Good Moaning. Les Paul Guitar Anyone?

Keith

Moderator
I just bought this on a whim. I know little about guitars and less about Les Pauls. All I am sure about is that it was a certain Mr Fender that 'invented' the first solid bodied guitar in the '40's NOT Les. How do I know this? Jim Craic Googled for me. (I think I may have hallucinated about that last bit)

Right. No name, no number, no nothing. No "Moustache" headstock or Gibson style truss rod cover.

Seems to be 50 years old at least, which, although that takes it into the era of the 'original' Japanese copies, is not a 'Law Suit' model or anything like it. In fact, it's the most UNcopy like copy ever from that era. I don't know if it even looks like a Les Paul in anything other than a passing resemblance and I've looked at thousands of headstock designs and I could find nothing like this one.

I've not had time to plug it in yet but right off the bat it's got a very straight neck and a very low action which seems consistent. (First and sixth strings 2.5mm at 12th fret). I wouldn't even guess the ages of the strings, but I think Kennedy may have plucked these buggers.

Take a look at that case - even I know that's a genuine '60's example of faux leathery look and it's in very good nick. I would say that this case and this guitar have always been together. And the case, has that smell, you know? Like 600 or so months of boiling cabbage and untipped fags.

Lastly, one of the original pick-ups has been replaced with a Di'Marzio which is a common 'mod' on Les Paul style guitars I am told.

I will take it apart and have a look at the wiring and pots which may help further, but in the meantime, anyone out there have a clue? I was thinking perhaps that someone had built this up from a pile of scraps but who knows?

Cheers! I'm not bothered if it's worth anything or nothing. I bought it to play with and so far I'm very chuffed with it.












 
Last edited:
Sorry Keith, er Jesus. It has too many strings for me, so outside my area of expertise :) Looks nice though.
 

Chris Kouba

Supporter
I bought it to play with and so far I'm very chuffed with it.

I'm not sure I can help you identify the manufacturer or its vintage but I do have a love of six strings, of which the Les Paul is my preferred.

What you've said above is what really matters. I have a wide variety of guitars, some I paid very little for while others I paid market value, and some of my cheap guitars sound just about as good as my expensive ones. Wood is an imperfect medium and you can have a cheap instrument which just gets built into something which resonates very well. Call it luck of the draw.

The key is to find something which feels good in your hands and sounds good in your ears. If it's an example from an unknown manufacturer of random vintage, potentially with aftermarket pickups, who cares?

Sorry I can't help with the quest but I'll share one of my finds- I picked up an actual Gibson LP Studio off craigslist for $300 (black, gold hardware; recent vintage but I forget exactly what year). Yeah, it's beat to crap and I didn't know if the pickups worked when I bought it (the selector switch needed cleaning- took all of 2 minutes), but it's now a great player. I swapped a Bigsby onto it and it is genuinely one of my go-to guitars, perfect for gigging.

Turn it to 11 and GO!!!

Chris
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
But does it play well?

My current go-to guitar for gigs is a sixties LP black beauty custom; one Alnico V and one P90. These are noisier than the models with humbuckers but has wonderful bite and singing sustain. I love it.

Who cares who made it as long as it sings for you.

Now- what amp do you use?
 

Keith

Moderator
But does it play well?

My current go-to guitar for gigs is a sixties LP black beauty custom; one Alnico V and one P90. These are noisier than the models with humbuckers but has wonderful bite and singing sustain. I love it.

Who cares who made it as long as it sings for you.

Now- what amp do you use?


Hi Jim buddy , I don't play guitar. I am a keyboard man, but I want to learn guitar before i get any more thumbs than I do now.

You see? - you've jargonised me already and I have no idea what you're on about. Sounds wonderful though - I've been know to risk an entire marriage for a good bite. :)

Amp? Hughes & Kettner (Blue) Edition 80 watts 1 x 12" (probably Celestion) Not a biggie but I do have a 10,000 watt PA!
 

Jeff Young

GT40s Supporter
Looks like an Ibanez or Yamaha copy to me and well done. The sixties and seventies copies are very high quality. As good as what Gibson made int the seventies.

My collection : 87 Les Paul custom, 76 Firebird, 03 Firebird VII, an SG of unknown vintage and with P90s, an 84 Contemporary Fender Strat, a late 90s American Standard Strat
 

Keith

Moderator
Well that's interesting. As far as I know the Ibanez brand were the ones that came up against Gibson for copyright infringement when they started importing them from japan and selling in the USA. I also understand that these so called "Copyright" models are highly valued for the reasons you gave - i.e. as good if not better than the originals. (Bit ironic now when you think about it - we said the same about their damned motorcycles and look what happened to our industry!!)

I've not seen Yamaha copies (I think they make damn find instruments of their own anyway) but I have sent the Ibanez vintage, and it seems to me that they all have these trademark infringing "Gibson mustache" head stock patterns, and my example has a headstock design I can't even find in a head stock library of thousands! Never mind - I quite like to be different.

You have some nice guitars Jeff and to me I feel the same about classic instruments as I do about cars and boats - they are just nice to own and look at even if you don't (or can't in my case) use them.

I fear WE will never see the like of them again, but i suspect new generations will always find something to revere from their past.
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
The Ibanez guitars were made in Japan when Gibson cared more about suing other makers than they did about building quality instruments themselves. Fender, who are a lot smarter, just began building guitars in Japan under their own name, and I have played some Japanese Strats and Teles which are amazingly good axes.

Gibson is a great old name but has intermittently been run by litigious assholes (how astonishing in America!) including suing my friend Paul Smith for guitars he made that they thought were too much like LPs (Gibson finally lost). If Gibson spent their time building guitars instead of suing everyone else, they would be the leaders they imagine themselves to be.

Hard to define bite. I think what I mean is that the pickups cause the amp to distort a bit- they put out a lot of voltage that slightly overloads the amp's input stage. The effect is definitely variable depending on how hard I hit the strings and how many at once. As I get older and with more arthritis in my fingers, I like to let the amp do more of the work. I was never much of an acoustic guitar player anyway; now I leave them alone altogether. Sustain you know already......

My godson plays keyboards. He has one of my old B3s, plus a Fender-Rhodes 73 I found for him last year as a Christmas present. And the usual digital stuff, which is far more portable but doesn't sound like the real thing....
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
And btw there IS a British motorcycle industry. I have one of their products, an '04 Triumph, and love it. So good that I sold all my vintage bikes, British, Japanese, and German.

Although I would love to have a T160 Triumph, just to look at..........
 

Keith

Moderator
And btw there IS a British motorcycle industry. I have one of their products, an '04 Triumph, and love it. So good that I sold all my vintage bikes, British, Japanese, and German.

Although I would love to have a T160 Triumph, just to look at..........

You're having a laugh - Men in Leicester Sheds Jim - men in sheds mate.. :laugh:

Hardly the billion £ world leader from the 1930's eh?

All because (me included) laughed at the Jap imports.

Self Starter? Do what? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha :laugh:
 
Hi Keith

Billy Gibbons from ZZ TOP. Recorded all of his albums on a Les Paul

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvBJLZPB7M8"]ZZ Top with Carmen Electra - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5MteZqXl20"]ZZ Top - Crossroads Guitar Festival.- - YouTube[/ame]
 

JimmyMac

Lifetime Supporter
Keith,
I love my lesters and have three Gibson re-issues and seven '59 replicas in my workshop right now (Flame maple is my favourite timber)
Here are some pictures of my latest Gibson squeezes and my woodwork hobby.
Also have a pair of 50s Fender blackguard telecaster and strat, an early PRS, a Gibson SG and two Steinbergers to name a few.
If you need some bits to upgrade your axe just let me know.
 

Attachments

  • 59 LP.jpg
    59 LP.jpg
    269.4 KB · Views: 245
  • 59 LP 1.jpg
    59 LP 1.jpg
    219.1 KB · Views: 227
  • 1998 R8.jpg
    1998 R8.jpg
    315.8 KB · Views: 277
  • PRS 1.jpg
    PRS 1.jpg
    271.8 KB · Views: 221
  • R8 & R9 2012.jpg
    R8 & R9 2012.jpg
    349.2 KB · Views: 241
  • SG.jpg
    SG.jpg
    478.8 KB · Views: 303
  • Flame Maple Tops.jpg
    Flame Maple Tops.jpg
    323.4 KB · Views: 225

Keith

Moderator
Jesus H Christ Mc Jimmy! Stop doing that!

Yes definitely interested once I know what I got. Like I say, I need to have it evaluated to see what's what. I have no experience in these things and we are surrounded by charlatan guitar shops unless you know of someone in Southampton you could point me to.

You've never seen anything, like that head stock design? Or truss rod cover (that looks a little crude to me) Does that look a little "Guild" to you? I don't know what a "Guild" headstock looks like - I just had a brainwave mate.. :)

If it plays all right, the pick-ups are cool and the neck is straight - I shall leave as is and get my sausages on the frets.

If not, I will beat a path to your door and immediately pardon all of Scotland.

Thank you for posting my friend.. :)

Any string suggestions for sensitive & virgin little sausages?
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
Paul Smith is a local fellow. I have one of his guitars, made for me in appreciation of a favor I did for him years ago. As a matter of fact, at the time the PRS manager of sales was one Doug Chandler, a principal in Chandler Guitars. They might still be in business in the UK.

So you're left-handed, Jimmy? :)
 

JimmyMac

Lifetime Supporter
Jim,
Yes mate a left hooker and it's always a major handicap if one is looking for good guitars. So most of my guitars are hand made which I have done since I was about seventeen. These days a few good lefty Gibson Custom Shop reissues come by and I get lucky.
My PRS is an exception as it was right handed since Paul did not make any lefties that I know of in the early nineties. I talked myself into it as it was gorgeous, then I made the L/H body for it that you see above. It's a CE24 with a birds neck which was rare for a bolt-on at the time.
Chandler's is still going and I bought a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket from them a long time ago. I get all of my Callaham parts for my Fenders from Charlie Chandler's shop, a great fellow.
The five maple tops in the previous photo are progressing well and I'm making necks with top class Brazilian fingerboards for them now.
With accurate jigs and good tools it's pretty easy these days but it's getting really harder to find good tonewoods.
Recently I have tried my hand at electronics and built a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top