Gibson Les Paul Fretboard Replacement

I'm looking to make this guitar a player. Not an investment. Alex says all the ebony fretboard wood he has in stock has some striping in it and the really black is out of stock from Stewie-Mac and others.

Rosewood is plentiful and he has some fairly dark pieces in stock, so I told him to move forward with the project. He will install the block inlay, same as the guitar had originally.

Alex doesn't like the steam iron method. He likes to take the relief out of the neck and trim away the old fretboard with CNC equipment because it also levels the neck bed.

I have no clue on any of this, so I'm leaving that up to him.

Maybe SG Lou will chime in on this...
 
Robert Herndon said:
As strange as this sounds, the previous owner started yanking the frets out right after he bought it. Its almost unbelievable someone would start nodding a new guitar like that, but Alex says its more common than you might think.
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I can believe it. We've witnessed on numerous occasions on the other forum where a person would buy a brand-new guitar and immediately start asking about mods. Yup. Happens all the time.

As for pulling the frets on a new Custom, well, I wouldn't do that, but I understand it. The previous owner may have wanted a Custom, but wanted to install over-binding frets, to eliminate the nibs.
 
smitty_p said:
I can believe it. We've witnessed on numerous occasions on the other forum where a person would buy a brand-new guitar and immediately start asking about mods. Yup. Happens all the time.

As for pulling the frets on a new Custom, well, I wouldn't do that, but I understand it. The previous owner may have wanted a Custom, but wanted to install over-binding frets, to eliminate the nibs.
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And I SEIOUSLY hesitated to even do wiring mods to my SG!
 
So, I am getting back into posting after this tragic and frightening thing.....so, this will be my first Les Paul since the Harmony Les Paul copy my parents bought me in 1978.

Im excited and nervous all at the same time....so many things going through my mind....will it have electronic issues like my SG, the gold hardware issues...
 
Ummmmm... Chill Bro! It's a Les Freakin Paul CUSTOM!. I'm pretty sure your lurhier pal WON'T let you down on such a nice axe. She's wearing a tuxedo! How sexy is that?

Can't wait to see the progress
 
shreddy bender said:
Ummmmm... Chill Bro! It's a Les Freakin Paul CUSTOM!. I'm pretty sure your lurhier pal WON'T let you down on such a nice axe. She's wearing a tuxedo! How sexy is that?

Can't wait to see the progress
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I am AFRAID to see it being worked on. I will freak out about all the technical details....I guess all the trouble with my SG has me worried...
 
Here's the coolest thing about this deal. The previous owner is a wealthy fellow. Once he loses interest in something, he just doesn't seem to care. Alex said this is not the first guitar he has "butchered" and then dropped like a hot potato.

I would have never been able to broker this deal on my own.
 
Biddlin said:
If nibs are involved, $500 is a gift. It is not a particularly difficult job in a shop. Here is where I may seem a bit ocd. I would want to be assured that OEM materials and proper techniques were used in the replacement. On a guitar that valuable, I'd want it put back to "stock."
Was it originally "fret over" binding?
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Biddy,

This was originally binding over fret, which I really think is more traditional than functional.
 
Im sure this Luthier will fix ya right up Robert,will be a nice quitar.
 
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JohnnyGoo said:
Im zure this Luthier will fix ya right up Robert,will be a nice quitar.
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He is an Uber-Talent. I've had him do intonation and such for me before, but I have never been inside his "backroom" as it is called. At first I was skeptical because he doesnt allow photography, but then I literally bumped into Jason Hook of FFDP in his workshop, so things are starting to make sense.

All the photos I have posted he provided with permission.
 
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