Legit Conversion???

[Luke_martin]

Hey Guys,

there's a nice looking so called 55 conversion on Gbase, http://www.gbase.com/gear/gibson-les-paul-standard-1955-reissue-amberbu
The PAFs and weight got me interested, so I asked for more pictures. I'm not an vintage LPs expert, but upon checking the pickup routes, it's pretty obvious that even if retopped, there should be the P90 screw holes in the neck tenon, am I right? So what do you guys think? Has this even been close to a vintage Les-Paul?

Here goes the pictures

 

[Mark Kane]

It doesn't have the maple trussrod filler strip showing on the neck either. Nice looking guitar whatever it is.

 

[johnnyslim]

I cannot speak to all conversions but both of mine have the P90 screw holes in neck tenon.

 

[Tom Wittrock]

"... original center seam top ... " :wah

 

[27sauce]

The open book on the headstock looks wrong to me

 

[mingus]

Nope.

 

[CDaughtry]

Six posts and no mention of the crappy inlays? Are you people losing it????:rofl

 

[mingus]

Six posts and no mention of the crappy inlays? Are you people losing it????:rofl

Hell, Charlie. I'm having a heck of a time finding anything that looks "right"!

 

[Jumping@Shadows]

PAFs have bogus stickers and base plate screws (at the very least..), plus control cavity is missing the 'chew' mark, and although it may be the angle, the recess for the control plate appears too wide all round..
Highly unlikely thats the original top too as TW points out, and the tenon/cavity is incorrect for a routed P90 guitar, unless re-topped and the tenon capped, and that 'board doesnt look BR to me :wah
I'd keep moving my friend

 

[QuirkyBurst]

The ad says "Fingerboard inlays newer"

:wah:rofl

 

[Tom Wittrock]

Six posts and no mention of the crappy inlays? Are you people losing it????:rofl

Maybe because they say the inlays are changed. :hmm

"Fingerboard Inlays newer..."


Are YOU losing it? :ganz

 

[brandtkronholm]

The case might be from the '50s...maybe...

Run away and keep your money.

 

[riscado]

No maple insert on the neck and the back wood looks like Khaya (also known as african mahogany), I'd say that is a japanese guitar. A cool looking copy, but still not an original les paul, and definitely wrong to be sold as such.

 

[Electric Lloyd]

They got the distance between the back of the body & the neck heel right. I wish Gibson could get this straight on their Historics! I don't think it looks that bogus at all, but the lack of a maple spline in the truss rod route tells the truth for me...

 

[riscado]

It also doesn't seem to have fret edge binding... could this be an orville? The back looks exactly like khaya to me!

 

[DonP]

It also doesn't seem to have fret edge binding... could this be an orville? The back looks exactly like khaya to me!

If this "were" original, it could have simply been a refret job. They look sizable to me, med jumbo to jumbo?

Another thing I was thinking of after seeing all the conversions documented on these forums: usually the P90 routes are plugged and re-routed. If this were the original top, you'd expect to see some funny business around the routes. I don't see any.

I agree that this is most likely a MIJ knock off. I saw one with a broken headstock passed off on ebay recently for almost $1400 and no hardware. Heaven help the suckers being parted from their cash.

 

[riscado]

I can't tell for sure which MIJ brand it is... though!

 

[keef]

Oh boy..

here's a '55 conversion:

 

[riscado]

Not sure if it interests anymore but I was doing a bit of googling, and that neck tenon and routing looks like a japanese navigator... which is a high end LP copy.