LP's Mahogany bodies - 3 pieces?

Schneidas15 · Mar 25, 2010

Hey guys,

just came across this and was wondering about what the guy says in the video:

"...Now most people think guitar bottoms are one big chunk of wood, they're actually 3 pieces glued together..."

I always thought modern LP's had 1-piece or (since a few years now) 2-piece backs.
I've never seen a seam that would indicate a 3-piece back on a modern LP.

P.s. not trying to start a flame war or anything. Was just wondering.
Please educate me

(I'm sure it's common knowledge... I just don't have a clue - as always)

Here's the vid (quote at about 2.57 mins)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmZAmyNid9Q&feature=player_embedded

Jimi_AlnicoII · Mar 25, 2010

Been the case for a while now it seems. I personally (not just for this reason) avoid new LPs.

Schneidas15 · Mar 25, 2010

Seriously? I've never seen a 3-piece back.
I've seen plenty of 2-piece and, of course, 1-piece backs.

The way I understood in the vid, the guy says that all LP backs are now 3-piece?
That's what I find strange, as I saw a couple of LP's the other day that had the "made in 2010" stamp and most of them were 1-piece. Few were 2-pieces.

JJC · Mar 25, 2010

3 uneven pieces at that - maybe when they cut the body, it ends up with only 2 pieces. Not to go OT, but I couldn't help but notice something in part 2; this is the second Gibson factory tour video I've seen where people were painting without masks. Considering it's nitro lacquer (yeah, hold the debate about that for a moment), I just find it surprising. Maybe the ventilation in the factory is better than normal or maybe they just took the masks off for the camera, but still...

hardingfele · Mar 25, 2010

i talked to a guy who visited the gibson factory way back and he told me that every scrap of wood was being used as a way of saving money.
having built a dozen guitars myself i believe that a narrow strip added to a two piece body will make no discernable difference to sound.
touting a two piece body as one piece would be more of a problem.
if the grain is even, glue seams can be surprisingly hard to spot even in a clear finish.
dont let it worry you, keep playing

h.

Overdriver · Mar 25, 2010

You realize that this applies only to the Gibson USA Les Pauls. The Custom Shop Historics have one-piece mahogany backs with a two-piece maple top.:salude

formula73 · Mar 25, 2010

I noticed that my Trad Pro has a 2 pc back, but it is from last year. How about CS Customs? If I pay more than 3k for a black Custom Axcess, it had better not have 3 pcs...

bongo122819 · Mar 25, 2010

My '71 deluxe is a 3 piece back - more if you count the fact that it's a pancake body ! My 77' deluxe is a 1 piece. No discernible difference in sound.
Go Figure ?

Schneidas15 · Mar 25, 2010

Yes, I don't think there is a difference in sound. Even if there might be, that's not the point.
The point is that I really have not seen a 3-piece body production model that was made in 2009 or 2010 (and I have seen quite a few LP's made those years) and yet, the video says that ALL backs are 3-piece...

pungeon · Mar 26, 2010

My Vintage Mahogany has a five piece back. Two pieces are thin slivers on the sides of the body, but it's still five. And when you look at it from the back it looks like one piece, the grain is almost perfect.

I don't mind though, it was really cheap and it feels better and sounds better than some of my nicer Les Pauls.

Zoomer · Mar 27, 2010

it's true but this is a corporation that care nothing about you or me just maximizing there profits - I hate companies like this. But I love the damn guitars !!!

hardingfele · Apr 1, 2010

pungeon said:
My Vintage Mahogany has a five piece back. Two pieces are thin slivers on the sides of the body, but it's still five. And when you look at it from the back it looks like one piece, the grain is almost perfect.

I don't mind though, it was really cheap and it feels better and sounds better than some of my nicer Les Pauls.

yup, and its possible to add a couple of stripes on a maple top and cover it with the burst and the binding.
say it has a cool figure but needs 1/2" to 1" in width, i say do it but dont lie about it !

guys, open your mind to what a custom builder like juha ruokangas
can do for the price of a gibson paul...

h.

thunderkyss · Apr 1, 2010

Zoomer said:
it's true but this is a corporation that care nothing about you or me just maximizing there profits - I hate companies like this. But I love the damn guitars !!!

Really?

At least they do offer guitars with one-piece backs. Most companies don't.

You've got to pay more to get them, but if it's worth that much to you... do it.

If not... don't.

guitarfish · Apr 2, 2010

My '07 Std had a 1 piece back. My '08 has a 2 piece back, but I've seen other '08's with 1 piece backs. I've never seen a 3 piece back.

GC Ron · Apr 5, 2010

The narrative is from the TV show person not a Gibson spokesperson.

That being said, so far I have not seen a three piece back on anything non Custom Shop other than the Worn models. I have seen 1 to 5 piece backs on those. The majority of Standards have been 2 piece backs the last couple of years.

I have also sadly seen a four piece SG Standard that was painted black. Black paint doesn't hide the seams very well.

sunburst · Apr 8, 2010

JJC said:
this is the second Gibson factory tour video I've seen where people were painting without masks. Considering it's nitro lacquer (yeah, hold the debate about that for a moment), I just find it surprising. Maybe the ventilation in the factory is better than normal or maybe they just took the masks off for the camera, but still...

I'd say the ventilation is a little too darn good. I visited their factory in Memphis. They got this huge roof fan and you can smell the lacquer stench around the entire neighborhood.

Jim W · Apr 8, 2010

"Stench"? Man, that's the raw scent of mojo....:rofl

LP's Mahogany bodies - 3 pieces?

Schneidas15

Member

Jimi_AlnicoII

New member

Schneidas15

Member

JJC

New member

hardingfele

New member

Overdriver

Active member

formula73

New member

bongo122819

New member

Schneidas15

Member

pungeon

Member

Zoomer

Active member

hardingfele

New member

thunderkyss

Member

guitarfish

Guest

GC Ron

Member

sunburst

Member

Jim W

Active member