Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

[JamesJames]

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.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

Try the Vintage Japanese Guitar Forum if you’re on Facebook

 

[Chris Pile]

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.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

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

 

[dystrust]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

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.

 

[Adieu]

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?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

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.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

As far as the joint at the neck is concerned...nothing to do.

 

[RorySquier]

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.



;>)/

 

[Adieu]

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...

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

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

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

That's a cool looking guitar...it has mojo!

What exactly IS "mojo"?

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.

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.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Need Help Identifying Department Store Les Paul

That's a cool looking guitar...it has mojo!

What exactly IS "mojo"?

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.

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.