I have found a 20 plus year old Les Paul Copy in my closet. I forgot it was even in there until recently. It was a friend's from a long time ago. He doesn't want it so I have decided to turn it into a project for me to learn on.
The first thing I did is strip it down. It is a bolt on neck so I removed that. Removed the bridge and saddle (what was left of them anyway) I then removed the last pick up that was still left in her. (This thing is routed for 3 pick ups instead of 2 like a standard Les Paul. Can anyone tell me the reasoning behind this?) I then removed the input jack, and the 3 remaining pots and all wires from her. The connectiones were not even soldered. Just wrapped in hopes that they would not shake loose. The screws that were used to bolt the neck on were ones you would use for carpentry
They were too long so whoever had the guitar before my buddy just sheared of the points by about a 1/4 and rammed the screws back in. (The neck was not stable) So here are my thoughts. I can either keep the original sunburst finish. It's actually not in too bad a shape. A few dings and nicks here and there. Kinda what you would expect from a guitar that is 20 plus years old. There is a chip missing about the size of a dime right behind the bridge attatchment point. So I would like to know how to repair that chip. It is down to the original wood. (It almost looks like it is a veneer top and that the top layer of the vaneer had been dinged and then peeled off) I'll try to post pics later.
Or I can just refinish her and start from scrach.
Her next problem is that she is routed for 3 pups. I can either install 3 new pups (the easiest solution) or I can find a way to cover and fill the middle pup position. If I choose to go that route can someone advise me on the best way to do it. Also - which option would you coose to go with the middle pup area?
Next is down inside the pup cavities there is a crack that runs through the top 2 and most of the 3rd pup cavity. So I would need to repair this.
I will need to retrue the neck. Fill and redrill the holes for the screws. (what is the best option for doing this?)
Then I would need to add the new pups and rewire the entire thing. New switch and input jack. Basically replace all the electrical.
Can anyone here give me some ideas on how to approach this repair job. And before someone mentiones it, I don't want to scrap her because I want to use her as a project to learn and to practice on.
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!
Well in the end he ended up with the most expensive $59.00 guitar i ever seen. What did it sound like? It still sounded like a $59.00 piece of crap that it was. Take the money your gonna spend and maybe buy a kit guitar. In the end you end up with a decent playable guitar without all the headaches this thing will bring you.
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