Ultimate Rhoads

Thought you may appreciate this thread as it is dedicated to a build (salvage) I have been carrying out over the last couple of months.
The guitar started life as an Epiphone Les Paul Plus Top (59?), but had been absolutely destroyed by it's previous owner who had sanded it back, managing to go through the top(!), filled a bang on the back with wood filler and broken the headstock off. In addition, he decided to butcher the poor girl and made a crap attempt at the head.
Here's before (with my temporary tail, bridge and pups in place):





Part way, showing the routing I had to do on the head/neck and the filler piece attached (plus the section that also snapped off during the build -at least I saw the truss rod...Ouch -and had to be re-glued - red circle):


The body after I painted it and sanded/ buffed her (far, far better in the flesh, the flame is 3D.!!!):


Vintage correct '59 wiring harness:



And finally, "Pearly Tates" is alive and well again (scuse the mucky finger prints):




All the gear is nickel, reliced and to vintage standard (http://www.fake58.co.uk), with the pups a set of thirty year old Gibson Tim Shaw double white (rare) PAFS with aged repro covers that were checked and sorted by Shed Pickups (http://www.shedpickups.com).

She plays incredibly well, has tons of sustain, is amazingly resonant and has tone by the bucket.
She is my tribute to Pearly Gates, Billy Gibbons' long time '59 burst and I love her.....

Cheers,

Peace.

Absolutely fabulous work on that guitar man, it takes alot of time and care to repair one that's been that abused.

O.O That is absolutely stunning!

You said that it was originally an Epiphone? How'd you get the Gibson headstock, and how did you reproduce the Gibson logo so well?

Thanks very much guys..

The faceplate is an imported Gibson historic R9 factory piece I managed to get hold of with the logo inlaid,

The head had to be completely reshaped and pieces added to the side, neck joint and wing bases to allow me to then shape it correctly. Some carefully applied tinted laquer was used to hrlp partially "hide" the repairs, so it all appears one piece.

She plays wonderfully and rivals my Gibsons....Even better, it's all my own work.....I'm happy and think it's not bad for some one who isn't a luthier...

Peace.

excellent, it looks amazing

looks a lot like a vintage instrument

Rob

Pete; how does the wood differ from a Gibson Les Paul standard?

It looks fantastic!

Matt

Thanks Rice and Matt.

It's mahogany and maple, with mahogany neck (as per Gibsons). The only difference may be in the number of pieces used to construct it and the general quality of the timbers. For working purposes, the wood is the same and most components fit with a few slight modifications. The pieces I fixed the neck with were South American Mahogany that was floating around my parents garage (for the last 30-40 years...!).

In terms of the build quality, I have nothing to complain about and (to me) the Epi's are definitely worth a look if you can't stretch to a Gibson.

Cheers,

Pete.

I had to play my les paul last night after looking at those sexy pics.

seriously a nice looking axe

Rob

WOW!!! Awesome job!!!! If you're not a luthier, what type of woodworking are you doing if I may ask? Have you ever thought about building a guitar?

Hey Rice, my plan to replace every other guitar with a Les Paul is working then....

Thanks very much Whipper.

I am a professional Civil Engineer, but I have always enjoyed working with timber, metals and other assorted gear. It's funny, a couple of very experienced and recognised luthiers have seen her in the flesh and commented on how good a job it is.....Even had one say it's the best copy he's ever seen...

I'm just concocting a video of her, so that should be an eye opener.

Cheers,

Pete

ptate wrote:Hey Rice, my plan to replace every other guitar with a Les Paul is working then....

Seems to be

I'm a hot-rodded, strat cat myself, but i still love my old LP for 60/70s blues and rock.

Rob

Cheers Rice, Strats are cool, but I just couldn't get along with mine, everything was perfect, but I just couldn't get around her....!?!

Well, here's the crap video (sorry about the playing, but it's been a long week..... ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee1AExrdSBU

Checked your demo,

sounds like it has effortless sustain, and a great clean tone from the neck. The neck pickup has always been my gripe with my LP so nice work with that.

Reg strats; there is a big difference in modern vs vintage designs. I don't like traditional ie. fender strats. too many design flaws imho. But i do love the sound of alder if you give it room to breath and add some good pickups.

Rob