tom wu
Member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2003
- Messages
- 958
Ok..I hope you like this one because I'm really digging it.
About a year ago I auctioned a guitar on ebay which I thought was a refinished 54 Goldtop with a few replaced parts. I offered local pickup and 24 hour aproval and so the winner -a well known and respected member of this here forum- came down to pick it up.
Upon inspection..the weight was good ( 8.6 ) and the important parts were real but he mentioned the neck was thinner than his original one ( a gorgeous 53 which he brought to compare ) and to him it it also looked like the inlays were "too busy for a 54".
In fact, the inlays looked more like those used from '60-62 than what is usually found on a 54.
The body was def. a 54 LP, and the binding was not broken, so we ruled out a board replacement. And when we managed to remove the p90 on the neck without breaking the cover ( an art by itself ) there were obvious signs of a reneck in the cavity, something I had never thought to look for.
So the winner of the auction, who has since become a good friend, passed on it, because he wanted the fatter 54 neck among other reasons.
He did however, put me in touch with Terry Mueller, who validated the guitar as being a 54 body with a ( best guess ) 1960 neck.
In retrospect, the reason I had not converted the guitar until then was because ( I thought ) I owned an "original-minus-refin" instrument and could not bring myself to do it. However, after discovering the issues, I thought there would be no better candidate than this guitar for a conversion.
TM would be the one to pull it off.
Since the body had a off center seam as most goldtops did, a sunburst was out of the question. So I looked in the BOTB and on page 161..there it was!
A black beauty standard..and it was calling my name.
So I packed it for the long trip and, just as it was going to go out, hurricane Wilma came barreling through my home in Coral Springs, Fl and caused thousands in damage. Once that was taken care of, it seemed only appropiate to name the guitar "Wilma" and finally send her on her way.
It just came back.
Wow.
I will ask the Rev. Willie to post some pictures and take this oportunity to thank him for his help. Hey Rev. I'm glad you bought lunch instead of the guitar! You are the man.
I would also like to thank Terry Mueller for a great conversion ( and a wink to Tom Murphy for the silkscreen and light checking/aging)
I had put together some klusons using the Uncles tips and an aging proccess. The tailpiece/Abr1 are from pigtail and the rings aare the older RS type.
It all works great on Wilma.
Oh, one more thing..do you remember a thread a while back about a busted reverse zebra pup I got ? That zebra went to Jim Rolph along with the real neck PAF so he could rewind it in a way where they would be balanced.
To describe the tone from this guitar as "balanced" would be like saying that Billy Gibbons is "another guitar player" because it is so much more.
I haven't stopped playing it since I got it... Rolphy, If you are reading this, you did one heck of a job!
Anyway..it's not the Rabi Burst but it is the best and closest I have gotten in my lifetime to owning a real 50s PAF guitar. I know now what the big fuss is with old wood and why some of you ( us ) need help with the disease.
Thanks and God Bless you Les Paul freaks.
Enjoy the pics.
About a year ago I auctioned a guitar on ebay which I thought was a refinished 54 Goldtop with a few replaced parts. I offered local pickup and 24 hour aproval and so the winner -a well known and respected member of this here forum- came down to pick it up.
Upon inspection..the weight was good ( 8.6 ) and the important parts were real but he mentioned the neck was thinner than his original one ( a gorgeous 53 which he brought to compare ) and to him it it also looked like the inlays were "too busy for a 54".
In fact, the inlays looked more like those used from '60-62 than what is usually found on a 54.
The body was def. a 54 LP, and the binding was not broken, so we ruled out a board replacement. And when we managed to remove the p90 on the neck without breaking the cover ( an art by itself ) there were obvious signs of a reneck in the cavity, something I had never thought to look for.
So the winner of the auction, who has since become a good friend, passed on it, because he wanted the fatter 54 neck among other reasons.
He did however, put me in touch with Terry Mueller, who validated the guitar as being a 54 body with a ( best guess ) 1960 neck.
In retrospect, the reason I had not converted the guitar until then was because ( I thought ) I owned an "original-minus-refin" instrument and could not bring myself to do it. However, after discovering the issues, I thought there would be no better candidate than this guitar for a conversion.
TM would be the one to pull it off.
Since the body had a off center seam as most goldtops did, a sunburst was out of the question. So I looked in the BOTB and on page 161..there it was!
A black beauty standard..and it was calling my name.
So I packed it for the long trip and, just as it was going to go out, hurricane Wilma came barreling through my home in Coral Springs, Fl and caused thousands in damage. Once that was taken care of, it seemed only appropiate to name the guitar "Wilma" and finally send her on her way.
It just came back.
Wow.
I will ask the Rev. Willie to post some pictures and take this oportunity to thank him for his help. Hey Rev. I'm glad you bought lunch instead of the guitar! You are the man.
I would also like to thank Terry Mueller for a great conversion ( and a wink to Tom Murphy for the silkscreen and light checking/aging)
I had put together some klusons using the Uncles tips and an aging proccess. The tailpiece/Abr1 are from pigtail and the rings aare the older RS type.
It all works great on Wilma.
Oh, one more thing..do you remember a thread a while back about a busted reverse zebra pup I got ? That zebra went to Jim Rolph along with the real neck PAF so he could rewind it in a way where they would be balanced.
To describe the tone from this guitar as "balanced" would be like saying that Billy Gibbons is "another guitar player" because it is so much more.
I haven't stopped playing it since I got it... Rolphy, If you are reading this, you did one heck of a job!
Anyway..it's not the Rabi Burst but it is the best and closest I have gotten in my lifetime to owning a real 50s PAF guitar. I know now what the big fuss is with old wood and why some of you ( us ) need help with the disease.
Thanks and God Bless you Les Paul freaks.
Enjoy the pics.
