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My Historic Makeovers L.P. Deluxe


Vince Q

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I like Les Paul Deluxes, I like them red, and I like ebony fingerboards.  I like the LP Pro Deluxe guitars and the 40th Anniversary models with soapbar  P-90s, but I wanted something very specific, unique, and with a vintage vibe.

 

This guitar started life as a black '81 Deluxe I sent it down to Kim La Fleur & crew at Historic Makeovers.  He told me he had a nice ebony board, and for the color we decided to go with a solid red instead of the translucent Gibson wine red:  They aged the paint as they do with their '50s make overs.  The color in the pics shows a little more orange than in real life:  It's more of a blood red, or Fender Cimarron red.  Very cool looking.  They even re-applied the Les Paul Model headstock decal in the '59 position closer to the Gibson logo, nice touch.

 

Plays better than any guitar I've ever played or owned.  Even before I had the work done it had a resonance that I've never experienced with a guitar ... and it's not harmonic feedback from the pickups, it's just ... weird, it sings.

 

Was it expensive?  Well, it wasn't cheap, but I have no buyer's regret.  It was expensive, but it was well worth it.  This one is going to the grave with me.

 

Anyway, enjoy the pics.

 

DSCN2200_zpsfhx8iky5.jpg

 

DSCN2201_zps3yzjfqwk.jpg

 

DSCN2202_zpskceuz2dm.jpg

 

DSCN2204_zps2gij4un9.jpg

 

DSCN2203_zpseu1tttgt.jpg

 

DSCN2207_zpske9dcmsv.jpg

 

DSCN2206_zpsbbsso9jc.jpg

 

DSCN2205_zpsvqqekrcs.jpg

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LOL! Yeah, I catch a lot of good-natured ribbing for still using a flip phone, been with me since 2007. I already spend too much time on computers to get an I-phone.

 

Love the Deluxe.

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Love the red coupled with the ebony 'board. V. Nice indeed!

 

I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask out of curiosity.

Did they re-use your original inlays or are those ones new? Did they re-stamp the serial number or can the original still be seen under the finish?

 

Pip.

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Love the red coupled with the ebony 'board. V. Nice indeed!

 

I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask out of curiosity.

Did they re-use your original inlays or are those ones new? Did they re-stamp the serial number or can the original still be seen under the finish?

 

Pip.

 

According to Kim at HM, not original inlays, and the serial # is unaltered. Been to the IWM or BBMF lately?

 

 

Impressive work! Glad you are pleased with the results! It must have been more of a leap of faith than anything else.

 

Thanks for sharing the story!

 

A leap of faith or a lapse of judgment ... :D. Seriously, It was a very good move. I got exactly what I was looking for and it plays, sounds and looks great.

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...According to Kim at HM, not original inlays, and the serial # is unaltered. Been to the IWM or BBMF lately?...

Call Me "Mr. Slowcoach"...msp_laugh.gif...

I was still in Historic Makeovers / Kim LaFleur / Mark's Guitar Loft mode and didn't twig...

 

No. I haven't seen any of the beauties since I was down at Goodwood last year where The Old Flying Machine Company are regular participants. Superb displays. They are based out of Duxford so you probably know all about them but, if not, here's a link to their website to give you a flavour;

 

http://www.old-flying-machine-company.co.uk/public-airshows-and-private-displays/

 

Nice inlays!

I've been nursing a feeling that I'd sort-of-like-to-possibly get my R9 fettled by HM. I like it as-is but it's not quite as perfect as it could be and I know that if I sent it to HM it would come back more to my liking. The main improvement would be that I could have the 'shoulders' trimmed; its neck is quite thick front-to-back (as would be expected) but the shoulders are way more pronounced than they should be for a '59 profile and they are the main reason the R9 gets so little play-time in comparison with the R0. I could also get the 'cracked-ice' round-point traps replaced with something far more period-accurate. The very early Historic Division - later to be called the Custom Shop - attempts at recreating the '59 Standard (mine is the 131st. R9 ever made) were quite far off the mark in any number of ways. For example; the bridge pickup is wrongly positioned...

 

Ah well; even in the realm of First World Problems it's not really that high-up on the list of priorities. Perhaps when everything else is done-n-dusted I'll get around to it?...

 

Pip.

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Pip, if your R9 is a going-to-the-grave-with-me guitar, then by all means send it to Kim. My Deluxe had very palpable shoulders that were gently reshaped rather than lopped off and gave the neck a very nice feel and made hitting chords on the fly noticeably easier.

 

It is worth the money.

 

I'll check out the link. Thanks.

 

V

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...Pip, if your R9 is a going-to-the-grave-with-me guitar, then by all means send it to Kim...

The R9 isn't. I might still consider the work, though.

It's a complicated scenario and I don't want to derail the thread even further from your gorgeous DeLuxe so we'll leave it there!

 

...I'm not accustomed to the "LP Model" being closer to the "Gibson" MOP...

Typically in the late '50s the "Les Paul M O D E L" silkscreen was nearer to the MOP than in later years.

Check out silkscreen placement on, say, a USA-line LP Standard and compare it to a Custom Shop '58 - '60 Reissue.

Historic Makeovers habitually do things the old way...

 

Pip.

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Lovely color and very very nice!

 

Although, I'm not accustomed to the "LP Model" being closer to the "Gibson" MOP. But then you know quickly at a glance that it's yours!

 

Notice how the Les Paul Model silk screen is closer to the "Gibson" logo on the 1959 LP than the current Traditional.

 

1959:

59headstock_zpsn7uds0xm.jpg

 

 

Current Traditional:

59headstockk_zpsa5ema9fc.jpg

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