Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Restoration Project- HCEG Black Top!

[GreatDane]

 

They are two different types of wood. Celebrate it. Enhance it. Dont try to hide that fact and make it look like something it is not.

My opinion.

 

 

Originally Posted by axegrinder

I vote Don't worry about color match.

Having said that I would like Ratae's a little better if the back looked little more aged (btw, the front makes my knees go weak ). Perhaps a bit of amber could be added to the base coat on neck, back, and sides to give a little color.

 

well done, guys. i really like the idea of tinting the neck and back with a nice honey tint, but leaving them both as the two different types of wood that they are. in my original response to meandi, i think that part of this guitar's appeal is that she has a maple neck and solid mahogany body. it makes her a somewhat uncommon "Norlin 'tweener"~ made in that relatively short space of time after Norlin ended their use of the "pancake" body, but before they reverted back to mahogany necks. cool

what say you, meandi? would that look appropriately classy for this future blacktop?

[Dmerge]

I agree wholeheartedly, show her off for what she is.

[GreatDane]

 

Originally Posted by Dmerge

I agree wholeheartedly, show her off for what she is.

 

yes, this is the right answer~ thank you for helping to get me there!

[meandi]

 

Originally Posted by GreatDane

 

 

Originally Posted by GreatDane

well done, guys. i really like the idea of tinting the neck and back with a nice honey tint, but leaving them both as the two different types of wood that they are. in my original response to meandi, i think that part of this guitar's appeal is that she has a maple neck and solid mahogany body. it makes her a somewhat uncommon "Norlin 'tweener"~ made in that relatively short space of time after Norlin ended their use of the "pancake" body, but before they reverted back to mahogany necks. cool

what say you, meandi? would that look appropriately classy for this future blacktop?

 

I agree 100%!

While the guitar pictured is obviously very well done & attractive, the strong yellow tint tends to make it, to my way of thinking, somewhat "trendy?".

As we all know, there are certain elements of style & fashon...the simple black dress with a strand of pearls for example in ladies clothing, which transcends time & trend.

A honey/amber tint thrown across the neck, back & sides will warm up the look of the maple neck & add a tremendous richness to the natural color of the mahogany.

This type of treatment, with the black top, will turn heads wherever you take it, yet will never go out of style...timeless!

When I have all of my supplies & equipment ready, I'll cut some pieces of maple & mahogany & spray some samples & post the photos.

That way we can continue the collaborative effort here & come up with what works best for the guitar.

[whitegreyblack]

 

Originally Posted by docjeffrey

As Neil Young says (referring to a Martin flattop that used to belong to Hank Williams) "This old guitar, ain't mine to keep..."

 

This is the same Neil Young that changed Old Black to a state that would have made it unrecognizable to anyone who saw that old Goldtop in its original condition...

Not disputing your post or your sentiment, just sayin'.

[seajay]

Oh hi. I'm just here to agree with the decision to NOT color match the maple neck & mahogany body. As strange as it is to me for a Les Paul to have a maple neck, that's simply how they were made back then. Therefore, I feel that this unique feature should be shown off loud & proud!

[GreatDane]

 

Originally Posted by seajay

Oh hi. I'm just here to agree with the decision to NOT color match the maple neck & mahogany body. As strange as it is to me for a Les Paul to have a maple neck, that's simply how they were made back then. Therefore, I feel that this unique feature should be shown off loud & proud!

 

i agree. the maple neck is part of her appeal to me, so we'll keep the woods "honest" while still applying just enough tint to give both woods a nice amber glow. that, matched with the black top and creme P90s, will make this guitar a timeless classic, IMO.

[whitegreyblack]

 

Originally Posted by GreatDane

i agree. the maple neck is part of her appeal to me, so we'll keep the woods "honest" while still applying just enough tint to give both woods a nice amber glow. that, matched with the black top and creme P90s, will make this guitar a timeless classic, IMO.

 

I can't wait to see the results.

[meandi]

 

Originally Posted by whitegreyblack

I can't wait to see the results.

 

The holiday weekend is over.

Starting on the project tomorrow.

Pics coming at you.

[Wyatt]

 

Originally Posted by whitegreyblack

This is the same Neil Young that changed Old Black to a state that would have made it unrecognizable to anyone who saw that old Goldtop in its original condition...

Not disputing your post or your sentiment, just sayin'.

 

The only work that Neiul did to that guitar was when they lost a PU due to a shop going out of business; and he finally commited to having it refretted a couple of years back. Otherwise, all the mods were done by the previous owner, Richie Furay.

[Wyatt]

 

Originally Posted by GreatDane

well done, guys. i really like the idea of tinting the neck and back with a nice honey tint, but leaving them both as the two different types of wood that they are. in my original response to meandi, i think that part of this guitar's appeal is that she has a maple neck and solid mahogany body. it makes her a somewhat uncommon "Norlin 'tweener"~ made in that relatively short space of time after Norlin ended their use of the "pancake" body, but before they reverted back to mahogany necks. cool

what say you, meandi? would that look appropriately classy for this future blacktop?

 

Yes, that relatively "short" 4-6 year period.

I agree though the tint will add a little vintage flavor and go well with the blacktop. I would use a tint over the entire clearcoat, so the binding is tinted as well.

[whitegreyblack]

 

Originally Posted by Wyatt

The only work that Neiul did to that guitar was when they lost a PU due to a shop going out of business; and he finally commited to having it refretted a couple of years back. Otherwise, all the mods were done by the previous owner, Richie Furay.

 

I did not know that. Interesting.

[meandi]

 

Originally Posted by Wyatt

so the binding is tinted as well.

 

Yes.

[lowbrow]

I've heard Les Paul say many times (in various TV interviews) he wanted the Les Paul to be all maple. He said Gibson dissuaded him of this and argued mahogany was a better choice and that the maple cap was their compromise.

I'll admit to not having read much on the history of the LP, and that it is common that good scholarly historical research will often turn up evidence that does not support verbal history recalled years after the fact.

In any case, here's some interesting reading on mahogany. The best stuff was essentially gone sometime in the 60's as stockpiles where drawn down from the late fifties ban on it's harvesting and sale. I imagine cabinet makers the world over where very sad about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swietenia

[meandi]

This is the starting point.

Ragged looking cavety between the tailpiece anchors.

Will set up a router template to create some straight edges to simplify the fitting of a maple plug.

Also fracture lines in the finish over the glue lines on the body top...will be paying close attention to the glue joints in the wood as I strip it, to make sure nothing is coming apart.

But first...

In communicating with GreatDane via pm, I've found that he bought the guitar pretty much as you've see it here in the thread...a core for a rebuild.

So, the first thing I'm going to do is to string it up...see what I'm working with...do a preliminary set-up on it, so that when final assembly time arrives, after the finish work is done, all that will be required is to fine tune the set-up.

Makes no sense to do a nice finish on it & then possibly be confronted with set-up issues that might jepordize the finish.

I've had a straight edge on the fingerboard & there is some up-bow (relief) in the neck...this is with no strings & with the truss rod nut loose.

There are also some healthy divits in the lower regester frets that will have to be dealt with.

I'll be measuring those today, as well, so I can advise GreatDane as to how best deal with them.

Back later in the day to keep you up to date on how it went.

[vcnyls]

bumperoonie!

[pjackson92]

I soo want a blacktop now...

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

Originally Posted by pjackson92

I soo want a blacktop now...

 

I must admit to having two on the go and have sent out one

[ChrisGansz]

Subscribed - AWESOME!

[sxyryan]

I am going to maybe show my ignorance here but a few questions.

Are those metal plates in the pickup cavities a standard way of mounting the pups?

About the bow in the neck... Is it just something you will have to work around when you set it up or is it something your going to have to fix? if you have to fix it, how will you go about it?

[pjackson92]

 

Originally Posted by Ratae Coritanorum

I must admit to having two on the go and have sent out one

 

What?

[Seano Porno]

In!

[9-Pin-Phoenix]

 

Originally Posted by sxyryan

I am going to maybe show my ignorance here but a few questions.

Are those metal plates in the pickup cavities a standard way of mounting the pups?

About the bow in the neck... Is it just something you will have to work around when you set it up or is it something your going to have to fix? if you have to fix it, how will you go about it?

 

I had the same questions pop into my head.

[meandi]

 

Originally Posted by sxyryan

I am going to maybe show my ignorance here but a few questions.

Are those metal plates in the pickup cavities a standard way of mounting the pups?

About the bow in the neck... Is it just something you will have to work around when you set it up or is it something your going to have to fix? if you have to fix it, how will you go about it?

 

On the plates there is a threaded hole on each end for the adjustment screws.

The rubber pads are compressable & act in the same manner as the pu mounting springs do on many other guitars.

This is my first encounter with a deluxe, but there are no holes in the body around the pu cavities for pu ring screws, so on this guitar it would seem that the pickups sit in the open cavity.

Reguarding your question about the neck...this is something that must be corrected.

Without controll of the neck via the truss rod, obtaining a good set-up is a very iffy deal.

A truss rod that has adequate controll should be able to pull the neck into back-bow with strings installed & tuned to pitch.

I snugged the truss rod nut this morning & got strings on it & tuned it to pitch.

Throughout the day, I've been adding a little more to the truss rod at times & monitoring it to see if it's going to give me what I want.

It moved the neck a bit, however, I've reached a point where I'm not willing to add any more pressure for fear of breaking the rod or damaging the neck.

And there is still an unacceptable amount of relief on the neck.

Part of what must be considered in this, is that the guitar has been without strings for several years, if my understanding is correct.

So, for whatever reason that caused it to move in this direction, it has had quite a bit of time to take a set.

According to GreatDane, no history of this guitar is known previous to his purchasing it.

So, it's useless to try to speculate what caused it...just go about correcting it.

Had to put one of my tuners on the A string, as the gear was slipping on one of the Gibson tuners.

The other 5 seem to be working perfectly.

Anyway, back to the neck.

The technique I'm using here, I learned several years ago from Dan Erlewines book, "Guitar Players Repair Guide".

It involves placing a block at the 1st fret & one over the neck heel, with a beam that spans the two.

Another block, cushioned with a couple pieces of leather, is centered on the back of the neck.

With this set-up, the clamp is carefully tightened...

...until the neck is drawn into a very slight back-bow, as verified by the notched straight edge sitting on the side of the fingerboard.

I've used this a couple of times in similar situations with satisfactory results.

I'll let it set like this for a while, perhaps a day maby two, but at this point I have no reason to expect anything other than a successful resolution to this issue.

[Wyatt]

 

Originally Posted by sxyryan

Are those metal plates in the pickup cavities a standard way of mounting the pups?

 

It's the way Gibson mounts the mini-HB's in a LP Deluxe. And they are very hard to come by (NO ONE sells a off-the shelf replacement part), but very easy to fabricate if you have access to a metal shop.

With Epiphones (vintage and modern), which were the original guitars that used the mini's, Gibson uses the same rings that they use for bass pickups. These mount the same as a traditional humbucker ring.