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Les Paul 59 or 57 blueprint / hardware spacing to make a 54-57 conversion

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electricsky

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
341
The problem is that when you want to buy an R9 in USA from abroad , you have to buy it nearly blindly ,or judging by the top only in most shops !
There are very few shops where they give a little info about the guitar tone but it is usualy a very light tone report and there are barely any shops doing so and some of them don't want to bother'shipping overseas with the Cites and they don't sell new ones overseas due to agreements with Gibson and Fender !

So , yes , when you really want a great guitar , with a very nice top and a great tone, it is'difficult to find it when you can't go in some shops where they have many !
I was about to buy a very nice 59 Ri on a website of a seller in USA but the time he checks for the Cites docs and that i ask a few questions about its tone , it got sold , so i am really really REALLY very disapointed as it has been a year an a half since i had seen the last one i wanted to buy that was also bought before i could buy it !!!
shiiiit !!!

The fact is that most sellers,don't answer when you ask them questions about the tone of a guitar they sell, the few who do ,don't always answer fast enough, or they don't really answer completely the questions ...etc
One answer i hate is " tone is subjective !" !
No , it is not , a guitar has a frequency response , so it is not subjective , what is subjective is whether we love it or not but a guitar has enough clarity , mids and low end or does not ( or a combination of + and - of those 3) , is tight or muddy ,harsh or not , is honky or not ...etc
When i asked about the tone of the one i just missed , i got barely half of the answers for the questions i was asking !
The seller was not unpleasant ( some are !) but just didn't answer all the questions .
It mostly bothers the sellers to answer those questions ,whereas àguitar is'not just an object you look at !
So ,yes it is difficult to find what i look for !
If i was'buying without minding about the tone or the top , or be ready to buy and sell many , until i find the good one , yes, i might find it more easily but i want a top i really love and a good tone as,well without having to buy 5 or more to find the good one !
 
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electricsky

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
341
thin sissy said:
If one goes to a vintage Les Paul enthusiasts forum and asks about drilling a vintage Les Paul, that person should probably expect a negative response. I think the OP was aware of this.

The long rambling rants almost seem like attempts to convince himself that he really wants to drill the guitar :hmm ? On the other hand, what do I know?
Click to expand...

Not exactly that but yes, i knew i would have critisizing comments posting here !
When i came here to post about it , i was about to do it , so much i was fedup to have not found the cheap enough conversion ( and sounding good !!) or the 59 reissue i was looking for but unlike some here seem to think, i don't like to drill some vintage guitars , i just like to enjoy playing some guitars i love !
But i admit i had doubts about doing it ,even if i was hoping the conversion might be good .
First i spent much time ( at least a year and a half ) ,to try to know hoW it would influence the tone but couldn't really find an answer .
If i really did not give a damn about it , i would have done it 3 years ago when i bought this guitar and already had the conversion thing in mind as inwas looking for a 50's gold top to convert but didn't want to buy it through internet without knowing how it would sound ,knowing the price !
I know a guy in France who bought a 40k 56 gold top from Gary's classic through the net which was sounding bad and had some weird overspray over an area on the neck !
I bought more than one , others were clean this one is the one in least good condition, with a hole in the back of the neck and some paint missing but i agree it is not broken nor refin .
I tried to find a 52 to convert , tried 3 or 4 but none was sounding good enough for i buy it , so i thought that this 54 might bring me what i was looking for , a good enough sounding Les Paul , with a vintage tone .

By the way , nobody seems to be making a fuss about some retopped gold top , just to get a flame top on it , i would not do that to any of my guitar even if it looks good !
 
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electricsky

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
341
If i didn't care about drilling it , i wouldn't speak about it here with you !
The fact is that i try to find another solution and it's not because i own something that i want to do whatever goes through my head .
I have some respect for instruments and not only for expensive vintage ones but for all ,as i have respect for things in general and other people.
I was speaking about the differences between things that might have been done to vintage guitars , that make them ok or not to be converted for some people .
Some think that just because it has been refin , it can be converted and even retopped whereas some would restore them to original setup .
I don't judge people for that, they do what they want and it is not my business ,even if i obviously have an opinion.
Converting to 59 seems less invasive than retopping a guitar and i didn't see many people horrified seeing some being retopped ( although i suppose some are ).
I think keeping the original wood of a guitar is more important than getting a great top but it's just my opinion and i agree that some luthiers made a very good work retopping some .
When i thought about converting that guitar , i wanted to keep the original top and finish ,better than refinishing it .

I didn't want to start arguing about that, i understand other people's opinion and respect it and i don't want to be unpleasant with anybody , i just try to find a solution.
Thanks for your advices , it might help .
 
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