things until you have that very clear idea.