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cut headstock??


noisemaker

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Posted

No, but the way I've always seen it is that the wings of the Epiphone headstock were cut, but the wings of the Gibson headstock are still long and can take full flight.

All it would really take is two triangular sized wooden nubs to attach to the outer wings of the Epiphone top, sculpt and sand to get correct and I bet it would look pretty damn close.

I always wondered how the Epiphones headstock top corners got cut off, then I figured it out.

With the Epiphones 'wings' being cut short, the Epi will never fly as high as the Gibson.

A bird with shorter wings/wingspan just can't climb as high as the Big Bird.

And Gibson is Big Bird for sure.

Posted

Yes... I know several people here have, but I can't tell you who.

 

The basic steps are to cut the Epiphone headstock down to be straight, like a Gibson Melody Maker. You then cut the outside edges from another piece of wood and glue them on.

 

That's actually how Gibson does it - the headstock is three pieces. You can see it on a Faded model.

Posted
im not talking about exact cut' date=' just similar[/quote']

 

Exact or similar doesn't matter. You simply can't cut a convincing Gibson headstockshape out of a Epiphone headstock unless you glue two extra pieces of wood to the sides. The Epiphone headstock is smaller than the Gibson headstock.

Posted

Let's explore this some more...

 

Here is a 66 335 headstock:

 

66ES335headstock.jpg

 

and here is a 96 Dot headstock:

 

96DotHeadstock.jpg

 

Now, here is a crude paste-up I did trimming the Epiphone headstock down:

 

trimmed.jpg

 

To get the trimmed view, I did the following:

1) Cut the top down to the Gibson profile

2) Brought the side edges in a bit at the top

3) (And here's the "iffiest" part) Moved the Epiphone logo down a bit

 

I think it at least looks similar to the Gibson. In executing it, your biggest problems would be moving the logo down and blending the new finish--new layers of the urethane-type finishes don't blend as easily with the old underlying finish as the nitro lacquers used by Gibson.

 

But the bigger question is, "Why do you want to do this?" If only for personal kicks, I say go for it! If you are trying to pass off your Epiphone as a Gibson, you are probably wasting your time.

 

But I am a big believer in personal freedom, which is why I present this discussion. Cheers.

Posted

Why, Indeed! If you want (need) a Gibson, just save for it, and get one! I (personally) have no

problem with Epi headstocks, especially on models that are known Epiphone originals. Even the

Gibson clones, look good, with the Standard Epi headstock. The "Elitist" was a bit of a "paddle,"

(IMHO), but even it wasn't that bad, really. Changing the headstock will not make your "Dot" a

"Gibson." So, why bother? I did buy the MIJ '61 SG (from Japan) because it had the Gibson headstock,

among other reasons, and I prefer that, on that model of SG. But, if the quality had been the same,

and it had the standard or "Elitist" headstock, that would have been OK, too.

Whatever makes you happy, I guess? ;>)

 

CB

Posted
Let's explore this some more...

 

Now' date=' here is a crude paste-up I did trimming the Epiphone headstock down:

 

[/quote']

 

Not bad Inside. Now let's see you do it to his Epi's Les Paul headstock. :)

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