Top Wrapping Gibsons

These are my main bill payers....love them or hate them.

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The (counterfeit) Les Paul has Grover keystone tuners, Gotoh ABR-1 bridge, Faber TP-59 Aluminum Tailpiece, hand made harness and 500k pots. Every screw on it is genuine Gibson, even the knobs and pointers.

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The Stratocaster (1982 Fender MIJ body from @SG John ) has a custom Warmoth 1-3/4" x 1.00" roasted maple neck, all genuine Fender screws, Gothoh tuners, DiMarzio Neanderthal and Artec Hum Canceling Single Coils, hand made harness, a custom pickguard made in Chico, California and hand made brass block and saddles.

The intonation and fret placement on these two guitars is just other worldly. That's my number one deal-breaker on any guitar regardless of make.

Look at how the bridge saddles line up on the Les Paul:

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Well centered saddles on the Stratocaster too:

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So, this top wrapping with 15/11/8 is just the best thing I've ever done for one of my guitars. I'm just blown away at how easy it is to play and I've been fighting my heavier gague strings for years.

What an idiot....

Actually, this is what a G string looks like magnified 20 times.

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Robert Herndon said:
So, this top wrapping with 15/11/8 is just the best thing I've ever done for one of my guitars. I'm just blown away at how easy it is to play and I've been fighting my heavier gague strings for years.

What an idiot....

Actually, this is what a G string looks like magnified 20 times.

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Dude, I am so with you on this. I switched to 10's all those years ago because it was what all the cool kids were doing. I hated them at first but convinced myself I'd get used to them and eventually did but it's been revelatory to switch back to 9's: Everything is better - feel, tone, setup, everything. Almost makes me fell like I lost years to the 10's.
 
I started on 9's and switched to 10's a few years later. I could go either way, but I am used to the 10's now. You know how that goes...

Another thing I have come to love is using Tonepros tailpiece bolts. As much as I am swapping pickups lately it is great to be able to just loosen the tuning pegs and then pop those bolt tops off to get the tailpiece out of the way. Makes it alot easier.
 
gball said:
Dude, I am so with you on this. I switched to 10's all those years ago because it was what all the cool kids were doing. I hated them at first but convinced myself I'd get used to them and eventually did but it's been revelatory to switch back to 9's: Everything is better - feel, tone, setup, everything. Almost makes me fell like I lost years to the 10's.
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Yes Sir, Indeed!!!

Cadorman said:
I started on 9's and switched to 10's a few years later. I could go either way, but I am used to the 10's now. You know how that goes...

Another thing I have come to love is using Tonepros tailpiece bolts. As much as I am swapping pickups lately it is great to be able to just loosen the tuning pegs and then pop those bolt tops off to get the tailpiece out of the way. Makes it alot easier.
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Yep, I use the aluminum tailpiece on both Les Paul's and I recommend them on every guitar that I set up.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Yes Sir, Indeed!!!



Yep, I use the aluminum tailpiece on both Les Paul's and I recommend them on every guitar that I set up.
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I A/B aluminum and zamak on all my guitars, regardless of what type they originally came with (some of mine came factory with aluminum some with the zinc). I haven't found any universal truth there myself: some sound better with aluminum and some better with zamak. That being said only one of them currently has the zinc.

But one change I always make that for me is a huge difference is long-post steel tailpiece studs. Can't imagine why but I've found they really tighten up the tone and take any pinginess you may have had away.
 
gball said:
I A/B aluminum and zamak on all my guitars, regardless of what type they originally came with (some of mine came factory with aluminum some with the zinc). I haven't found any universal truth there myself: some sound better with aluminum and some better with zamak. That being said only one of them currently has the zinc.

But one change I always make that for me is a huge difference is long-post steel tailpiece studs. Can't imagine why but I've found they really tighten up the tone and take any pinginess you may have had away.
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Do you have to change the inserts when going to the long studs on a LP Standard?
 
I wouldn't mind finding a Gibson Les Paul husk from Stratosphere that had correct fret placement and scale length.

However, almost every one of the husks I have personally laid hands on were warranty rejects. Several eve had "USED" stamped in the back of the headstock. One Les Paul Custom from Stratosphere - purchased by a musical friend - had "REJECT #31" stamped in the back of the headstock.

Also, most have had fret and bridge placement anomalies, as well as neck angle issues.
 
Robert Herndon said:
I wouldn't mind finding a Gibson Les Paul husk from Stratosphere that had correct fret placement and scale length.

However, almost every one of the husks I have personally laid hands on were warranty rejects. Several eve had "USED" stamped in the back of the headstock. One Les Paul Custom from Stratosphere - purchased by a musical friend - had "REJECT #31" stamped in the back of the headstock.

Also, most have had fret and bridge placement anomalies, as well as neck angle issues.
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I've never seen anything like that in their listings. Guess you haver to be careful since it was my understanding that they were pretty much buying regular new grey market stock and stripping them down to sell as parts. Every Stratosphere project Gibson I have seen someone put together has been pretty much perfect excepting the occasional aesthetic issue.
 
gball said:
I've never seen anything like that in their listings. Guess you haver to be careful since it was my understanding that they were pretty much buying regular new grey market stock and stripping them down to sell as parts. Every Stratosphere project Gibson I have seen someone put together has been pretty much perfect excepting the occasional aesthetic issue.
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Our own @smitty_p built a nice Les Paul from a Stratosphere husk with zero issues, but I tend to be a magnet for the "botched" stuff.

Another thing I noticed with Stratosphere (and I like them and buy a lot of parts from them) is the variation in prices, say for example, on two, seemingly identical Les Paul's. I'm wondering if that's an indication of varying levels of quality in the husks???

I've put a few guitars together from Stratosphere husks, and I've seen both awesome and less-than-awesome parts. I guess it's like anything else, you gotta dig for the gems???

Still, I wouldn't mind a nice Gibson Les Paul husk, as I have enough stuff on hand to build one....
 
Robert Herndon said:
Our own @smitty_p built a nice Les Paul from a Stratosphere husk with zero issues, but I tend to be a magnet for the "botched" stuff.

Another thing I noticed with Stratosphere (and I like them and buy a lot of parts from them) is the variation in prices, say for example, on two, seemingly identical Les Paul's. I'm wondering if that's an indication of varying levels of quality in the husks???

I've put a few guitars together from Stratosphere husks, and I've seen both awesome and less-than-awesome parts. I guess it's like anything else, you gotta dig for the gems???

Still, I wouldn't mind a nice Gibson Les Paul husk, as I have enough stuff on hand to build one....
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The longer they sit the lower the price goes, so you'll see big differences in otherwise identical listings sometimes. If you're patient you can get a steal but you always risk someone buying it out from under you.
They'll also discount if there are scratches/dents and the like.

I've been toying with the idea of building one for years but whenever I price it out there's no monetary incentive to do it versus buying a complete guitar from an AD with warranty, etc. I don't really mod them so the reason for doing it would be just in the project itself, not so much in building something I couldn't get right from Gibson.
 
gball said:
The longer they sit the lower the price goes, so you'll see big differences in otherwise identical listings sometimes. If you're patient you can get a steal but you always risk someone buying it out from under you.
They'll also discount if there are scratches/dents and the like.

I've been toying with the idea of building one for years but whenever I price it out there's no monetary incentive to do it versus buying a complete guitar from an AD with warranty, etc. I don't really mod them so the reason for doing it would be just in the project itself, not so much in building something I couldn't get right from Gibson.
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Good points to be certain...
 
I tried the top wrap thing on my G400 simply for the string angle. It’s probably all in my head, but I was liking both the bridge and tailpiece screwed down tight to the body. That had both my low E and A string making contact with the bridge body before string got to the saddle. Yes. I could have fixed that simply by 1 or 2 threads on the tailpiece post. Top wrapping worked for how I wanted to set up my guitar. Tone. Action. Bending strings. Most likely doesn’t change a thing.
 
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