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Finished my Custom Plus upgrade, here it is....


antwhi2001

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Was a LP Custom Plus natural - we may never know if it was "real" Epi because it came from MZ Online! I'm still undecided about that but not bothered either way. I've used it at 3 gigs and it plays and sounds nice now.

 

1. Burstbucker Pro neck pup

2. "Kossoff special" 15k bridge pup

3. Sprague 22 caps

4. CTS pots

5. Switchcraft jack socket on metal plate

6. Gold bell knobs and pointer washers

7. Switched black plastic parts for cream, to match the binding

8. Reshaped and refinished headstock to Gibby copy, 2-hole TRC

 

Luckily I had a lot of the parts lying around, so I've only spent about £80 on top of the £275 purchase price.

 

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I cut a template in card drawn from the headstock of my Gibby doublecut. Marked the outline on the Epi headstock. Took an electrical jigsaw and sawed the end off to within about one-eighth of an inch of the line. Then filed and sanded to finish it neatly to the line. This removed part of the serial number, so I wiped the rest off with cellulose thinners. Took a chip off one corner accidentally so filled that with small piece of mahogany-coloured plastic wood. I used an electrical sander to smooth in the profile of the bottom end of the headstock, so the sides didn't stick out as much. In doing this I lost some of the binding around the end and sides. I mixed cream paint to match the binding and brush painted "binding" back in where required, using masking tape to get a clean edge. I removed the tuners and TRC and applied a whole-headstock vinyl overlay bought from :

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GUITAR-DECALS._W0QQitemZ300286864808QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090115?IMSfp=TL090115127003r7758

 

Finally, a light coat of poly laquer over the lot, and refit hardware. If you look at it close up you can see it's an amateur job, but few peole look at it close up, and it's good enough for me. I've done this to a few Epis, but I always tell people it's not a real Gibby if asked, and I would never try to pass it off as one. Interestingly, when I resell them it seems to make them more attractive to some buyers. However, I intend to keep this one for a while.

 

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with different TRC:

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