overhaul my lp special ii

[eor]

the les paul special ii. my very first guitar. i bought with my own money i raised through a summer job, much to my family's chagrin- my mother thought i'd be donating those funds toward food or rent or other useless matters. but no, i cashed my meager paycheck, and walked over to my local (and long defunct) mom and pop shop with my friend, who i was learning guitar and jamming with (such as it was).

 

i was trying to decide which color cheap strat i wanted to complement his, as that was all in my price range at the time. i told the sales guy (mark!) how much i had, and said "i think we can do this one for that much" and pointed me toward the special. a real les paul, just like i had read about in magazines! i would be the first minority in history to own one!

 

and so it was.

 

i can't really say the guitar has seen better days because really, has it? it was junk from day one- mystery meat body and soup can hardware. but it got played into the ground all the same. you won't see a relic'ed rosewood board too often.

 

so the time has come to address some issues, as the guitar isn't going anywhere, ever. i already swapped the pups and added a coil tap to the neck years ago. and i just ordered new pots, cap, switch and i have a jack lying around. i hope to take the bridge off of my elitist lp and plop it on there, if possible.

 

so what's left? tuners? nut? tailpiece? what have you done and what was worth doing? what can i reasonably expect?

[Whitmore Willy]

what can i reasonably expect?

Eor,

 

Can't speak for you but, I have a similar project going on with my L.P. Junior. You may have seen my "beater guitar" threads.

Anyway, when I do a project on a guitar like that the one thing I Do Not expect is to increase it's value.

That is the reason I always keep the original parts.

 

What I do expect:

I improve the playability, and sometimes the appearance, of the guitar.

I usually learn something about tech work that I did not know before.

I usually make, buy or acquire a new tool or two.

 

On my current project, my main path is to learn to re-fret a rosewood finger board. The guitar does not need it.

Another I have does. Before I attempt the more expensive, I will learn all I can on the Junior. ( It cost me $20 )

Tanks to Brianh for putting a "bug up my butt" I will probably strip and refinish it as well. I've been wanting to try that anyway.

 

I did do a Special for my grandson. It was my first attempt and I learned a lot.

 

I did the following for the first time:

New tuners, new nut, new pickups, new wiring, new bridge, and a fret leveling.

I also added strap locks and built a custom "shortened" L.P. pickguard.

I also learned to do a "proper" setup while making correct use of the truss rod.

 

 

Was it worth it in terms of monetary value?...NO!

It was worth it, to me, in terms of knowledge....(And the kid ended up with a real nice starter guitar)

 

If any of these things are worth it to you then give them a try.

If not, then I would be satisfied with the new pups and electronics.

 

Keep us posted.

 

Willy

[jdogric12]

Go for it! Great story. I have a '96 Epi LP Spec II, black. I was in college at the time, bought it from the guy who bought it new soon after he did so. I added Gibson P94's, a Bigsby B-5, and over the years have painted all kinds of crazy junk on it, and added mailbox letters that say "J DOG" and it plays pretty darn good still! Good luck with your mods!

[BlueEpiphone]

DO IT......AND PICTURES PLEASE!!!!

 

[StijnV]

I like that color !!

[Lefty Bill]

Cool story EOR.. if you happen across an inexpensive Bigsby, that'd be something worth considering. The B5 model with the (seriously over-priced, IMO) V5 adapter plate wouldn't require any additional body holes, it uses flat-head screws to mount the plate just using the existing stopbar/tailpiece anchors.

 

Isn't that '95 model solid wood?

 

I have a Special II in the works, which I modified/cut into a double-cutaway.. if you're looking to do something a bit radical.

 

Regards,

Bill

 

the les paul special ii.

Snippage

i can't really say the guitar has seen better days because really, has it? it was junk from day one- mystery meat body and soup can hardware. but it got played into the ground all the same. you won't see a relic'ed rosewood board too often.

so the time has come to address some issues, as the guitar isn't going anywhere, ever. i already swapped the pups and added a coil tap to the neck years ago. and i just ordered new pots, cap, switch and i have a jack lying around. i hope to take the bridge off of my elitist lp and plop it on there, if possible.

so what's left? tuners? nut? tailpiece? what have you done and what was worth doing? what can i reasonably expect?

[eor]

willy- like you, i first thought that this would make an awesome learning tool, a blank canvas for me to work on my art and skill and what not. then i realized that even though i don't really play it, it has too much sentimental value for me to screw up. then again, it has too little actual value to invest time and money in it. then i thought i'd pick up yet another worthless guitar i won't ever play just to tinker with, to gain the confidence to tinker with the worthless guitar i already have that won't ever play. but that's just silly.

 

since it is so old and gunked up, with dead spots and all, i may decide to outsource some of the set up, dressing and clean up work. and since your post scared me away from nut work... and i may as well get another switch installed to split the bridge... and since the guitar is there anyway, may as well let the tech do the rest. :) save the switch, the pots and caps are in transit. the tuners are awful, and a new bone nut might help with the tuning stability and tone. after all that, the guitar may see a little more work. its actually my only "single coil" guitar, and with the "alder" body and bolt on maple neck, its pretty fendery. so it fills an niche. funny how that works.

 

blue- i could, but it looks exactly how you think it does, save for the extra switch between the pickup selector and neck tone. and mine is a pre poker chip version. but tell me about those tuners- any mods or reaming required to install them?

 

bill- i thought about the bigsby, but i have two other guitars with bigsbies, so it isn't a huge need. i like them, but so rarely use them. do look cool, though. but i'd rather drill that use the stupid vibramate. i don't trust those things. and that's something else i probably wouldn't install myself, let alone make an extra cutaway. would love to see yours, though. is it bigsby-ed?

 

when i peeked in the cavity to see what was going on, the inside of the guitar looked like a kit kat bar. the cavity is tiny as hell and is already extra cramped from the flippy switch to split the neck, so i'm a little worried about working in there. another reason to outsource!

[Whitmore Willy]

As long as you are happy with it....

now or in the future after adjustments.....

What else counts?

 

Willy

[Lefty Bill]

Mmmm.. Kit-Kat cookie chocolate caramel..

 

If you happen to remove the neck, you should be better able to see the wood.. at least there won't be any shielding coating in there, although there may be varying amounts of paint or clearcoat, it seems to be random whether the neck pockets are clear or sloppy.

The year and country of origin are often what relates to the body material.

 

As for working with pots and switches in the controls cavity, many DIY owners use a piece of cardboard, plastic etc, which mimics the body holes, to hold the various parts in place while performing the inter-connections. This method is a lot easier than reaching into the hole with a hot soldering iron, fingers and tools.

 

I haven't had a Bigsby yet.. always liked the look though, and the prices for left-hand models are a bit higher than the more common RH models. Every so often I get the urge to just go ahead and buy one, and should because the prices will very likely keep going up.

 

Bill

 

 

Snippages

bill- i thought about the bigsby, but i have two other guitars with bigsbies, so it isn't a huge need. i like them, but so rarely use them. do look cool, though. but i'd rather drill that use the stupid vibramate. i don't trust those things. and that's something else i probably wouldn't install myself, let alone make an extra cutaway. would love to see yours, though. is it bigsby-ed?

 

when i peeked in the cavity to see what was going on, the inside of the guitar looked like a kit kat bar. the cavity is tiny as hell and is already extra cramped from the flippy switch to split the neck, so i'm a little worried about working in there. another reason to outsource!