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btoth76

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I have a 1970 something (71or72) I think Les Paul Recording Bass. Thecontrol plate has been hand made out of a piece of wood. Its OK, butlooks out of place. I would like to make another one. I need apattern or tracing to do a layout. Can you help in any way?

 

I would also purchase one if available, but don’t think they are.

 

My E-Mail address is Pr4egle@cox.net

 

Phone# 540-343-8707

 

Cell# 540-330-7349[/font

 

Hi James,

 

You might want to check these folks out. I've never contacted them myself, but I've run into their web page several times. Not many people offer these.

 

http://littlebrookengraving.com/testmonials.html

 

George

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The Les Paul Recording II (Iridium) came today, I gave it a pretty good test drive, but have much more to do. The two guitars sounded more alike than I thought they would, since they really are nothing alike at all. The new guitar had a very clean sound in Low Impedance, with sustain that went well past the 20 second mark, due to the maple top?? I still like the feel of the neck of the 1973 better. The fret board seems overly light in color, it is suppose to be rosewood, I hope it is. My guitar only weighs 8lbs, 6ozs. I think it was one of the lighter ones available. Many are over 10lbs. It played well right out of the box. A three wire, Low Impedance chord was included with the guitar, the same chord I've been using with my Les Paul Signature. Being able to switch the pickups into single coil mode was different for this beast, I wasn't too noticeable in Low Impedance. Kind of odd without the Decade feature. I ran it into two amps at the same time & did need the Ground Lift feature & it did work.

 

iridium1_zpsdf5adfe5.jpg

Iridium2_zps11a0cd50.jpg

 

Very Sharp

 

4H

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Very Sharp

 

4H

I like the look of those frets, they look far larger than on my '70. Are they original size?

That is something I have notice about mine is that the frets are really low profile, this is the "fretless wonder", I suppose.

I'm a bit heavy handed, and my fingers touch the fingerboard sometimes, unlike my '07 LPS which has taller frets for sure. It takes such a light touch to play this one, I feel like a gorilla, <never mind the mirror> Sorry about the not great pic.

 

Others here: http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/pmcrush/library/LP%20Pro%201970-71

post-70698-028768000 1431915591_thumb.jpg

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I like the look of those frets, they look far larger than on my '70. Are they original size?

That is something I have notice about mine is that the frets are really low profile, this is the "fretless wonder", I suppose.

I'm a bit heavy handed, and my fingers touch the fingerboard sometimes, unlike my '07 LPS which has taller frets for sure. It takes such a light touch to play this one, I feel like a gorilla, <never mind the mirror> Sorry about the not great pic.

 

Others here: http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/pmcrush/library/LP%20Pro%201970-71

 

I've always liked the frets on the older Gibson's better than the current models. The old guitars seemed like they were dressed smooth & set up better, the newer guitars look as if the frets are just pressed in place & shipped. That being said, the Les Paul Recording II (Iridium) does play real nice, it was ready to play right out of the box...........

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Hege,

 

The guitar in your pic has been re-fretted.

 

So comparisons with the original are not valid.

 

DG

Thanks Dave, how does one go about knowing that? These look pretty vintage, super low and wide.

I appreciate the info!

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Hello Hege!

 

Are the fret ends are covered with the binding? I can't see clearly on that picture. But the absence of the plastic fret ends (nibs) is a very clear sign of the guitar has been refretted.

 

Cheers... Bence

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When the old frets were removed the "nibs" of the binding were filed away and the new frets were installed over the original nibs.

 

DG

I think I see what you're saying. I will try to get a better picture up.

I think I can see where these "nibs" are removed/missing, a slight notch of sorts in the edge of the binding at the fret ends. I believe you guys are right, a fret job sometime in the past.

Unfortunately I have no LP with a bound fretboard to compare.

But also, if re-fretted, a well done job, I am getting used to the light touch required, and I do like the low look, it does seem to fit the instrument.

Thanks again, all

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Hello!

 

Compare the above picture with this:

 

HPIM5703_zpssupkdbvi.jpg

 

Note, how tiny the nibs were on older Gibsons. These gracefully crafted fret-ends save the owner of the instrument from many headaches associated with the wider and taller new ones. Nib separation, (strings being caught by gaps between frets and the nibs) was never an issue with these.

 

Cheers... Bence

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  • 4 weeks later...

It looks genuine enough - different body cap and gold parts.

 

But if it is a genuine 73 why is the Bridge "wrong"?

 

It's not just a replacement - the post holes are "off-set".

 

DG

 

The very earliest LPR's had the ABR style bridge, I don't think Les Paul Customs had the harmonica bridge, my '74 doesn't. The extra thumb screw is sort of odd. Are they using them to cover up a modification?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello everyone,

 

Bence pointed me to this thread and was wondering if someone could help me out.

 

I have a 1974 Les Paul Signature guitar and I would like to play it more. One thing I noticed is when I plug into the high impedance jack I have to run through a preamp to get any volume. I read the same resistance on the high impedance jack as the low impedance jack (~25 ohms). So it makes me think the high impedance transformer is either bad or missing in the guitar.

 

Looking in the cavity I can't see a transformer but that might be because the mirror is clunky and I can't move around much in the f hole.

 

Has anyone read the resistance on the high impedance jack? I would expect the extra windings to read higher than the low impedance jack.

 

Reading through the thread, I see I could get something like the Shure A95U or A85F transformer and just use the low impedance jack. I will probably do that, but would like to confirm what is wrong with the high impedance jack if at all possible.

 

Just to make sure I understand the wiring, the low impedance is a balanced connection? Correct?

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Walter

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Hello everyone,

 

Bence pointed me to this thread and was wondering if someone could help me out.

 

I have a 1974 Les Paul Signature guitar and I would like to play it more. One thing I noticed is when I plug into the high impedance jack I have to run through a preamp to get any volume. I read the same resistance on the high impedance jack as the low impedance jack (~25 ohms). So it makes me think the high impedance transformer is either bad or missing in the guitar.

 

Looking in the cavity I can't see a transformer but that might be because the mirror is clunky and I can't move around much in the f hole.

 

Has anyone read the resistance on the high impedance jack? I would expect the extra windings to read higher than the low impedance jack.

 

Reading through the thread, I see I could get something like the Shure A95U or A85F transformer and just use the low impedance jack. I will probably do that, but would like to confirm what is wrong with the high impedance jack if at all possible.

 

Just to make sure I understand the wiring, the low impedance is a balanced connection? Correct?

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Walter

 

 

Hi Walter,

 

I took a few readings on my 1974 Les Paul Signature. All readings are with the Volume & Tone on "10" & the Pickup Selector Switch in the "Center" position.

 

High Impedance was at 3.75 K-Ohms, measuring on the end of the guitar jack. The "Level Control" switch made no difference.

 

Low Impedance, using a balanced cable with a Stereo 1/4" jack at one end & a Female XLR jack at the other. Reading between pins 2&3.

"Level Control" set at:

50, 10.5 Ohms

200, 12.5 Ohms

500, 13.5 Ohms

 

*Note, My meter had a reading of 1 Ohm when I tested it for "0" at the 200 Ohm setting.

 

The Les Paul Signature has a balanced 3 wire jack on the side. A chord that you can buy right off of the shelf just about anywhere will allow you to plug into a PA or an amp that has a low impedance jack.

 

LPSigSchematic.jpg

 

Do you think anything was altered? The schematic makes it look like the transformer is incorporated in the Level Control switch possibly? Variable impedance transformer?

Good Luck,

George

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Hi George,

 

I also noticed that the schematic gives the impression the transformer is incorporated into selector. There are variable transformers available so it's possible Gibson did that.

 

As I expected your measurements indicate the extra windings needed to match high impedance added extra resistance, so something is definitely not right.

 

I have wondered if the guitar electronics had been modified. But I admit I am leary of taking everything out. Mainly because of friend of mine warned me about taking the electronics out of a 1960's Silvertone/Harmony guitar and the nightmare getting it all back in through the f holes. If I go that far I will probably hire someone to take care of it.

 

By the way. Saw the pictures of your low impedance collection. Very nice.

 

Thanks for taking time to get the resistance values. That helps a lot.

 

Walter

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Hi Walter,

 

You might be able to get a better look by taking the bridge pickup out, that should give you a larger opening to see through & take things out if it comes to that. I think the block of wood in the center of the guitar is routed out on the control side, but not 100% sure. Getting the pots and jacks out & back in can be tricky. Some people tie string around the posts, I've had luck using the right size shrink tubing, pushed on the knurl post after the knob is removed. It grips tight, pulls the pot back in straight & you can slip the nut & washer on over the shrink tubing.

 

Good luck,

George

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Hi George,

 

Your measurements definitely point to something odd in the wiring of my guitar.

 

I took measurements with a 15' Hosa balanced low impedance cable. I only get readings across pins 1 and 2, not 2 and 3 as yours is. My readings are 13.9 ohms and I get the same reading no matter what the level settings are at.

 

Another thing odd is using the same balanced cable through my Behringer mixing board seems to work (I get volume).

 

Not sure if I will tackle this further or bring it to an authorized repair person to have it looked at. I am retired so I obviously have the time just not sure if I won't the frustration.

 

Your ideas to fish things back through make sense though and I have watched several videos of how to put things back in so I may give it a try.

 

Thanks for you help,

 

Walter

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Hi Walter,

 

Most authorized repair people likely have never seen one of these, few would know how to fix one (other than techniques to getting things apart & back together). I'm no expert by a long shot either. It almost sounds like something might be shorting out some contacts on your Level Control switch. It might have came loose & was retightened 180 degrees or so from where it was intended to be. Maybe you could just loosen it & try turning it gently & see if it works............ Might be a bare ground wire causing the trouble.

 

George

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