my conversion

[plaintop]

I just wanted to give everyone an update on where my '52 Les Paul conversion was. This is easier than finding everyone's email address.

The first phase is complete. The neck has been reset, the TOM and stop tail installed as well as humbucker routes. Also, if you will remember I was missing the 15th fret marker, my tech (John Stephan) happened to have a misc. set of 50s inlays and had the one I needed! What are the odds??

John did a great refret job on it as well. I put my late 50s Centralabs and PAFs in it. I haven’t put my ABR-1 on it yet (cheap japan as a place holder) and the neck pickup is sitting a little high. Other than that it plays and sounds incredible. The tone is LOUD and clear. Very rich, dynamic tone and sustains magically. It is around 9lbs in weight.

Next week it’s off for the refin! Here are some pictures of the progress:

I am going to get it refinished in cherry red like this '57:

 

[ShawnRT]

Looks very nice so far! I dig the cherry red choice.

 

[badtone]

Very nice, Brian:dude
I can't wait to hear it, and the cherry finish will be a nice touch. I'm stuck in Russia with a borrowed acoustic of unknown origin, so I'm Jonesin' for a LP fix. I should be grateful that I could borrow a guitar, actually. They still farm with horses where I'm at. Anyway, sweet guitar!

 

[fast ricky love]

looks awesome brian!

i like a more natural look for the guitar myself over the red, something in an ambery tone, that wood grain is sweet! but either way it looks killer.

 

[Jim Barth]

Cool Brian, can't wait to see it when it's done.

Who is doing the paint work?

Man, I'd be tempted to do an aged gold top on that one.

Like the RSRelics one that was posted recently.,

 

[plaintop]

Thanks everyone!

Yeah, I've thrown around just about every 50s finish choice. The cherry red just seems like the way to go with this one. It is rare and unique. The "unburst" was next down, then the GT. I felt the unburst or 'burst would look a little weird on a 3 piece top. I like to see some wood grain and the flamey center piece should still come through the trasparent cherry. Tim's GT is KILLER looking, I just don't want gold. Roy is going to do it though. I do believe he is on the cutting edge of this refinish/restoration work.

They say the red guitars sound the best.

 

[Ed A]

Very cool! The nice thing about having a conversion with no finish on it is that you can make it whatever you want!

 

[fast ricky love]

i didn't see the pic showing the 3-piece top until now.

i can now see the logic of the red. good choice. :yay

 

[burstone]

That conversion has a 'Burst Tone!:dude

 

[Tim]

I don't know Brian, the more I look at that shot taken from above, the more I lean towards an aged teaburst. I love the look of the top even though it's in 3 pieces. I say that because the one seam where the grains are very different is close to the middle and on the other seam there's not much difference in the grain pattern, so it's not as noticable. I may have to change my vote.:hmm

 

[rsrelic]

One thing to think about is that when the yellow hits the guitar the seam is going to really jump out at you. I think the cherry would be the best choice for this one , and the guitar could still look real. If you go for burst it's going to stand out as a conversion.

 

[Aged 59]

Looks great, looking forward to pic's of it when you get it finished.:wail

 

[Rich R]

Very cool project--it seems to me, if memory serves, I predicted the red finish at the outset...'course, you were droppin' some serious hints! :lol2

 

[BluesForDan]

cherry or plain. I actually like the unfinished look.

 

[Dave Paetow]

Gold wouldn't be too bad, either.

 

[Mike Shaw]

Sweet Cherry gets my vote. BTW, has anyone ever seen a LP with an ambered clear finish like a V or Explorer?

 

[poe]

fab

hey pt, that's great!...i like the cherry idea...i'd love to hear some clips when you can...best of luck with the rest...i should be on the road before long myself....:hippy poe

 

[Ed A]

That conversion has a 'Burst Tone!

Hey Burstone, I thought you said old goldtops dont have burst tone!

 

[tom3k]

Looks sweet, Brian! Go for the cherry, especially if you can get close to the color of that '57.

 

[plaintop]

I appreciate all the support for cherry. I think it will be a very cool looking guitar. I’m sure they should be able to get extremely close to the picture above. Anyone know if Gibson rubbed on that cherry top or did they spray it???

I’d love to keep it as is. If you saw the cheap, nasty lacquer on this guitar, you would refinish it too. Should I fear any lose in tone with the refin?

Here are some structural shots: