Julianmokhtar Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Hi, I'm a repairman and also make custom built electric guitars. I have a Les Paul Studio Lite with the M III electronics to restore and would appreciate some information or advice before I proceed. The guitar has all the original parts, except the truss rod cover is missing. The electronics are original though dirty and dusty but the inductor is loose from its mounting. The dark blue finish is chipped in a few places and the top clear coat has come off in patches. The head has broken off and been repaired with a reinforcing strip of wood and the neck has been resprayed with what I'm certain is black acrylic aerosol lacquer. My customer wants it refinished in black, but I'm suggesting replicating the original translucent dark blue. I'd in any case blend in an opaque finish to mask the repair. A clearcoat will top it all off. I'll be using a combination of acrylic colour and polyurethane clearcoat. Not period correct but the right kind of nitro lacquer is not available here, and US suppliers won't ship out of US. My questions: 1) How rare is this model? Serial number is 90395578 which puts it at Feb 8th 1995. 2) The clearcoat on the head face has peeled from the "throat" to the first set of tuners. Would attempting to remove the rest risk removing the decal as well? Where can I get a correct replacement truss rod cover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Hello and welcome to the Forums! 1.) Not that rare, I'd rather say it's a unique variation on the Les Paul theme. They go around $5-600. 2.) The logo is silkscreened, that fragile it is. 3.) From factory it had blank truss rod cover. It can be purchased almost everywhere, in shops carrying OEM Gibson parts. For example: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gibson-Gear-PRTR-010-Electric-Guitar/dp/B0002D0MI0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_267_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AH2FAAJTCSABCDHYZTM Best wishes... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Welcome to the Forum Julianmokhtar They are a Unique Les Paul & the last one I saw for sale sold for $800 on eBay last month.. The decal will have clear lacquer over it.. After filling this I have sanded over the decals with 2000 grit to get it ready to spray the black to cover the damage & will sand again after painting before the clear coat.. I sprayed the rear but still want to add some red to cover the break & dowels.. Looks pretty good so far.. Just need to find time to get back to it.. As stated above the Truss Rod Cover should have been a two ply blank, I have seen some say Studio on them, If that's what the customer wants eBay has plenty of them.. The choke coil is placed in the cavity loose on these, It should have gotten some hot glue or a mount.. See Mine.. I have the wiring diagrams etc for this model if you need them.. 1994 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite with M-III Electronics Filling Holly Veneer with Timbermate Headstock Rear First coat of Translucent Red Headstock Stripped + Mahogany Splines Headstock Front NOTE: Bent/Warped Holly Veneer Control Cavity Sales Flyer NOTE: Blank Truss Rod Cover Specs Sheet Truss Rod Cover, Reuse The Black Screws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Wiring Diagrams For the M-III & or Les Paul M-III M-III Data Sheet, Also same specs on switching as the Les Paul M-III Gotoh Tuners Made In Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianmokhtar Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hi all, Thank you for the welcome and for the help. According to Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars it's a limited edition model, I've been trying to find out roughly how many were made. I'll probably just make the truss rod cover. I'll put up some photos when it's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 There's not too many of the M-III Les Pauls out there but they do show up from time to time.. Share the photos when you get your finished up.. I'm still working on mine, I have lots of logs in the fire & not much time to sand etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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