Help With '59LP build.

[vanhalen5150]

So yesterday at 8 am. Buffed out nitro. Dried very well after a week in low humidity. You can see I didnt do the old "nibs" as they call them, where the side binding goes up over the ends ofthe frets. I just brought the frets out to the edge like a standard neck. I never liked the feel of those plasticky speed bumps.

[vanhalen5150]

. BG pickups. Neck is 7.4K with a .015uf PIO cap.. Bridge is 11K with a .022uf PIO cap. I strayed from the plans a little here by bringing all the common wires in at the neck volume pot. The reason for this is what is considered a "flaw" in the LP design under the PU's. Whatever . The theory I've heard on this is if you see where the traditional route goes it passes directly under the bridge PU. Apparently some LP's with the old braid wire would touck the screw and then create a ground loop of some kind through your hand to to the bridge wire. Makes sense I guess depending....hand sweat, rings, cyborg prosthetics....

The small black wire that snakes through the top of the cavity is the ground from the bridge. I routed it straight to the jack.

[vanhalen5150]

.Another mod from standard was I shortened the distance from the nut to the headstock flair at the first tunning pegs. This gives a little more beef in that area with a truss rod. Another major flaw in the LP design. Guess they didnt think people would be throwing these things around.
A real '59, the truss rod cover doesnt touch the nut. I have the top of the truss cover where it should be, but you can see mine touches the nut.
I also offset the tuning pegs in a little bit of an arc. This keeps the 3 holes from forming a split down the head from the pull on the pegs.
Traditionalist may flame me for some of these changes. I'll just taunt them again with a second one...a heel truss rod and graphite rods in the headstock. Yeah, feel the burn.

[vanhalen5150]

Its a 8.5lb badass. I remember the maple top on this was really heavy. I think that one of the main reasons for LP weight differences. Still lots of little things to finish. It sounds pretty good already . Few wiring issues and nut/bridge things to smooth out. Ill get a clip up when everything is squared away.

The nut is unbleached moose leg bone btw. Neck is pretty straight. I decided on a straight 12" radius. Only had strings on since 3 am this morning. I didnt put nitro on the neck, just the grain filler with the stain mix from 10 months ago. Feels fantastic. More of a fat baseball bat feel. Sustain is epic! Wished I had used stainless steel frets now. Maybe Ill change them later or use on #0002.

I estimated my totall cost to be about $645.00.

[vanhalen5150]

Gheez, sorry for the grainy iphone pics. Wasnt really thinking about the photography. Pretty hazy when your see them on here. I think you have to click on the photo's to see without scrolling.

Big thank you to brian at BG pickups. I told him what I wanted and he made them custom. I think he charged me about $150 for the set. These are his take on the old PAF's with a little extra sauce. He wrote "Smoke B" and Smoke N" on the bottoms. I dont see that model on his site. Real wood spacers too!. His prices are killer! Great quality. Ordering another set soon. He builds to order so it may take a few weeks for him to finish a set. Great attention to wire detail underneath the tape from what I could see.

http://bg-pups.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=1&pg=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[julkke]

Holy crap.. Ever considered making a living building amps and guitars? If I was in Canada I'd be your customer.

That is flat out amazing guitar, congratulations!

[vanhalen5150]

Holy crap.. Ever considered making a living building amps and guitars? If I was in Canada I'd be your customer.

That is flat out amazing guitar, congratulations!

My normal dayjob is the reason I can afford to do this stuff. Just do a bit of reading of the build journals on the other forums. The info is all there if you look.

[stef]

Beautiful

[jimmyride]

Man, this is just incredible. Can't wait for the clips!!!

[somethin'else]

Hey Shannon, you should enjoy a nice glass of somethin' special and celebrate that baby! Stellar lookin!

Incidentally, did you ever come across Barnaby's LP build with handtools only? He's in Tokyo, and started his build right before the Tsunami, and kept right on building through the aftermath! Fascinating on many accounts!

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthier ... -only.html

[vanhalen5150]

Yeah, I saw that. It's pretty impressive. That very thread got me thinking I could build one myself. Like amps it's an addictive thing. There are not many days I don't have amp or guitar parts in the mailbox.

[rgorke]

It's absolutely gorgeous!!! However, I can look at it very long or that truss rod touching the nut just infuriates me.

And, before people start flaming me, that is a joke. Chill out!!!!

Well done, my friend. Now let's get on that Lynch bones guitar!!!!

[somethin'else]

Nice lookin' fret job too! Are them's 6150s? Or 6100 Jumbos?

[vanhalen5150]

Nice lookin' fret job too! Are them's 6150s? Or 6100 Jumbos?

6150. I didn't have a fret bender so took a piece of maple about 8" long/5" high and cut a 12" radius through the middle. The top part I attached to my drill press and the bottom I slotted the length of it to fit the bottom of the frets. I can just slot the fretwire on the bottom groove and then press down the top with the drill press and pull the entire length through a bit at a time. Pretty simple solution, but it worked pretty well.

[somethin'else]

crafty McGiver. I never cared for the nibs either, gotta' have full fret to the edge for those special times when ya can't help fallin' off the board!