elleon ricardo Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 here's my old les paul front - before back - before headstock PIMP IT.. ADD SOME AESTHETIC's body Back Body Body - neck neck Back HERE's THE RESULT Body - Vintage TeaBurst Body II Front Back Back body you have seen it all.. wait for comment, critiques or just applause LOL
bluelake07 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 There's some nice grain on that wood and it's great that you brought it out of the dark. Good job!
charlie brown Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Lovely! Great job! One question....if you're this accomplished at woodworking and refinishing, why not build it from scratch, to begin with? Just curious... CB
midiman56 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 I'm amazed that there was such a nice piece of wood under all that poly and black paint! I always suspected that if you removed the paint on a solid color Epi you'd find either "This End Up" stencled on ... or possibly fruit crate stickers! Is the entire neck new or did you just replace the fretboard? Jim
antwhi2001 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Excellent. Beautiful job. They ought to offer that finish as an option. I'd prefer an ebony fretboard, but you have something just as good there. I really surprised (and pleased for you) that the wood is that nice. The cap looks like a proper cap rather than veneer. They're definitely not all like that, so if anyone decides to do the same I recommend they have a "plan B" finish in mind in case the grain isn't that good, or they spoil the veneer trying to strip it. I bet several Forums readers will be out tomorrow buying sandpaper and paint stripper...
elleon ricardo Posted May 21, 2009 Author Posted May 21, 2009 @bluelake07 : at first, im just curious with what it look like the LP standard top veneer, because it just comes up with black color, just asking my self, why they paint it black? maybe if i remove the paint, i can get something out of it.. and here they are... @CB : good question CB..well.. i have 2 main reason for that: 1st. im lack of find good tonewood here.. i got 2 slabs of Indonesian mahogany ( and i even dont know, their latin name and their sound character.. was it good like Gibson or what? etc ) and 2nd i cant sell it again , i mean even if i can build an exact copy "gibson Les Paul" with gibson original Part i.e humbucker, tuner, TOM, etc , i cant sell it, cause people prefer real thing : real Gibson, real epi's ( I do.. do you?) rather than a custom guitar @MIDIMan56 : i replace the rosewood fingerboard and change them into maple fingerboard, i change them because i think there's no Gibson or Epi's ever done it before and i love maple fingerboard because i dont have to give them oil to conditioning the wood @antwhi2001 : at the first time when im remove the paint, i found out that some of paint went deep inside the grain, so i have to sand it to get rid of it carefully cause i still want LP countour body.. so my advice becafull when removing the paint and while sanding
Swoop Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 That looks fantastic, not that it didn't look great already. I personally would have chosen some different control knobs, and chrome tuners, but it's unique nonetheless, and that's the most important thing. I too would have chosen a darker coloured fretboard. Of course it's not my choice. Is that a maple fretboard?
BluezOldy Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 That is so beautiful, elleon ricardo. Well done. Now where's my paint scraper?
midiman56 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 That maple fretboard is really puttin' the hook into me. Those Gibby "Raw Power" gits are too much money for an experiment ... I'm gonna have to see what Rondo Music is up to lately! Jim
twiggy Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 love what you've done with it!!! just think amber bell knobs would look much more to the style of the whole guitar.
Ricochet Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Nice job! Pretty slick looking. Who'd had thought the ebony had such a nice chunk o wood underneath? Why is the trapezoid inlay off center?
brianh Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 That's a really nice job, very professional looking. I'm struggling just to get a black repaint job to look nice. PS, I don't think those inlays are off center, it just looks that way because the low strings are further away from the edge than the high ones...the way they're supposed to be.
floydpink7 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Amazing! Great Job love what you've done with it!!!just think amber bell knobs would look much more to the style of the whole guitar. +1
Southpaw Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Very nice. The new contour on the back of the body looks comfortable. How does it feel?
mgrasso Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Beautiful new guitar. Great refinishing job. I agree, modifying an Epi instead of making your own is the way to go. Did you replace the binding? How hard was that? What method did you use for sanding off the finish. I love the maple fret board. Other than the new Raw models, and a few Natural Customs LP Custom Natural and of course these 70's Maple Neck CustomsGibson made some LP's in the late 70's/early 80's that had maple fretboards. These had figured tops with a darker stain than yours. They were beautiful. If I can find a photo of one I'll post it.
MichaelE Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 You did a nice job on that. I don't quite know what to think of the maple fret board. It looks great, but I don't know if I could get used to seeing it on an LP. The wood is beautiful.
elleon ricardo Posted May 21, 2009 Author Posted May 21, 2009 @ Southpaw : good for you... there's a "slight" change with the body, i made it contour body just like strat's but the "blue print" idea is when i saw Gibson Les Paul Axcess Standard ( i know somehow gibson would do the same as fender one day - give back contour ).. its a bit hard to do it - cut the back to make it contour - it comes with tear :D:D:D but i know its for her own good.. AND now i play her without any rib - ache, Feel great and never been better.. @mgrasso : thank's to inform me about the 0's gibson.. now it comeback ( i never know that gibson ever change their fingerboard to maple.. now i know..:- ) in simplest way i can explain my methods is: 1st, i remove all the guitar parts 2. i remove the original paint using paint remover and wait until the paint peeling 3. i use sand paper to finish the paint removal, some of the paint is a bit hard to peel so some of it is use plier then sand it afterward ( dont forget to check the wood condition, is still "wet" or it already dry.. if its still wet, just leave it for couple of days until it REALLY DRY ) 4. 1st apply the basic color then use the finishing color ( i use paint from the same manufacturer, just to make sure it has the right combination ) for this process i apply it for several times ~ in my case i apply it 4 times because the wood keep absorbing the paint and the color turn a bit pale here's the full mod's Spec: fingerboard / fretboard : hard maple Tuner : sperzel locking tuner - black humbucker ( neck ) : seymour duncan jazz model Humbucker ( Bridge ) : original epiphone LP standard Bridge Bridge : Fishman Tune - O - Matic Power bridge tone control : 1 for seymour duncan jazz model Humbucker 1 for original epiphone LP standard Bridge Volume Control : 1 master volume ( Humbucker ) 1 volume for Fishman Tune - O - Matic Power bridge output jack : 1 for Humbucker 1 for Fishman Tune - O - Matice Power bridge contoured back body thank's to all, and enjoy !
charlie brown Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Elleon...forget copying Gibson's...make an "Elleon!" Sell THOSE! ;>) Then, send me the second one...you'll want to keep and play the first! LOL! At any rate, you did an excellent job, with all you did, with/to your Epi! CB
Red 333 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Beautiful job. The refinish is very impressive. Thanks for the pics! Red 333
vomer Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Wow, really nice. Love the maple board, and that finish is fantastic. :-
midiman56 Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 I keep coming back and checking your pics, Elleon! Just as an aside, that back contour or "belly cut" is also found on the Epi Ultras ... and is very comphy! Again, great job, buddy! JIm
lpfan Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Dude, that kicks a$$! That is a very nice refinish. You definately need to open up a custom shop. If that is your work then you have the talent to be a success at it. Very, very nice work. I recommend moving to Nashville, Tennessee and opening up your own custom shop. That way I can bring some of my stuff to you. LOL!
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