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Bavarian Makeover II 1956 Historic Reissue by jaegerguitars

ununtrium

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
150
the big reveal continues...

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ununtrium

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
150
...the darkback revealed...

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...and the very last of Florian's pictures before the guitar was shipped:

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Victory Pete

Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2009
Messages
254
It has been interesting watching this transformation over the past few months. It is amazing to see what can be done to recreate what 60 years can do to a guitar. Personally I dont understand why anyone would want that done, old guitars do have a cool look that is genuine, this just doesnt seem right. However I understand that we are all different.
 

BurstFan

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2013
Messages
128
It has been interesting watching this transformation over the past few months. It is amazing to see what can be done to recreate what 60 years can do to a guitar. Personally I dont understand why anyone would want that done, old guitars do have a cool look that is genuine, this just doesnt seem right. However I understand that we are all different.
Unfortunately I do agree.
Mr. Jaeger does a good job doing all his "mojo" but it's always the finish that's not that good. The gold color is great but that crackle lines are way too many and unfortunately very artificial. Not convincing at all.
Sorry if I did spoil the party. Just my opinion.
 

ununtrium

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
150
The instrument arrived safe and sound yesterday. Florian did not exaggerate at all!!! It feels, smells, looks, and - most importantly - SOUNDS absolutely mesmerizing! Of course, it is much too early to give a full review (which will be posted during the coming week, as time allows). However, it has evolved above and beyond the guitar it used to be until the end of March 2020, in every way imaginable. It wants to be discovered all over again!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you do not like what you are seeing, then I still feel happy to have helped you form your considered opinion which I truly respect and am honestly interested in. That was also what this thread was about.

I would agree with you that compared to the majority of instruments that have been aged by Gibson or other companies nowadays, Florian's work stands firmly apart. This, of course, runs the risk of being disappointing or irritating to people who are accustomed to other ways/levels of aging. Having done extensive research beforehand and having attended vintage guitar shows for many years myself, I can safely say that this finish is absolutely convincing and falls well within the criteria of what you would expect a vintage goldtop to look like (which is me making a massive(!) understatement, but I would not want to force that point of the discussion).

My sincere thanks for the many kind words and your interest :salude

P.S.: The plastics may indeed by subject to some future emendations...:hmm For now I am perfectly happy with them :jim
 

rockabilly69

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 29, 2001
Messages
2,870
The instrument arrived safe and sound yesterday. Florian did not exaggerate at all!!! It feels, smells, looks, and - most importantly - SOUNDS absolutely mesmerizing! Of course, it is much too early to give a full review (which will be posted during the coming week, as time allows). However, it has evolved above and beyond the guitar it used to be until the end of March 2020, in every way imaginable. It wants to be discovered all over again!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you do not like what you are seeing, then I still feel happy to have helped you form your considered opinion which I truly respect and am honestly interested in. That was also what this thread was about.

I would agree with you that compared to the majority of instruments that have been aged by Gibson or other companies nowadays, Florian's work stands firmly apart. This, of course, runs the risk of being disappointing or irritating to people who are accustomed to other ways/levels of aging. Having done extensive research beforehand and having attended vintage guitar shows for many years myself, I can safely say that this finish is absolutely convincing and falls well within the criteria of what you would expect a vintage goldtop to look like (which is me making a massive(!) understatement, but I would not want to force that point of the discussion).

My sincere thanks for the many kind words and your interest :salude


P.S.: The plastics may indeed by subject to some future emendations...:hmm For now I am perfectly happy with them :jim

Congrats on getting a guitar back that want to be discovered all over again, isn't that what it's all about :)
 

65Firebird

Active member
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
110
The instrument arrived safe and sound yesterday. Florian did not exaggerate at all!!! It feels, smells, looks, and - most importantly - SOUNDS absolutely mesmerizing! Of course, it is much too early to give a full review (which will be posted during the coming week, as time allows). However, it has evolved above and beyond the guitar it used to be until the end of March 2020, in every way imaginable. It wants to be discovered all over again!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you do not like what you are seeing, then I still feel happy to have helped you form your considered opinion which I truly respect and am honestly interested in. That was also what this thread was about.

I would agree with you that compared to the majority of instruments that have been aged by Gibson or other companies nowadays, Florian's work stands firmly apart. This, of course, runs the risk of being disappointing or irritating to people who are accustomed to other ways/levels of aging. Having done extensive research beforehand and having attended vintage guitar shows for many years myself, I can safely say that this finish is absolutely convincing and falls well within the criteria of what you would expect a vintage goldtop to look like (which is me making a massive(!) understatement, but I would not want to force that point of the discussion).

My sincere thanks for the many kind words and your interest :salude

P.S.: The plastics may indeed by subject to some future emendations...:hmm For now I am perfectly happy with them :jim

At the end of the day if your happy that's all that matters!:salude
 

KR1

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Messages
266
I would still like to have some information regarding the neck joint/ neck-set repair.

The rest, honestly, isn't really my cup o' tea. The guitar is a derivative of the McCarty design at this point. It definitely wasn't crafted by Gibson and it was artificially scraped, rattled and cut. I noticed the descriptor "authentic" being used regarding the aging process and that is, of course, impossible as it regards "aging." I don't mean for this to sound condescending regarding the project, it's just that I grew up with these things when they were new and the focus was sound, not appearance.

The gentleman has some serious build and finishing skills. To the extent that he produced what was requested, it appears to be exemplary work. :salude
 
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ununtrium

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
150
I do apologize for the delay in posting a review, but here it is, at last.

There are several reasons for it, family and job commitments playing a large role, but the main reason is that every time I pick up the guitar I discover something new about it. There have been several previous drafts and I feel like each and everyone – the one you are reading right now included – sells the instrument short.

The guitar I got back is a completely different animal to the one I send Florian back at the end of March. The looks are absolutely stunning in real life. The gold top looks great under any light conditions and the aging is just right. Definitely not over the top and to just the right level of detail that you do not grow tired of looking at it. There are so much discrete examples of Florian’s workmanship to discover.

The neck is sublime. Florian did not overstate how „unputdownable“ it is now. Very comfortable with just the hint of a V-shape so that it fits in my hand perfectly. The fretboard is not only wonderful to look at, but feels very nice, too. Frets are perfect to my playing style. I am not ashamed of stating that I am glad to see the Bigsby removed. I do not miss it at all.

I did not get the makeover to get a nice looking guitar., primarily. Well, the looks did factor into it, I do not deny it, but the main goal was to improve the haptics of the guitar (requirements fully met at least!) andI wanted to get the sound. The sound. The sound…and boy did I get it!

Florian not only improved the guitar structurally. The neck joint, the finish, the angle of the tailpiece – all of these improvements contribute to the sound the instrument produces. You can criticize the aging, but the cracks in the finish help the instrument resonate better, the hide glue also help the neck and body „communicate“ and resonate as a whole better. The different angle let the strings vibrate differently. It all adds up. Put into the mix the vintage P-90s and better pots. The guitar now sounds transparent, woody, precise, punchy and responsive to such a degree that is sometimes hard to believe. All the parts that play a role in shaping the sound have been fused together to make this the perfect instrument for me.

What I ended up with is a Les Paul that sounds like someone took it out of the closet it has been played in previously. The old instrument sounded big and well-articulated – or so I thought! It does not even compare to the way it sounds now. It is like you step into the street after having big blobs of ear wax removed from both your ears. Everything you hear, sounds clearer, more defined - and there is so much more that you missed before! I can dial in every sound I want without getting any muddiness at any volume. It is scary how crystal-clear the guitar sounds, without being harsh in any way. The high notes just melt in your ears. You get the raunchy mids and lows that are typical of P-90s, in droves. Florian pulled the blanket off this guitar, plain and simple. What can I say? It is all I dreamed of and more. I do not feel that I have the chops to even realize a tiny fraction of the guitar’s potential, yet. Getting them is the next part of my journey… :)

I am eating my previous words about cosmetics such as the plastics, switch tips, jack plates etc. These are all minutiae that can easily be addressed at a later point and it will be nice to keep tinkering with the instrument. However I am happy to have had all the work done by Florian that he did when he did it, since it would be tricky, say, to relocate the tailpiece now without undoing a lot of the work.

The entire project has been a wild ride, exposing me to so many details of Les Paul guitars and what goes into letting a guitar be all the guitar it can be. The daily communication with Florian and documenting the progress of the progress in this thread, together with your participation and encouragement, made it really special for me.
It all adds up to making picking up this guitar up and play it a wonderful experience each and every single time.

Thank you! :salude
 
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