MichaelW
Well-known member
That's a heck of an idea!! Hadn't considered that!
NGD! So I finally broke down and bought a *IBSON! 7-18-23 Update
- Thread starter MichaelW
- Start date
MichaelW
Well-known member
Nope, it's actually real rosewood.
steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
Dude what a beautiful guitar! Congrats what’s her name?
MichaelW
Well-known member
It's either going to be "Matilda" or "StevieJr"........
steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
Im liking Stevie Jr. I mean its already got the Jr added and everything. 
Your work is exceptional.Apparently the Dealers sabotage the Fenders so It makes the Gibsons better than they are!
My Mate has done like 20 Tours across Europe with his Gibson 1981 Les Paul Deluxe & it has never had a busted Headstock.
It has taken a Hiding, been dropped numerous times & there is next to no finish left on the Body & none on the back of the Neck
It's had 3 complete Refrets & 5 partial refrets
Here is the reason why I believe the Headstock has never broken, 3 piece Maple neck you can physically see!!!
Gibson 1980 Les Paul Deluxe
Description & Specs.
It has taken a Hiding, been dropped numerous times & there is next to no finish left on the Body & none on the back of the Neck
It's had 3 complete Refrets & 5 partial refrets
Here is the reason why I believe the Headstock has never broken, 3 piece Maple neck you can physically see!!!
Gibson 1980 Les Paul Deluxe
Description & Specs.
| Finish Details: | Original |
|---|---|
| Fingerboard Radius: | 12.00" |
| Nut Width: | 1-5/8" |
| Scale Length: | 24 3/4" |
| Neck Details: | Set-in three piece maple neck with bound rosewood fretboard, trapezoid inlays, and headstock volute. The neck has been refretted and the nut replaced. |
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Here is Pictures & Michael talking about it.
I gifted him the Australian made Leather strap which I fitted the Concho's nearly 10 years ago:
Guitar Special Vol.71 mit Michael Vdelli (darkstars.de Webzine)
In dieser Artikel Serie geht es um das Handwerkzeugs beliebter Gitarristen. Welches sind ihre Lieblingsgitarren und wie ist ihr Bezug dazu. Diesmal mit Michael Vdelli. The guitar I have played the most of all is a 1980 Les Paul Deluxe. I bought it in 1991 from Ric Whittle’s Drumworkshop, (he...
darkstars.de
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MichaelW
Well-known member
Pickup day yesterday!
Spurred on by @Barry's suggestion, I decided to try some Mini-hums in this guitar. Before plunking down any "real money" for a set of premium pickups I decided to try from GFS's to see if I like it.
This is their Alnico set called their "Mini 59".
Jury's out on these. Not sure I like how they sound. They're pretty dark pickups. They don't specify what type of Alnico is in them. Not the "mini-hum" snarl I was expecting. Sigh, I guess I'm still searching for some pickups for this guitar. But they look cool
Spurred on by @Barry's suggestion, I decided to try some Mini-hums in this guitar. Before plunking down any "real money" for a set of premium pickups I decided to try from GFS's to see if I like it.
This is their Alnico set called their "Mini 59".
Jury's out on these. Not sure I like how they sound. They're pretty dark pickups. They don't specify what type of Alnico is in them. Not the "mini-hum" snarl I was expecting. Sigh, I guess I'm still searching for some pickups for this guitar. But they look cool
MichaelW
Well-known member
Ok so giving some thought this guitar and the pickups. My first inclination was to go start shopping for a different set of pickups.... .
But one of the problems I had installing these mini hums was that the way the wiring channel was cut left an very uneven surface to mount the wood screws to hold the adapter rings in place and also allow height adjustment. One side was deep down in the channel and I could barely catch any thread even with the long mounting screws. So as a result the pickups were really super low.
So before thinking about swapping pickups I came up with an idea of how to address the pickup height situation.
I cut a couple of pieces of paint stir stick and made a removable shim to screw the pickups to.
Now the pickup mounting screws and the springs have something to bite into and I have some adjustment.
The neck pickup is a tad higher than I usually prefer but it's the lowest I can make it go. The bridge pickup is perfect height.
And just like voila, they sound like COMPLETELY different pickups.
The neck is pretty PAF-ish and the bridge has that "70's Les Paul Deluxe" snarl I was looking for.
I wouldn't say these pickups knock my socks off but I'm pretty happy with how this guitar sounds now.
I'm still considering some different pickups. Maybe @music6000 's beloved Duncan SM3's....but for now I'm digging it!
I'll try to use this on my next pedal demo to show how it sounds.
.But one of the problems I had installing these mini hums was that the way the wiring channel was cut left an very uneven surface to mount the wood screws to hold the adapter rings in place and also allow height adjustment. One side was deep down in the channel and I could barely catch any thread even with the long mounting screws. So as a result the pickups were really super low.
So before thinking about swapping pickups I came up with an idea of how to address the pickup height situation.
I cut a couple of pieces of paint stir stick and made a removable shim to screw the pickups to.
Now the pickup mounting screws and the springs have something to bite into and I have some adjustment.
The neck pickup is a tad higher than I usually prefer but it's the lowest I can make it go. The bridge pickup is perfect height.
And just like voila, they sound like COMPLETELY different pickups.
The neck is pretty PAF-ish and the bridge has that "70's Les Paul Deluxe" snarl I was looking for.
I wouldn't say these pickups knock my socks off but I'm pretty happy with how this guitar sounds now.
I'm still considering some different pickups. Maybe @music6000 's beloved Duncan SM3's....but for now I'm digging it!
I'll try to use this on my next pedal demo to show how it sounds.
MichaelW
Well-known member
I can hear a difference but I'll admit that it might all be in my head
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
I think they're cool and that's reason enough. It sure doesn't hurt anything to put them in
SillyOctpuss
Well-known member
That's how I usually pick guitar tone caps as well. I'm sad enough to admit that anytime I order humbuckers I always ask for zebra bobbins even though they have covers on just because I think zebra bobbins are cool.
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
Absolutely nothing wrong with that
MichaelW
Well-known member
Ok change of plans.......heh.
I yanked out the GFS pickups and returned them. They weren't bad, they just were kinda "meh" sounding and uninspiring.
So I discovered yet another pickup winder that I never heard of before.
Planet Tone
They're wound in Colorado and seem to have a following. I heard a couple of Youtube vids of this set and was really impressed with how they sounded. I then did a double take on the prices. Very reasonable for a US hand wound pickup. I decided to give these a shot.
So there is a bit of a racket they have. Lead times are 30-45 days unless you pay an "expedited fee" in which it's 7-12 days.
I used my "first time buyers" 20% coupon towards the fee and got them in less than a week.
I popped them in last night and was floored at how good they sound. They look like mini hums but they SOUND like a great set of vintage Firebird pickups. There's a real cool single coil vibe to them.
So the installation was not without some new adventures in problem solving. I had purchased a set of AllParts P90-to-Mini hum adapter rings.
But they're designed to hang a pickup off instead of screwing directly into the wood. So I had to come up with some shim barrels.
The set I got is called the "Mean Mistreater". I opted for A2 for the neck and A5 for the bridge. Slightly hotter than vintage wind.
I wound up using the shaft of a mechanical pencil and cut some barrel shims with it. Worked like a charm. This guitar has got a lot of jury rigging in it!!
So despite its somewhat auspicious beginnings, the crazy amount of work I've put into this thing, it's become a LEGIT sounding and playing guitar and a different enough voice from my P90 Goldtop.
I'm pretty happy with having another sound in the arsenal and a guitar that plays to my rather picky specs. I may yet upgrade the bridge/tailpice to a Faber at some point.
Planet Tone pickups all like pretty interesting. I'll try to use this in a demo and give an idea of what it sounds like. I would not say it sounds like a 70's Deluxe Goldtop. More like a mashup between a Deluxe and Firebird.
I yanked out the GFS pickups and returned them. They weren't bad, they just were kinda "meh" sounding and uninspiring.
So I discovered yet another pickup winder that I never heard of before.
Planet Tone
They're wound in Colorado and seem to have a following. I heard a couple of Youtube vids of this set and was really impressed with how they sounded. I then did a double take on the prices. Very reasonable for a US hand wound pickup. I decided to give these a shot.
So there is a bit of a racket they have. Lead times are 30-45 days unless you pay an "expedited fee" in which it's 7-12 days.
I used my "first time buyers" 20% coupon towards the fee and got them in less than a week.
I popped them in last night and was floored at how good they sound. They look like mini hums but they SOUND like a great set of vintage Firebird pickups. There's a real cool single coil vibe to them.
So the installation was not without some new adventures in problem solving. I had purchased a set of AllParts P90-to-Mini hum adapter rings.
But they're designed to hang a pickup off instead of screwing directly into the wood. So I had to come up with some shim barrels.
The set I got is called the "Mean Mistreater". I opted for A2 for the neck and A5 for the bridge. Slightly hotter than vintage wind.
I wound up using the shaft of a mechanical pencil and cut some barrel shims with it. Worked like a charm. This guitar has got a lot of jury rigging in it!!
So despite its somewhat auspicious beginnings, the crazy amount of work I've put into this thing, it's become a LEGIT sounding and playing guitar and a different enough voice from my P90 Goldtop.
I'm pretty happy with having another sound in the arsenal and a guitar that plays to my rather picky specs. I may yet upgrade the bridge/tailpice to a Faber at some point.
Planet Tone pickups all like pretty interesting. I'll try to use this in a demo and give an idea of what it sounds like. I would not say it sounds like a 70's Deluxe Goldtop. More like a mashup between a Deluxe and Firebird.
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
Named after one of the best grand funk songs? How could they be bad
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Somehow I missed this when it was first posted, but yeah Chibson quality varies a ton because it isn't just one person doing it, so it's going to depend on the builder. My first two Chibsons were garbage, but my third (and probably final) is a keeper and has become my main guitar. I still swapped everything on it like you did, but fretwork on mine was surprisingly good and it played great out of the box.
