Refinished Epiphone LP Custom

I've had my Epi Les Paul Custom for a few years, and I was starting to fall out of love with it.  I just couldn't get through that thick layer of poly to feel the wood vibrating.  So I took the poly off.  (Most of it, anyway.)  The result is kind of ghetto, since I'm short on skills and know-how and even shorter on patience.  Say goodbye to poly, say goodbye to resale value, hello to uniqueness.

Here's before: The back, sides, neck, and headstock used to be all gloss black.



And here's after:

Thanks!  It was yellow underneath.  There was a layer of tint and poly that made the burst effect from black at the edges to the mellow gold at the center.

I've got to say, I like it better this way.  With all the stuff off the back, it's lighter, more resonant, and the neck feels better.

I might just take Stew-Mac up on that.  Right now, all that's on it is MinWax Red Mahogany stain and a few layers of fretboard finishing oil.  The top, though, still has poly, and the headstock face hasn't been touched.

If they're players, they've got to be players, no? 

Which Duncan did you put in?

Good call on the Moosehead.

I can't recall exactly but I think it was the SH14 or SH5?  The local guitar dude (technical description of his position) recommended it for that particular guitar.  I was immediately pleased with it (much more output than the stock pickup).  I've since picked up two more guitars that I play all the time so the Kramer is case ridden for now. 

bdickens


Doesn't look too ghetto to me. Maybe the pics don't do it justice?

Well, it didn't exactly zoom in on the sides of the bindings, where the sanding can be uneven and I slopped some stain on it here and there.  I'm waiting for the finishing oil to dry completely, then I'll tape off the wood and sand/scrape the bindings clean again, them smooth them out where they need it. 

For right now, though, I'm just glad to have it up and playing again. 

That looks like a ton of hard work.

I always get one of my people to do my more tedious D.I.Y. tasks. 

I still get the satisfaction of it being my idea and the having end product and they get the pleasure of choking up gobs of polyurethane dust.

I'm really enjoying this thing.  It looks cool, and it sounds the way it looks.  It's more open, brighter, woodier, more vibrant.  It can scream, purr, lilt, growl, chunk, roar, twang, etc. 

It reminds my of the USA Les Pauls that I've played.  It's not all there, of course, but it's just about as close as I can take it.  The only things left would be the capacitors, the hardware, and the finish on the top.  I love the top enough that I won't touch it unless I find the tone  to be lacking, which I'm not.  The capacitors are a fairly easy change, but I don't think there's anything wrong with what I've got in there.  The bridge is going to be a TonePros soon.  That should do it.

Jessie. It looks nicer this way.

Jessie Sammler


I'm really enjoying this thing.  It looks cool, and it sounds the way it looks.  It's more open, brighter, woodier, more vibrant.  It can scream, purr, lilt, growl, chunk, roar, twang, etc. 

It reminds my of the USA Les Pauls that I've played.  It's not all there, of course, but it's just about as close as I can take it.  The only things left would be the capacitors, the hardware, and the finish on the top.  I love the top enough that I won't touch it unless I find the tone  to be lacking, which I'm not.  The capacitors are a fairly easy change, but I don't think there's anything wrong with what I've got in there.  The bridge is going to be a TonePros soon.  That should do it.

Jessie it looks very cool. Of course the enjoyment and sounds are more important IMO.
The binding looks good so you avoided a major mistake many make IF you used a chemical stripper.
Just curious about the nut..I may have missed mention of...is it bone? I'd think Epiphone used plastic but  I don't know.
 
 

Wow, that's really good work. What's ghetto about it?
I think it looks killer.
I use to have a Les Paul studio, it had a yellow/gold burst just like that. Your guitar reminds me of it. Damn, I miss that guitar. Don't know why I sold it.

I think you have got more patience than you give yourself credit for, it looks great, and at the end of the day if it sounds better then that is what you need, not re-sale value!

I think Bats suggestion is a good one.

Epi LP's are highly underrated (although some are not cheap anymore).

I've wanted to get the black out of my Jackson KE2's neck for years now and have it natural tung oiled but would not have the courage to do it myself.

I had a 2001 LP plus that had black back sides and neck (not poly - I don't know how Gibson does their black finish) and I hated it. I think that you have nicer binding on your neck than a Gibson (I actually don't like the binding on Les Paul necks - I prefer that they have none).

You can look forward to the day, after you have had your first few mega hits, when Gibson will approach you asking if they can do the Jessie Sammler signature Paul.

I don't know, I think Gibson are just as hit and miss as Epiphone and a decent Epiphone can be worked on to play and sound as good as a Gibson. A lot of famous artists have used Epi to record their first albums with (and even after) what the signal goes through next has a huge amount to do with the sound anyways. Spend the extra on a decent half stack (there is NO substitute for a 4x12, IMHO no amount of modeling in the world can reproduce that sound 'cos it's as much a feel as a sound)

Many people don't know that many of Slash's guitars that say Gibson on them are actually made by a ghost builder for him. The one he used for recording the Appetite for Destruction album was not made by Gibson either, along with many of his 'Gibson looking' vintage replicas (59's etc.) In fact a lot of famous artists use ghost builders because they are not satisfied with stock quality.

It's kinda ironic that Gibson was about to go out of business and Slash saved them with a replica.

I did like the Garry Moore signature, I should have got one, they were a bargain. Can't find one for love nor money now (if you can they're probably 2K+) I like the DC Pro (another bargain) with it's chrome hardware and no binding on the neck but sadly they stopped production.




 

i've played some crap gibsons.

i've played some crap epi's.

same for good......

Now that I've had this thing strung up and playable for a few days, I've gotta say...

Fat Albert on a pogo stick, it's awesome.  It's what I always thought a Les Paul should sound like.  It now makes most of my other guitars sound like lifeless pieces of crap by comparison.  And isn't that what we guitarists want, anyway -- to own over a dozen pieces of crap that we no longer want to play?