Les Paul Studio Project

Oh my Smitty--- that is gorgeous --- simply GORGEOUS-- sleek lean mean and all LESTER
Your deck is awesome---reminds me of my youth in Ohio......could hang out there and drink rum drinks to oblivion.......FYI I will be over Wed. make sure the drink cart is well stocked ;)
 
Looking Good, Smitty. Seeing that Studio makes me wonder what a white LP looks like with a bound body.
I almost never like the looks of studios due to the plain bodies, but if the body is plain, I think white it a 2 thumbs up perfect example,
 
smitty_p said:
Aaaaand finally, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a pictorial presentation as I take this project across the finish line.

You've seen my teaser posts above showing the pickups. Unlike the original thought in my OP, I ended up using a Seymour Duncan Custom 5 (SH-14) in the bridge, and I used a Seymour Duncan '59 bridge pickup (SH-1B) in the neck. The Custom 5 is quite a bit hotter than a '59. In the end, this gamble paid off. It wasn't too hard to get them to balance and they split well. So far, I'm quite pleased with the results.

The split is more noticeable when playing clean. It is a really nice effect. Of course, it doesn't sound like Strat...I never expected it to. But, I think it's a very useful tone.

Here is the finished wiring. As I indicated in my OP, I set this up with push-pull pots so I can coil split both the bridge and neck pickups.

View attachment 9788

Everything all covered up awaiting the next step:

View attachment 9789


Here's a shot, showing the bridge pickup, bridge, and tailpiece. The bridge and tailpiece are a little different. I got them from Philadelphia Luthier Tools. The bridge is adjusted with a small allen wrench. It fits very snugly onto the posts and exhibits no slop or play. The saddles were also practically perfect just as it came! Very little adjustment was required to get the intonation set.

The plating also seems pretty good.

View attachment 9790

So far, so good. Now, it's time to get artsy!

A shot from the left....

View attachment 9791

A shot from the right...


View attachment 9792


And finally, the fully complete frontal shot!

View attachment 9793

All in all, this was a very enjoyable project and I thank all of you for sharing in it with me!
Click to expand...

Very well done!
 
smitty_p said:
Gather round, chil'ren. Uncle Smitty has updates!

I installed the electronics and knobs. As usual, the process is documented below:

These are the newly-arrived parts from Stew-Mac. I have CTS push-pull pots for the volumes. These will be used for coil splitting. Then I have two regular CTS pots for the tones. The capacitors are .015 mfd orange drops. Finally, the black speed knobs will finish things off.

You will notice this guitar required the long-shaft pots.

full



Here are the parts installed on my wooden template. You can see Smitty_p's own Super Buss Wire of Grounding Awesomeness which I've soldered to all the pots. All those little loops and hooks you see formed in the buss wire are eyelets and mounting points that I will use to solder the grounds and braids from the various wires. I prefer to do this rather than bunch everything onto the back of a pot. This allows me to get the same grounding result while subjecting the pots to a LOT less soldering heat throughout the installation. The buss wire takes most of the heat, not the pot.

The little black wire with the eyelet will be screwed to the inside of the control cavity to make a solid contact with the copper shielding.

full


Here is everything soldered in, awaiting the pickups. It's a little hard to tell from this pic, but I'm wiring for 50's Wiring.

full


As per usual, we finish up with a full-frontal of the guitar, with knobs installed:

full
Click to expand...


Well done on the wiring. The entire project is totally top shelf. Sweetness indeed.
 
Chilli i would suspect the binding on a white Lester would be the off white cream color like on the other Gibsons.It would show up in that white white color.I actually have come to really dig white Guitars.
 
YEs.....YOU are right Goo.....I have seen it on several Epi LEsters .....I really didnt like the yellowing of the Binding on the white--- made it look weird....

9e1e1c1e70f51946871a94717d9b78cf.jpg


Smittys looks "cleaner" and cooler IMHO
 
Goo etc. Yeah I knew the off white cream color. Just never saw a Studio with it. But if I were buying a LP Studio, it would be exactly like Smitty's.
 
Thanks for all the positive comments, ya'll.

Yes, Chili, I tend to prefer bound Les Pauls, too. However, I've always liked the sleek, almost hot-rod, look of the white Studios. Actually, in person some other colors look pretty good, too. I've seen a deep red Studio and it looks richer in person than in pictures. I did select a laminated pick guard versus the plain black one that comes stock on Studios. I wanted just a little extra visual zing and it matches better with the truss rod cover.

To be honest, though, I nearly abandoned the project. When I realized I would not be able to use the Kahler due to how heavily chambered the body is, I almost put the husk back on eBay.

However, I decided to forge ahead. Now, I'm glad I did. This thing really plays nice. The neck is great. It hangs nicely and the sound is unlike any of my other guitars...honestly it's the most versatile sonically due to the coil split.

Now, I've got some major mods in planning for my Jackson!

Anyhoo, I'm gonna enjoy this Studio for awhile. It feels like a New Guitar Day!
 
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eSGEe said:
Oh my Smitty--- that is gorgeous --- simply GORGEOUS-- sleek lean mean and all LESTER
Click to expand...

Thanks, a lot!

It's been a fun project. I took a few risks with selecting a few components, but it seems to have worked out.

I anticipated what the final product would look like, but I'm more pleased than I thought I would be.
 
Wow, this was a fun project to follow. Great work Smitty. You have a sharp looking LP there. If that thing plays half as good as it looks...jackpot!!

Real nice....congrats!!
 
Bocc69 said:
Wow, this was a fun project to follow. Great work Smitty. You have a sharp looking LP there. If that thing plays half as good as it looks...jackpot!!

Real nice....congrats!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bocc!

In short, it sounds great. It has a thick, meaty sound when unsplit. The distortion on the bridge pickup is strong, crunchy, and saturates well. The leads on the neck are fat and sing nicely.

When split, the pickups obviously produce less output, but they don’t get nasally and thin. I’d say they take on a bit of an airy quality. Interestingly, if I split the neck, select a clean channel on the amp, and add a touch of delay, it almost takes on a quality of an acoustic guitar!

So, yeah. I’m loving the sound!
 
smitty_p said:
Aaaaand finally, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a pictorial presentation as I take this project across the finish line.

You've seen my teaser posts above showing the pickups. Unlike the original thought in my OP, I ended up using a Seymour Duncan Custom 5 (SH-14) in the bridge, and I used a Seymour Duncan '59 bridge pickup (SH-1B) in the neck. The Custom 5 is quite a bit hotter than a '59. In the end, this gamble paid off. It wasn't too hard to get them to balance and they split well. So far, I'm quite pleased with the results.

The split is more noticeable when playing clean. It is a really nice effect. Of course, it doesn't sound like Strat...I never expected it to. But, I think it's a very useful tone.

Here is the finished wiring. As I indicated in my OP, I set this up with push-pull pots so I can coil split both the bridge and neck pickups.

View attachment 9788

Everything all covered up awaiting the next step:

View attachment 9789


Here's a shot, showing the bridge pickup, bridge, and tailpiece. The bridge and tailpiece are a little different. I got them from Philadelphia Luthier Tools. The bridge is adjusted with a small allen wrench. It fits very snugly onto the posts and exhibits no slop or play. The saddles were also practically perfect just as it came! Very little adjustment was required to get the intonation set.

The plating also seems pretty good.

View attachment 9790

So far, so good. Now, it's time to get artsy!

A shot from the left....

View attachment 9791

A shot from the right...


View attachment 9792


And finally, the fully complete frontal shot!

View attachment 9793

All in all, this was a very enjoyable project and I thank all of you for sharing in it with me!
Click to expand...

That turned out fantastic!

I just got an SG Faded Husk in the mail Friday. The wood does not have the pores filled. I hope it turns out as nice as yours because I'm flipping it!
 
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