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Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

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  • Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

    I recently cleaned out my grandparent's property and pulled out multiple catalog/department store guitars (Harmony, Ventura, Guya Tone, etc.). This LP type has lost the brand name on the headstock, and I was wondering if anyone could give me the company name and year of it. Also, if anyone could tell me what to do about the gap in the neck joint I would appreciate it. Thank you. Click image for larger version

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    Last edited by JamesJames; 05-02-2019, 02:16 PM. Reason: Issue with photos attaching properly.

  • #2
    Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

    Try the Vintage Japanese Guitar Forum if you’re on Facebook
    My Bands -
    https://kamikazechoir.hearnow.com/
    www.instagram.com/kamikazechoir
    www.reverbnation.com/theheartlessdevils

    Just some fun guitar stuff from time to time
    GUITAR KULTURE

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    • #3
      Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

      Could be anything, really. They used to put whatever name on it that the customer wanted. Does remind me a bit of a Global... It's a plywood nightmare, for sure.
      aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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      • #4
        Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

        Put it in the ground & give it a proper burial.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

          Originally posted by JMP/HBE View Post
          Put it in the ground & give it a proper burial.
          Or maybe a viking funeral?

          On a more serious note, it's probably MIJ from the 70s or maybe the 80s and wasn't a great guitar to begin with. In that condition it'd cost far more than it's worth to get into anything resembling playable condition.
          Originally posted by crusty philtrum
          And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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          • #6
            Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

            Cant quite see, is that regular plywood parallel lines or just a pancake body on the side there?
            "New stuff always sucks" -Me

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            • #7
              Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

              The headstock made me think of a Univox LP style guitar a friend had way back when.
              “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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              • #8
                Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

                As far as the joint at the neck is concerned...nothing to do.
                Originally Posted by IanBallard
                Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

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                • #9
                  Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

                  That's a cool looking guitar...it has mojo! It just needs a good cleaning and a real good conditioning of the fretboard along with polishing the frets. As for the neck pocket try using a wood shim to fill in the gap.



                  ;>)/
                  sigpic Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess. - Oscar Wilde

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                  • #10
                    Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

                    Hmmm.... IS that actually Japanese, though?

                    Some things are shaped kinda oddly

                    If it's early days Korean, it's quite likely to be a dog...
                    "New stuff always sucks" -Me

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                    • #11
                      Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

                      Gibson had the Firebrand series, perhaps Montgomery Ward had the Firewood series.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

                        Originally posted by RorySquier View Post
                        That's a cool looking guitar...it has mojo!
                        What exactly IS "mojo"?

                        Originally posted by RorySquier View Post
                        It just needs a good cleaning and a real good conditioning of the fretboard along with polishing the frets
                        And just leave the fret marker cavities the way they are? That's real good for playability.

                        Originally posted by RorySquier View Post
                        As for the neck pocket try using a wood shim to fill in the gap.
                        What gap? At the side of the neck?! Why shim it? It won't do anything for tone or playability and it definitely won't improve the looks (in fact it will take away from the aesthetics).That doesn't need anything.

                        To the OP:
                        Tune it up and see how it plays and sounds before putting any time or money into it. Being old and beat up doesn't make it "good" or valuable. If it's a piece of crap, why bother with it? If you want to keep it for nostalgia reasons, that's certainly justifiable. But then you need to decide if it would keep its nostalgia if you did anything to it anyway.
                        Last edited by GuitarDoc; 05-04-2019, 04:43 AM.
                        Originally Posted by IanBallard
                        Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

                          Originally posted by RorySquier View Post
                          That's a cool looking guitar...it has mojo!
                          What exactly IS "mojo"?

                          Originally posted by RorySquier View Post
                          It just needs a good cleaning and a real good conditioning of the fretboard along with polishing the frets
                          And just leave the fret marker cavities the way they are? That's real good for playability.

                          Originally posted by RorySquier View Post
                          As for the neck pocket try using a wood shim to fill in the gap.
                          What gap? At the side of the neck?! Why shim it? It won't do anything for tone or playability and it definitely won't improve the looks (in fact it will take away from the aesthetics).That doesn't need anything.

                          To the OP:
                          String it and tune it up and see how it plays and sounds before putting any time or money into it. Being old and beat up doesn't make it "good" or valuable. If it's a piece of crap, why bother with it? If you want to keep it for nostalgia reasons, that's certainly justifiable. But then you need to decide if it would keep its nostalgia if you did anything to it anyway.
                          Originally Posted by IanBallard
                          Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

                          Comment

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