Custom Les Paul Design

[shredaholic]

I'm going to be building a run of 6 Les Pauls, so many simply because the wood worked out very cheap in bulk (the 4x4 neck timber and body/top all work out to roughly 3m lengths of timber). 2 are going to be for friends, and I'm just charging the basic cost of materials (wood/plastic/paint etc) to cover my costs for doing it, and one of those friends is a guy called Cameron. We've discussed what he wants his LP to look like, and I made a rough mockup:

What do you guys think? After seeing Fred Gabrsek's work, we both decided it would be really cool to ebonise the Madagascar Rosewood and write Cameron's name on as the inlay in Chinese symbols or a phrase instead in Chinese and maybe add some other graphic designs. The placement wouldn't be the same as on that mockup, we still haven't designed anything yet for it, but any writing would be in that style and font.

Anything else that might customise the guitar too, I'd like suggestions on that :bigok:

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

How long have you been making guitars for?

 

[shredaholic]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

How long have you been making guitars for?

About a year or two now I guess - I've stuck to making solidbody electrics, keeping it simple. Since I'm on a budget, I've been buying tools bit by bit and materials in bulk when needed to save cash, which means that I've been doing loads of projects but most are in various stages of completion.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

The inlays would look a lot nicer if they were about 1/10th the size they are in that photo . . . other than that it looks cool!

 

[sosomething]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

Why not let Frank be Frank and you be you?

It's a cool idea, but I might want to try to put my own mark on there, rather than going with what some other creative person has done.

 

[shredaholic]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

Why not let Frank be Frank and you be you?

It's a cool idea, but I might want to try to put my own mark on there, rather than going with what some other creative person has done.

I'm not really fussed to be honest, I just asked Cameron what he wanted as he was browsing through my guitar pics folder and he said that's pretty much the kind of thing. Obviously it's not going to be the same style as Frank's design, we haven't really settled on the exact design yet which includes other inlay graphics.

Besides discussing the fretboard and the colour scheme, what else could we do to personalise it?

 

[sosomething]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

Well... how set is he on the dual hum pickup scheme? Maybe a P-90 or minibucker in the neck could be cool.

 

[shredaholic]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

That's a good point - he may even like a 3 pickup combo like the old Les Paul Customs used to have; I'll suggest that to him tommorrow morning.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

dude - that is soooooo close to an LP I'm dreaming of! I was thinking a dragon up the neck as inlay, but your stuff is cool too!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

Ace, that I think that looks great with a blank board.

 

[emilio]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

ace, your guitar just made me nut in my pants. :eek2:

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

And that's the best I can do with the program....The one I see in my mind is way better....but not to hijack:

I'd put gold covers on. and, I'd make the inlays smaller - but just a bit. maybe 90%. I really dig the little dragon face.

And thanks dudes. The blanck neck is tatsy - clean. But I still want the dragon! Mine was inspired by a warmoth body that I was minutes away from buying and then it was gone!

 

[emilio]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

awww, thst sucks man.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

If you do a LP, you MUST do what Gibson should have done since the beginning.
IMO, the LP, Strat, Tele, and McCarty are the most perfectly designed electric guitars ever made. The LP is nearly perfect, but there's one thing they should have done since the beginning.....2 pullup tone pots that split the pickups!!!

I wouldn't change anything about the overall design except for that one aspect. Gibson missed the boat by not making the LP with pullup tonepots.
The whole guitar opens up, and becomes WAY more useable once it has that wiring.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

If you do a LP, you MUST do what Gibson should have done since the beginning.
IMO, the LP, Strat, Tele, and McCarty are the most perfectly designed electric guitars ever made. The LP is nearly perfect, but there's one thing they should have done since the beginning.....2 pullup tone pots that split the pickups!!!

I wouldn't change anything about the overall design except for that one aspect. Gibson missed the boat by not making the LP with pullup tonepots.
The whole guitar opens up, and becomes WAY more useable once it has that wiring.

Pull up? Nah! Make em PUSH up! Push-push, baby, all the way!

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

Kisekae: helping blind people design guitars since 2004

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

I think the inlay is ugly, to be blunt. Too busy. And unless Cameron is Chinese...

I wouldn't go crazy trying to make it look like a custom job. That said, consider getting a baby grand bridge from hipshot. You just need to drill the body for a wraparound bridge instead of the normal bridge and stopbar.


hipshot

 

[sosomething]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

One more thing

TUMMY CONTOUR

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

And I forgot to do this: Not Speed knobs - just plain gold.

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: Custom Les Paul Design

And I forgot to do this: Not Speed knobs - just plain gold.

Better yet, have only one pickup and no tone or volume pots.