flyingfrets Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 In this thread, I hope to give my answers to some of the recent topics in this forum ("Why Did You Choose Epiphone?", "Have You Ever Had An Epiphone That Played Better Than A Gibson?" and some discussion on P90s & wiring) with my documentation of how the guitar on the left became the guitar on the right: The guitar started out as an Ebony '56 Gold Top built in June 2010 at Epiphone's Quing Dao China facility. The guitar was actually quite nice as it arrived from the seller on Reverb.com ($399 w/case, shipping included). Always wanted a P90 equipped Les Paul, but not up for the prices the Gibson reissues command. This quieted my GAS nicely, though I felt the appearance left something to be desired. Liked the look of the '54 "Black Beauty" so I figured I'd head in that direction. Before anyone goes bonkers , yes, I'm aware that the '54 was a Les Paul Custom and this is based on a Standard. I wasn't looking for a straight-up replica, just the general black & gold motif of the '54. Differences abound (trapezoid inlays vs. block, unbound back & headstock, etc), as does the sound due to the different neck pickup and the fact that the Epiphone is "capped" with whatever was passing for maple at Epiphone in 2010 (approximately 1/4 at it's thickest point). On with the mod... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 No "going bonkers" here! I happen to be one of those folks that like Gold hardware on Black guitars! Did that same thing, to my 2001 Gibson LP Junior Lite, below: CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Began disassembly with removing the chrome hardware and pulling the bridge & tailpiece studs... Working slowly so as not to damage the finish, the studs came out very easily. Next, I moved on to the frets & fingerboard. The frets were true, but having sat for some time before I bought it, they were lightly oxidized, so a polish was in order. The goal here is NOT to reshape the frets, just to remove the oxidation & schmootz, and restore the shine. The fingerboard was taped off to protect it from the abrasives used to polish the frets (800 & 1000 grit wet/dry sanding film, a Micromesh polishing kit - grits 4000 thru 12000 and finally, a few drops of 3M Scratch Out): After the polish, you can see the crud collected on some areas of the tape: With the fretwire taken care of, attention to the fingerboard came next. Cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol & naptha. Was just about to lemon oil the board when it struck me that that the rosewood looked out of place against all the black. What to do...what to do? Having dyed the floating bridge on a Hofner Ignition bass last year, I broke out the Fiebing Black Leather Dye. Pre-treated the 'board with Minwax conditioner & allowed it to sit for a few hours: Once the conditioner had been allowed to penetrate the wood, I applied 3 coats of the Fiebing Leather Dye with Q-tips and allowed it to dry/set overnight. The following day, I cleaned/conditioned the dyed 'board with few drops of lemon oil which evened out the sheen and gives a reasonable approximation of the ebony used on the '54: At that point, it was time to finish gutting the hardware, electronics & plates: To be continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 CB, your Junior looks outstanding! Did you change out anything beside the hardware? Initially, I was only going to replace the pickups, but then I realized I'd need better pots & a harness to support the new electronics and one thing lead to another until I ended up redoing everything! And on that note... The cheap Asian pots, switch & wiring had to go. Replaced the pots with a matched set of Bourns. I'd read that they were used in a lot of the '54s and I like the feel (not as tight as CTS) and the performance. The tapered response is very even. Good quality stuff. Wiring is all vintage braid. Sorry, I didn't take as many pics as I'd intended, so no pre-installation pics of the pots & harness. As for the new pickups...again, I wish I'd taken photos of construction but I'm not the most patient guy you're ever going to meet and I was Hell-bent for leather to get them done. Actually, I can't take all the credit for the pickups. My guitar tech of 10 years, Ernie Shuba had a lot to do with the specs, planning & winding on these puppies. Originally, I'd planned on using Parsons Street Golden Age P90s, but after prowling around on the Stewmac site for awhile, I saw they sold parts to build/wind your own. Being the heart of the guitar, I wanted something unique. After consulting with Ernie, I got extremely brave/stupid and ordered the parts. The neck uses Alnico V magnets to approximate the Alnico V pickup in the '54. Spec'd out to a nice vintage 7.5K. Bridge pickup uses Alnico 3 magnets for tonal variation and specs to a hair under 8.0K. Again, nice vintage winding. Ernie suggested reverse winding the neck pickup so they'd be hum-cancelling with both pickups on. I was resistant at first, but as it turned out, the best overall tones out of this guitar come with both pickups engaged, so the reverse-wind turned out to be a nifty little bonus (Thanks Ernie!). Also contrary to true vintage spec, the pickups are wax potted. Eliminates the possibility of unwanted squeal. The end result: Black covers of course, and to complete the cosmetic deal, gold polepieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Being the impatient guy I am, I had to get the new pickups in the guitar as soon as they were tested and ready. At this point, the toggle switch ring had been replaced (black & gold, 'natch). Gold strap buttons already installed, so couldn't resist mocking it up. I put the Gotoh bridge & tailpiece on... Next came new gold Grovers & a Tusq nut: Gold Switchcraft jack, black jack-plate, gold screws, gold toggle switch & amber tip installed and new pots & harness connected. No photos of the cavity because truthfully, it's a rat's nest in there right now. I won't trim & do final soldering until I'm SURE everything is as it should be, but she's strung up so I can set the action & intonation to my liking: Still waiting on the custom truss rod cover ("Black Magic"), new 3-ply pickguard (black-cream-black) and black cavity covers, but you get the general idea. Haven't done any extensive modding like this in 30+ years, so it was nice to dig in again. Pleasant way to kill a week's worth of evenings after work and I've got a pretty unique Epiphone in the bargain. Some of the reasons I chose an Epiphone? Affordability, a damned fine instrument out of the box (yeah, yeah, yeah...furniture grade wood & all that mumbo jumbo aside, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts). And I felt no guilt what-so-ever modding the crap out of it. Does it play as well as my Gibsons? That's a subjective opinion, but properly set up, I'd say that it does. That doesn't make it better than, or equal to a Gibson. Even for all the mods that went into it, it's not supposed to be. It is what it is. An extremely nice guitar that plays excellently, sounds great and pleases me to no end. At the end of the day, regardless of whether it's a Gibson, Epiphone or what have you, what else can you ask of your guitar? Hope I haven't bored anyone to tears B) Comments & questions always welcome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Far out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I like it !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I really enjoyed that blow by blow account FF. The guitar looks great but I am sure it plays and sounds even better than it looks. Well done mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 CB, your Junior looks outstanding! Did you change out anything beside the hardware? Thanks, flyingfrets, No, Hardware and tuners, only. Stock electronics (at least, for now)! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments guys. CB, y'know, the funny thing is, I never paid much mind to the "Black & Gold" before. Didn't care one way or the other, wasn't really my cup 'of tea so to speak, but when the guitar arrived & I started looking it over, it just seemed like the right way to go. Maybe it's just me going over the hill , but looking at my creation & your Junior, the look is really classy in my mind. Yeah, I know lotsa guys here think it's the ultimate cheese, but hey...I like cheese too . Play the Hell outta your "Black & Gold"! I know I will... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments guys. CB, y'know, the funny thing is, I never paid much mind to the "Black & Gold" before. Didn't care one way or the other, wasn't really my cup 'of tea so to speak, but when the guitar arrived & I started looking it over, it just seemed like the right way to go. Maybe it's just me going over the hill , but looking at my creation & your Junior, the look is really classy in my mind. Yeah, I know lotsa guys here think it's the ultimate cheese, but hey...I like cheese too . Play the Hell outta your "Black & Gold"! I know I will... Well, my first ever "Les Paul," was a Gibson '68 Custom (in '68), so the "black and gold" thing was just a really nice look, IMHO...even back then, I loved it! So, I guess that's carried over, from my "misspent youth?" LOL CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 No "going bonkers" here! I happen to be one of those folks that like Gold hardware on Black guitars! Did that same thing, to my 2001 Gibson LP Junior Lite, below: CB Ooooh want want want want!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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