VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

brentrocks

brentrocks

New member
I wasn't gonna go look at this guitar, let alone buy it....especially when I saw the Kahler, but I figured it would be a nice drive.

A 1971 Les Paul Custom.

This guitar was taken to the repair shop that I bought it from for a headstock crack repair, a refret and to remove a piece of leather that was glued on the back of the body.

BACKSTORY...the original owner took this guitar to Gibson in Kalamazoo, before they went to Nashville...so before 1984...and had the Kahler installed at the factory. It has all original electronics...Patent Sticker pickups, 1971 pots and original toggle.

So this guy takes it to the shop for the repair and restoration work. The work is completed and he did an AWESOME JOB...he calls the owner to come pick it up. The owner doesn't pay the bill, he abandons the guitar completely!!!! So the shop owner is stuck with it and no pay for the repairs. He listed it for sale locally...I saw the ad and I decided to go give it a whirl.

I had never been to this shop before. He does repairs, setups, refinishes, custom builds, etc. A super cool dude. His workmanship is incredible! The work he did on this 71 LPC is incredible! The repairs he did on the headstock and the back of the body are nearly invisible....and he reliced the areas to match the checking to the original finish on the rest of the guitar!

The fretwork is great...he refretted it with jumbo wire and it feels great! It sets up really nice!!! It weighs 10.5 lbs. The neck is a medium C...probably about .850 at the first.

The Kahler is unfortunate, but cool at the same time....being properly setup, it performs very well and is not a tone sucker. The patent sticker PAFs sound KILLER!!!!!

I'm glad I made the trip....I took home a wonderful Les Paul!!!



IMG_2066 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2064 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2061 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2040 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2036 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

71204026_10217481354178438_415111604225441792_n by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2042 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2044 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2048 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2049 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

IMG_2067 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

I saw a white one in the early 80's just like that @ my local shop. If you would have told me back then i could have that LPC if i cut off my right arm you'd be looking at a one arm man now. I do have a LPC now but no Kahler nor would i want one.
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

Is there documentation of the factory Kahler installation?

If it was actually done by Gibson, it must have been on a Friday late afternoon.
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

While you had the strings off, why didn't you pull the Kahler and take pix of the routing?
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

Reminds me of some of the Les Paul Customs that Robert Fripp would play.
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

If i ever did have a Paul w/a trem i would want this one over a FR.
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

Cool guitar, looks like a good find. A couple of questions, is the Kahler reversible? Do you think the screws in the headstock for the locking system are the reason for the headstock break?
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

d1dsj said:
Cool guitar, looks like a good find. A couple of questions, is the Kahler reversible? Do you think the screws in the headstock for the locking system are the reason for the headstock break?
Click to expand...
Reversable like in pull up ? Most Kahlers are on a one way spring loaded cam. And tons of Gibson'd break the headstock with no trem.
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

JMP/HBE said:
Reversable like in pull up ? Most Kahlers are on a one way spring loaded cam. And tons of Gibson'd break the headstock with no trem.
Click to expand...

Sorry, no I meant can it be changed back to a stop tail and abr bridge? And ref the headstock break, I know it’s a weak point but you’d think that Gibson themselves would have questioned fitting a locking device into such a vulnerable weak spot?
 
Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

JB_From_Hell said:
Is it crooked, or is that the angle of the photo?
Click to expand...

It's very crooked.

Sometimes they were a bit crooked, even when they came stock with Kahlers in the '80s. But this is the most extreme example I've seen a picture of. Possibly because of being retrofitted to a guitar from a pre-Kahler era, which might have had a sharper bridge angle.

Also, is that a fingerprint in the refinished volute area (that part with the checking that doesn't match the checking on the rest of the guitar)?
 
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Re: VINTAGE LPC.....WITH A COOL STORY

d1dsj said:
Sorry, no I meant can it be changed back to a stop tail and abr bridge? And ref the headstock break, I know it’s a weak point but you’d think that Gibson themselves would have questioned fitting a locking device into such a vulnerable weak spot?
Click to expand...
That type of Kahler had to be routed, not a flush mount.

The trem does look off center to me and thats not good IMO as far as resale.

10lb LPC with broken neck & crooked trem, hope the OP didn't pay alot.
But really if it plays well nobody would notice except people on guitar forums lol.

I could learn to love it.
 
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