We had a great weekend....visiting with the folks, catching up on things and just hanging out with family.
After playing the 1979 Les Paul Custom, I came to the realization that, although it is a great guitar, there are things about it I would change if I had it. Conversely, there are things on a brand new, 2016 Gibson Les Paul Custom that I would change too. The more I thought about this, the more I thought that my current LPC restoration was a waste of time. I mean, here is a guitar that was unplayable when I made the deal for it. We know, from my well documented experience, that Gibson electronics, like the PCB and pickups, really are hit-and-and miss at best, so I began to really reconsider my desire to push this project through to completion, only to have to perform a complete electronic rebuild, much like I did on tis 2016 Gibson SG.
Saturday, I had a conversation with Alex about the LPC fretboard job. The LPC has been on hold for a few days because of other more pressing projects, so I felt like this was a good time to make some changes. I explained my position to Alex and he laughed a little, but was quick to agree with my logic. Alex said that since we have not yet affixed the fretboard to the LPC, it would be easy for him to source a good section of ebony and restore it back to a more "correct" and more valuable condition.
I then shifted the conversation to again building a replica. As many of you have seen, he is a master builder to say the least. Referencing Slash's famous LP replica, I told him I was ready to have him build me a LPC from scratch...one that would come off the bench with all the best hardware, hand picked electronics and basically, built to my specifications from square one.
I have to admit, I have always loved all the drama surrounding Slash's Kris Derrig LP replica because it really rubs the Gibson corksniffers nose in the doo doo...in fact, I know some guys who broke their GnR CD's when they found out it wasn't a real Gibson that Hudson played on those recordings.
As Alex and I were discussing this, he told me he had an unfinished project in the shop that might appeal to me.
About a year ago, he was commissioned to build an exact replica of a black LPC. This was to be the ultimate replica, built from Gibson blueprints, correct pancake/routed construction, premium woods and expertly finished. The project stalled because, at that time, a piece of ebony that suited the owner couldn't be located. At some point, the owner abandoned the project and it's been sitting ever since.
This intrigued me to say the least.
This guitar is something amazing to behold, even in its unfinished state. Needless to say, the cost to me, even when completed, is less than 1/2 the retail price of a new $4,799.00 LPC.
So, unless I go crazy and decide to change things up again, this is the direction I am going now....
After playing the 1979 Les Paul Custom, I came to the realization that, although it is a great guitar, there are things about it I would change if I had it. Conversely, there are things on a brand new, 2016 Gibson Les Paul Custom that I would change too. The more I thought about this, the more I thought that my current LPC restoration was a waste of time. I mean, here is a guitar that was unplayable when I made the deal for it. We know, from my well documented experience, that Gibson electronics, like the PCB and pickups, really are hit-and-and miss at best, so I began to really reconsider my desire to push this project through to completion, only to have to perform a complete electronic rebuild, much like I did on tis 2016 Gibson SG.
Saturday, I had a conversation with Alex about the LPC fretboard job. The LPC has been on hold for a few days because of other more pressing projects, so I felt like this was a good time to make some changes. I explained my position to Alex and he laughed a little, but was quick to agree with my logic. Alex said that since we have not yet affixed the fretboard to the LPC, it would be easy for him to source a good section of ebony and restore it back to a more "correct" and more valuable condition.
I then shifted the conversation to again building a replica. As many of you have seen, he is a master builder to say the least. Referencing Slash's famous LP replica, I told him I was ready to have him build me a LPC from scratch...one that would come off the bench with all the best hardware, hand picked electronics and basically, built to my specifications from square one.
I have to admit, I have always loved all the drama surrounding Slash's Kris Derrig LP replica because it really rubs the Gibson corksniffers nose in the doo doo...in fact, I know some guys who broke their GnR CD's when they found out it wasn't a real Gibson that Hudson played on those recordings.
As Alex and I were discussing this, he told me he had an unfinished project in the shop that might appeal to me.
About a year ago, he was commissioned to build an exact replica of a black LPC. This was to be the ultimate replica, built from Gibson blueprints, correct pancake/routed construction, premium woods and expertly finished. The project stalled because, at that time, a piece of ebony that suited the owner couldn't be located. At some point, the owner abandoned the project and it's been sitting ever since.
This intrigued me to say the least.
This guitar is something amazing to behold, even in its unfinished state. Needless to say, the cost to me, even when completed, is less than 1/2 the retail price of a new $4,799.00 LPC.
So, unless I go crazy and decide to change things up again, this is the direction I am going now....
