I'm back... 56 Les Paul Custom

[JSett]

Looking really sick! Is the bridge on backwards? Careful with the intonation screw dropping out too!

I love how rough and ready this thing looks

Bridge is the right way around - those damn saddles pop out anytime the strings are slacked off. I noticed after the photo was taken.

And yeah, it's worn very nicely. Why pay 12k for a Murphy Lab when you can buy an OG for 3k?

[GilmourD]

The correct pickup is weaker than the 68/69 one. I actually probably prefer the later one as it's a bit more ballsy but this one still sounds great. I might keep it in case I ever get another P90 guitar that would benefit from it as it's a fantastic pickup.

Is there any way to move the whole pickup higher and sink the poles a little lower into it?

yeah, just more foam I guess. Doesn't make any real difference apart from aesthetic

*Edit: you made me go back and check the pickup setup and it was a bit too low. I dug out some foam and bumped it up a little. The pickup covers on these are pretty short so there was a limit to how big the whole unit could go. Poles still had to wind out a bit extra though. Sounds much fuller now (no surprise)

Awesome. Does it bump up the output and tone enough for you to be happy with it, now, or still thinking of replacing it?

My whole thought process was to move the whole coil further into the middle of the magnetic field for more interaction over a broader area of the field disturbance.

[JSett]

Awesome. Does it bump up the output and tone enough for you to be happy with it, now, or still thinking of replacing it?

My whole thought process was to move the whole coil further into the middle of the magnetic field for more interaction over a broader area of the field disturbance.

I'll be able to tell better tomorrow as I can't play at volume here right now. It definitely bumps up the output being closer, and the bass response. This is expected though with any pickup... I just hadn't noticed the extra few millimeters after the swap. It was about 4mm or 5mm from pole to string and now it's about 2mm. Much better.

I don't think I'll be swapping it back...I actually kinda want this to be stock considering it's status as a heritage instrument - almost like being respectful to it. I still want to put a sticker or two on but can't decide which or if any should go on. Also, I finally give a slight fuck about keeping it 'nice' I guess.

I've never shied away from doing it in vintage guitars before but this one does feel different for some reason.

[øøøøøøø]

FWIW, I enjoyed having my vintage instruments and will always be happy that I had the experience to own and play them. That said, I was never comfortable with the idea of taking them outside of the home to play out.

Something that I concluded long ago:

Reissues and relics have become so common (and so convincing, especially from a few feet away) that nobody will assume your cool old guitar is real and valuable unless you brag about it.

If you see a band onstage anywhere in a venue <10,000 cap with what looks like a pre-CBS Fender or pre-Norlin Gibson, the odds that it's actually what it appears to be are probably less than 1%

Anyone who knows enough about valuable guitars to target for theft also knows this, so it's a trivial matter to "hide in plain sight." If someone wants to pull off a vintage guitar heist, working musicians and people in bands will not be their target, and they know this.

Obviously you still want to guard against dumb petty theft (i.e. keep your gear in a secured area of the venue or on your person), but that's good advice for anything more valuable than a few hundred units of local currency.

[JSett]

Something that I concluded long ago:

Reissues and relics have become so common (and so convincing, especially from a few feet away) that nobody will assume your cool old guitar is real and valuable unless you brag about it.

If you see a band onstage anywhere in a venue <10,000 cap with what looks like a pre-CBS Fender or pre-Norlin Gibson, the odds that it's actually what it appears to be are probably less than 1%

Anyone who knows enough about valuable guitars to target for theft also knows this, so it's a trivial matter to "hide in plain sight." If someone wants to pull off a vintage guitar heist, working musicians and people in bands will not be their target, and they know this.

Obviously you still want to guard against dumb petty theft (i.e. keep your gear in a secured area of the venue or on your person), but that's good advice for anything more valuable than a few hundred units of local currency.

Some very valid points here. I get that. I wouldn't see one of these onstage at a small punk show and even think it might be a 50s-70s one. Maybe an 80s as there's older punk heads that love them. It's almost exclusively Fenders onstage these days with anyone under 40.

Still not sure if be comfortable taking it out though. Just the risk of me breaking it is pretty high with moving around small bar stages etc. I'm fine with it being a home thing for now.

[fuzzjunkie]

Looking really sick! Is the bridge on backwards? Careful with the intonation screw dropping out too!

I love how rough and ready this thing looks

Bridge is the right way around - those damn saddles pop out anytime the strings are slacked off. I noticed after the photo was taken.

And yeah, it's worn very nicely. Why pay 12k for a Murphy Lab when you can buy an OG for 3k?

I’ve never looked closely at a Gibson that old, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a thin retaining wire to hold the saddles down when changing strings?

I have a ‘76 Explorer and that little wire broke and the saddles would pop out whenever I changed a string. I clipped a section of high E string and bent it with a pair of pliers to fit. The ‘70s bridge has 2 tiny holes on either end to hold it in. Then you just bend it to run over the top of the saddle screw. I probably used a 10 gauge.

Of course that might have been an improvement added between 1956 and 1976!

[JSett]

Yeah, the retaining wire was a later addition to their bridges. It's not really an issue until one drops unexpectedly. Imagine breaking a strong onstage and the saddle just disappearing into the stage abyss (the same one that swallows picks)!

[Futuron]

Everyone knows that dropped picks all fall into the sound-hole of the nearest acoustic guitar... even bouncing off the floor to get in there.

I've seen it.

[F15hface]

Still not sure if be comfortable taking it out though. Just the risk of me breaking it is pretty high with moving around small bar stages etc. I'm fine with it being a home thing for now.

Everyone says a headstock repair makes them stronger and better sounding

[sal paradise]

Still not sure if be comfortable taking it out though. Just the risk of me breaking it is pretty high with moving around small bar stages etc. I'm fine with it being a home thing for now.

Everyone says a headstock repair makes them stronger and better sounding

It’s interesting that anyone who states said opinion also happens to be selling a headstock repaired Gibson…

[F15hface]

Still not sure if be comfortable taking it out though. Just the risk of me breaking it is pretty high with moving around small bar stages etc. I'm fine with it being a home thing for now.

Everyone says a headstock repair makes them stronger and better sounding

It’s interesting that anyone who states said opinion also happens to be selling a headstock repaired Gibson…

Are you suggesting that people would be so unscrupulous as to lie on the internet for personal gain? Outrageous!

[GilmourD]

Still not sure if be comfortable taking it out though. Just the risk of me breaking it is pretty high with moving around small bar stages etc. I'm fine with it being a home thing for now.

Everyone says a headstock repair makes them stronger and better sounding

It’s interesting that anyone who states said opinion also happens to be selling a headstock repaired Gibson…

I have to say that I agree with said opinion but I've never owned nor been involved in the sale of any Gibson, broken headstock or not. I have, however, played and worked on guitars with broken headstocks and... Well, there's good repairs and... Well, I think the rest is obvious.

[GilmourD]

Are you suggesting that people would be so unscrupulous as to lie on the internet for personal gain? Outrageous!

I'm currently looking for a new car since my current (previous?) car was declared totaled yesterday... In looking I'm filtering my search to specific features and discovering that listings that make it through my filter don't actually have those features... And it's quite annoying. My wife basically said what you said.

[thisisnickpaige]

I'm filtering my search to specific features and discovering that listings that make it through my filter don't actually have those features...

You mean like when you’re search for a vintage guitar by year, and numerous ‘1972’ American Vintage II‘s come up in the search results? Yeaaah, not a fan of that.

[F15hface]

I'm filtering my search to specific features and discovering that listings that make it through my filter don't actually have those features...

You mean like when you’re search for a vintage guitar by year, and numerous ‘1972’ American Vintage II‘s come up in the search results? Yeaaah, not a fan of that.

This is the worst. Even selecting the decade on reverb still lets these reissues through.