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Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 2:44 pm
by Zork
I just leave this here:

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Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 2:55 pm
by Maggieo
Zork wrote:
Sun Dec 09, 2018 2:44 pm
I just leave this here:

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Wow, that's sweet. :-*

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:05 pm
by rumfoord
So I just got a marshall-ish head, and I figured I better play a Les Paul through it.

(dark and grainy pic though)
Image

This project is only about 97% done, but anyway:
I'd been talking with my (then) 5-year-old daughter about someday buying a guitar for her. I told her that not to worry. Since buying a guitar is one of my favorite things, it will be incredibly easy to talk me into searching for one with her. But until she learns to play on some of mine and on our ukulele, we will wait. But the idea was in the air.

So around last June we were killing time in a coffee shop and I was browsing Craigslist while she ate a too-expensive yogurt. I found a very recent post of some free stuff on the street, and she agreed to come along. I was kind of more interested at the time in a midi keyboard, but there was also this LP that I think is one of those kits you can get from ebay. It had a terrible paint black psuedo-relic paint job (over what I think might actually be kind of a nice spalted maple top). But my daughter picked it up and said, IT'S JUST MY SIZE!!! It's, of course, totally not. It's a regular Les Paul.

But I thought it could be a project to let her paint it. Maybe we'll refinish it together every 5 or 10 years. I also figured: I've never done any painting of guitar bodies. So if I were to try anything, it would look like a 5-year-old did it. So this is perfect!

We went to the the craft store for acrylic paint, glitter glue, and some adhesive jewels made of plastic. I put a few coats of clear acrylic out of a spray can over the top. In a few spots I used clear nail polish to seal the edge of the paint line around the binding and over some of the jewels and prickly glitter glue. We spread glitter glue over the pickups, and anywhere else that felt right.

Image

Image

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:53 pm
by jthomas
Hey Rumfoord... Thank you so much for your post. My youngest dtr is 21 now. That is the guitar that she would have designed when she was your dtr's age. Brings a tear of memory to my eye. They grow up wicked fast.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:59 am
by Maggieo
I just remembered why I don't need a Les Paul. This is better (and a more bitchin' Goldtop):

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Gretsch Sparkle Jet and Electrosonic Amplifier, January 24, 2013 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:23 am
by Shadoweclipse13
rumfoord wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:05 pm
I've got a sister that's 2 years younger than I, and that's the sort of thing she would've designed at that age too. I actually have a handmade birthday card or two from her that look very similar ;D Also, the short scale and (possibly) thinner gauge strings will be great for her to learn on too! And if she can handle the weight, it'll build muscle, and every other guitar will be like a feather to her. Are Les Paul's the perfect kid's guitars? ??? :o :ph34r:
Maggieo wrote:
Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:59 am
I just remembered why I don't need a Les Paul. This is better (and a more bitchin' Goldtop):

Image
Gretsch Sparkle Jet and Electrosonic Amplifier, January 24, 2013 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
Damn Maggie! That goldtop is incredible!!! I love that it's slightly more orange than gold :-* :-*

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:03 am
by Jaguar018
Those Gretsches don't sound anything like a Les Paul to my ears, so if it's just a sonic thing then that's an issue. HOWEVER, I am in 100% agreement that a sparkle-top Gretsch looks way cooler than a Les Paul. I have owned a green and silver version of that guitar. Better aesthetics for my tastes.

Alas, they never quite sounded right in the mix with my band so I have given up on them. It's like a food allergy-- I love them, but they don't agree with me.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:20 am
by Maggieo
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:23 am

Damn Maggie! That goldtop is incredible!!! I love that it's slightly more orange than gold :-* :-*
Thanks! The orange is probably from the reflection off the amp, though. It's pretty darn gold, though it's a much warmer version than Gibson's.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:57 pm
by HH1978
I haven’t encountered said dipshits yet, but I don’t doubt it for a minute. I bought this back before the internet was much of a thing. Now at least it’s possible to pull up other examples.
Top
No doubt at all, the Studio Standard and Studio Custom were made for a couple of years (1984-1985 if memory serves), with dot neck, single ply binding for the standard and 3-ply for the custom. However, I haven't seen a black one before, which doesn't mean there wasn't some. Usually, Studio Standard were Cherry burst and Studio Custom tobacco burst. They all had Shaw pickups by the way.

Speaking of Les Paul, that's were I started playing electric guitar, somewhere around 1992. I was a teenager and I was listening to the Black Crowes, along with bands from the 70's, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Free... Getting a Les Paul sounded like the natural thing to do. I was broke, so a Gibson was definetely out of reach, but I could find a great Korean copy second hand. I still have that guitar and still play it sometimes, even though I own 3 Gibson Les Paul (a '56 Junior, a '77 Standard and a '80 Custom), but that's probably because of nostalgia ;D

Later, I started to buy other guitars, and found I prefered single coils. So I stopped playing the Les Paul's for a couple of years. It just seemed easier to get a nice sound out of Fender guitars. I should mention none of my amps has a master volume, so I either have to play clean, or use pedals.
Relatively recently, I found a way to crank my amps without annoying the neighbors (yep, a load box + cab sim), and I rediscovered my Les Paul's. What I mean is that a Les Paul through a cranked tube amp (and using the guitar controls) is really a great sound. A Les Paul at low volume settings or through dirt pedals is not quite the same.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:07 pm
by Maggieo
Not exactly a Les Paul, but wow!

Jesus, just look at this magnificent beast:

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Greco Ejr-250 2012 Vintage White

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:54 pm
by wooderson
I've started to come around on the Tokai LP I picked up. I put it away because I didn't love the the pickups (slightly hot PAFs) with the way I normally play but it sounds pretty good straight in to a cranked amp. I think I might find some used Super Distortions and dedicate this to my secret dream of being in a Sunn O))) tribute band.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 6:56 am
by MT
I already own this 80’s Tokai, but I’m seriously GASing for another LP. Cream LP Custom maybe? Or a nice gold top.

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Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 7:00 am
by Larry Mal
I kind of view a Les Paul as like a hammer or something... not the appropriate tool for every use, but certainly something that should be in the toolbox.

Although the more time I spend with my Les Paul, the more I come to appreciate it. It's far more versatile than I used to think it was- frankly, the limiting factor with that guitar has always been myself.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 4:30 pm
by Maggieo
MT wrote:
Sun Feb 24, 2019 6:56 am
I already own this 80’s Tokai, but I’m seriously GASing for another LP. Cream LP Custom maybe? Or a nice gold top.

Image
Wow, that's nice.

Re: I Suddenly Think I Need A Les Paul. Talk Me Out Of It.

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:53 pm
by hansbrinker
rumfoord wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:05 pm
So I just got a marshall-ish head, and I figured I better play a Les Paul through it.

This project is only about 97% done, but anyway:
I'd been talking with my (then) 5-year-old daughter about someday buying a guitar for her. I told her that not to worry. Since buying a guitar is one of my favorite things, it will be incredibly easy to talk me into searching for one with her. But until she learns to play on some of mine and on our ukulele, we will wait. But the idea was in the air.

So around last June we were killing time in a coffee shop and I was browsing Craigslist while she ate a too-expensive yogurt. I found a very recent post of some free stuff on the street, and she agreed to come along. I was kind of more interested at the time in a midi keyboard, but there was also this LP that I think is one of those kits you can get from ebay. It had a terrible paint black psuedo-relic paint job (over what I think might actually be kind of a nice spalted maple top). But my daughter picked it up and said, IT'S JUST MY SIZE!!! It's, of course, totally not. It's a regular Les Paul.

But I thought it could be a project to let her paint it. Maybe we'll refinish it together every 5 or 10 years. I also figured: I've never done any painting of guitar bodies. So if I were to try anything, it would look like a 5-year-old did it. So this is perfect!

We went to the the craft store for acrylic paint, glitter glue, and some adhesive jewels made of plastic. I put a few coats of clear acrylic out of a spray can over the top. In a few spots I used clear nail polish to seal the edge of the paint line around the binding and over some of the jewels and prickly glitter glue. We spread glitter glue over the pickups, and anywhere else that felt right.

Image

Image
That's an adorable story. You're a great dad!