NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

[mojosman]

I finally finished my Les Paul project. I bought the stripped body from Stratosphere when they sent me a 20% off coupon. I said why not? The hardware is stock Gibson, and Grover locking tuners. The electronics is a Tone Man 50's style wiring harness with Bourns pots and PIO tone caps. I used David Allen P-51 Mustang pickups, which sound very nice. The last touch was I bought a truss rod cover from a guy in Germany that makes them from ebony and inlays mother of pearl. I gave her the name Goldie, which he inlaid in the truss rod cover. A little feature that probably nobody but me would really care about, but it makes her mine. I had my local luthier give it a proper setup with a set of nickel D'Adarrio 10's. It plays great and sounds incredible. I have a brown studio faded Les Paul with a Pearly Gates set and the 50's wiring harness, and I was able to play one after the other to compare. The D. Allens cover much of the same ground as the PG's but are definitely a bit ruder sounding both neck and bridge. Just a bit more chime and energy from them. Sort of a high octane PAF.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

Looks great!

Given everything you know, would you have done it again? (Or gone another path)

 

[mojosman]

Re: NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

Funny you ask, my buddy called me up before this all started. His eldest daughter is getting married and he told me he was selling off some gear that he wasn't using to help pay for her wedding. He was selling, among other things, two Les Pauls which he gave me first crack at. One of them was a guitar he knew I really love, and would want a Standard with a nice top. He was looking to get just under two thousand for it, and told me I could have it for sixteen hundred. This guitar checked off every box on my Les Paul wish list: 50's neck, non weight relieved body, Custom Shop Joe Bonamassa SD pickups (*not the newer model that duplicate his Flying Vee pickups, the older ones that replicated his 59 Les Paul, which I think are out of production now) that sounded really nice, and 50's style wiring harness as apposed to the PC board and chicklet tone caps. I knew he needed the money then, and I obviously couldn't make payments on it, because he had obligations to pay which is why he was selling it in the first place. Then it hit me, I could buy this body and take my time locating the bits and pieces I wanted to make a guitar that plays and performs just as well as the one he was selling. I got the body and neck for $550 shipped. Then I was able to look for deals and find used parts, and all totaled up I got it done for under a grand. The pickups were most costly part. It doesn't have the binding, and the flamey maple top; but if I blindfolded you and had you played both, I doubt you could tell one from the other. This came out really well. I like the metal nut, and I'm told if you give it a light lube when you change strings it will perform great. The guitar certainly has great sustain compared to the Studio I own. So yeah, I would do it again. It's like the old Burger King ad, "have it your way". Sometimes you can't find a guitar with everything you want, and you end up buying one that's close and either having to live with it, or make changes. This one is just what I wanted.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

Where do you get those adjustable zero fret nut that Gibson uses

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

Where do you get those adjustable zero fret nut that Gibson uses

Gibson will send you the Titanium nut itself but as for the housing it sits in you have to get a Gibson with one on it. They are cool but it's not something I'd recommend you going out of your way for...

The entire neck has to be slightly wider in order to accommodate it, even larger than a typical 50's baseball bat neck, so you can't just put one on any old Lester....

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

Floklckin flock flock


Oh well
Dang
Flock

 

[mojosman]

Re: NGD Les Paul 50's Tribute project

Where do you get those adjustable zero fret nut that Gibson uses

That was the one piece of hardware that wasn’t stripped off when I got it. It was there. I like it so far. No buzzing.