Question on 52/59 conversion - neck reset vs shaved bridge

[thin sissy]

Many good points here. Just my opinion, not worth any more than others, but here goes:

If I found one of those truly magical vintage LP´s (and I believe I have two of them), the thought of doing anything to the neck joint would never cross my mind. I feel like the neck joint is probably a big factor of the sound. With that said, it might not get worse if the neck is reset, just that I wouldn't have the guts to touch it

 

[boogieongtr]

Try doing what I did on my 52. Bottom wrap the tailpiece and it adds the string angle and tension to a shallow neck angle.

 

[fernieite]

Try doing what I did on my 52. Bottom wrap the tailpiece and it adds the string angle and tension to a shallow neck angle.

Wow, cool - bottom wrapping! That's thinking outside the box. Never occurred to me.

 

[charliechitlins]

Let the ’52’s be. There aren’t that many of them left in an unmolested state. They will never sound or look like a ‘59 so why try?

So many of us are here because we believe that the Les Paul is THE Electric Guitar. The icon.
Why anybody would want to take the FIRST INCARNATION of this ground-breaking, iconic instrument, butcher it up and try to make it into something different is shocking and appalling.
I'm fairly certain that the future will condemn this practice and its practitioners.
I know this is a well-trodden path, but sometimes I can't help being the advocate for these historical instruments.

 

[jb_abides]

Try doing what I did on my 52. Bottom wrap the tailpiece and it adds the string angle and tension to a shallow neck angle.

Crazing AND Checking. Schwing!

...Original speed knobs do it for me every time.

 

[bern1]

So many of us are here because we believe that the Les Paul is THE Electric Guitar. The icon.
Why anybody would want to take the FIRST INCARNATION of this ground-breaking, iconic instrument, butcher it up and try to make it into something different is shocking and appalling.
I'm fairly certain that the future will condemn this practice and its practitioners.
I know this is a well-trodden path, but sometimes I can't help being the advocate for these historical instruments.

Look, I fully understand the rationale behind modding these guitars. Full disclaimer, many years ago (in 1979) I put a low profile homebrew tailpiece on an original 52, so that it would be more comfortable to play. I was quite proud of myself. That was 43 years ago. Today there are several options that will let you do the same thing without any kind of damage. However, messing with the neck angle was something that I never contemplated. Even back then I thought that was too much surgery for a cool vintage guitar.