clarkuss Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Hello Everyone, I usually post in the Epiphone parts but I'm in the market for a Les Paul Jr. I'm keen to make a John Lennon style Lp Jr for my Beatles triute band. My main question is this: Would it be better to buy a satin stained cherry model or buy a nitro gloss and strip and stain myself? I want this ready for August hence why I'm open to both options to achieve the project asap. Also if anyone knows of one for sale please let me know. Don't know what happened to the trading post on these forums... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 1370279494[/url]' post='1383498']Hello Everyone, I usually post in the Epiphone parts but I'm in the market for a Les Paul Jr. I'm keen to make a John Lennon style Lp Jr for my Beatles triute band. My main question is this: Would it be better to buy a satin stained cherry model or buy a nitro gloss and strip and stain myself? I want this ready for August hence why I'm open to both options to achieve the project asap. Also if anyone knows of one for sale please let me know. Don't know what happened to the trading post on these forums... Are you talking about the guitar that he was using that was shown in live in New York City pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 I've never seen what that guitar looks like, can you post a picture? John's original guitar was a 50s sunburst Les Paul Jr. He had it modified with a Charlie Christian Pickup. He played it like this for a while including a performance on the Mike Douglas show with Chuck Berry. Then he had the finish stripped before the famous concert at Madison Square Garden. I've included Gibson's story of it all at the bottom but personally not sure if John's was refinished cherry or if it was just the lacquer on the bare mahogany that has made it look reddish over the years: Bare wood, no lacquer? I don't think the one in the case is "actually" his but I could be wrong ***************Gibson Reissue*************** READ GIBSON'S REVIEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I'd probably try the cheaper version... I'm not sure how far into the body the stain would have reached on the satin stained one, though. If you haven't already seen it, this might make interesting reading; http://www2.gibson.c...JohnLennon.aspx EDIT : I see you added yours when I was typing mine!...lol! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Budget the cherry is my first option but aesthetically a sunburst glossy would be my 1st. I wouldn't touch the finish of the satin cherry but I think this is John's actual guitar: As you can see, not so red! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Yes, I saw the original was stripped back to bare mahogany. I'd still get the stained one, though. From all appearances the stain used doesn't penetrate very far and it would be a relatively simple strip and re-fin IMHO. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 1370358573[/url]' post='1383868']Yes, I saw the original was stripped back to bare mahogany. I'd still get the stained one, though. From all appearances the stain used doesn't penetrate very far and it would be a relatively simple strip and re-fin IMHO. P. And probably much cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 I wouldn't bother stripping the satin stain one. I would get it in Cherry Red and it would resemble the Reissue more than the original. Satin stain would seep into the wood all over and might never remove it all like you can with a paint finish. The expensive option of a standard USA sunburst Les Paul stripped and varnished would be the most authentic but the most time consuming and expensive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Hello! Is any recreation of that Charlie Christian-pickup is made? Just curios about it. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I wouldn't bother stripping the satin stain one. I would get it in Cherry Red and it would resemble the Reissue more than the original. Satin stain would seep into the wood all over and might never remove it all like you can with a paint finish. The expensive option of a standard USA sunburst Les Paul stripped and varnished would be the most authentic but the most time consuming and expensive... It's entirely up to you, of course. Personally, if I was expecting to go to all the trouble of routing-out a Junior for a Charlie Christian p'up (including the selector-switch routing); swapping the wraparound 'McCarty bridge' for a seperate ABR-1 and stop-tail and perhaps even sourcing Schaller tuners(?), I would - and this really is just my view - take great delight in taking a power sander to the bare guitar to try to get as much of the stain off as is practicable. From what we have seen here of the satin-finish guitars the finish wears-off very easily; hence my belief that the stain doesn't penetrate the wood to any great depth. With as much of the colour off as possible I'd then buy a light/med mahogany wood-stain from my local hardware store and re-finish the guitar with that. The brown would disguise any traces of the original cherry as near as dammit. As you note (and I agree with your view) Lennon's looked to be "Bare Wood; No Lacquer". In this case a wood-stain well rubbed-in and either polished-in (or perhaps given a light sealing with satin coat) would give you a result very close to the original. But that's just what I'd do and I'd do it simply because I know I would enjoy that kind of thing. I really would! Hmmmmmm..............how much is a Cherry Junior, again?.................... Whichever way you decide to go please keep us posted! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 The pickup is available - almost half of the price of a guitar... http://www.ccpickups.co.uk/pickups.html Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 I think John's guitar at MSG probably did have some kind of thin varnish or lacquer on it as I think all his "natural" guitars did but certainly not refinished in cherry. What you suggest Pippy sounds like a good ay to replicate the original guitar. There are a few different CC pickups in circulation. I don't know I'd go all out and get the authentic screw in one or if I'd just get the modern "on-body" one. The pickup is expensive but when you add up the total parts needed to do this project it's a fraction of the Reissue... There are a couple of Cherry Jr's kicking about in the UK for £500 mark. I am absolutely no use when it comes to making/modding guitars. I would buy the parts and give it to somebody else to do. Pippy, is this something you'd genuinely be interested in taking on? Always looking for someone in the UK for modding my guitars to Beatles spec. I currently use a guy in France who is great but postage back and forth is a pain. I already have a tune-o-matic ABR-1 and some old "made in W Germany" Schallers. Give me an email if it's something you'd be interested in working on fire me an email to clark@thembeatles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Hi Clark. I tried to send you a PM but your box is full! No, I'm very much an Amateur-For-My-Own-Amusement woodworker so I couldn't accept the responsibility of someones soon-to-be-prized axe. Rabs, on the other hand, has amassed considerable guitar-making skills and there are two 'Building a guitar from a Door' type threads in the lounge which attest to his skills! Perhaps you could send him a PM or even just a link to this thread? Good luck either way! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 I appreciate your honesty! Not found anyone in the UK who shares the same attention to detail that I do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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