keef
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,006
I need some advice guys. The nice TM conversion on Ebay got me thinking - many of us see a humbuckered fifties Les Paul as the ultimate guitar. For those who can’t or don’t want to pay the price of an original one, a conversion is an interesting alternative.
But what’s the best way to do this? For getting as close as possible a ’55-’58 P90 goldtop would be the best choice – bucker that sucker and yer done. But most will never consider this – messing with a nice unbroken original is considered wrong, market value may decrease, and you still end up paying big $$ anyway.
A more popular option is to start with an ‘issues’ 52/3, hopefully with the increased neck angle that does not require a reset. I see people buy a fifties carcass with unknown sonic quaIities, refin (and sometimes even retop or veneer), reset the neck, drill for buckers and the rest, slap on fifties parts, pay of lot of dough in the process all in the hope that their guitar will sound as good as a great burst. I wonder if that is realistic.
To me it seems like an expensive crap shoot. If the purpose IS ultimate tone, wouldn’t you need to begin with an already great sounding guitar, and keep it intact as much as possible in the conversion process (meaning no resets or refins, no matter how expertly done)? Or a safer option – buying a completed conversion that sounds terrific. The other approaches to converting a guitar seem to make less sense to me – but I would like to hear the experiences of those who have gone through this process.
I’m asking because I am considering to either go the conversion route, or to just forget about buckers and buy a nice unbroken ’52, put on a Glaser tailpiece and wail away. :jim
But what’s the best way to do this? For getting as close as possible a ’55-’58 P90 goldtop would be the best choice – bucker that sucker and yer done. But most will never consider this – messing with a nice unbroken original is considered wrong, market value may decrease, and you still end up paying big $$ anyway.
A more popular option is to start with an ‘issues’ 52/3, hopefully with the increased neck angle that does not require a reset. I see people buy a fifties carcass with unknown sonic quaIities, refin (and sometimes even retop or veneer), reset the neck, drill for buckers and the rest, slap on fifties parts, pay of lot of dough in the process all in the hope that their guitar will sound as good as a great burst. I wonder if that is realistic.
To me it seems like an expensive crap shoot. If the purpose IS ultimate tone, wouldn’t you need to begin with an already great sounding guitar, and keep it intact as much as possible in the conversion process (meaning no resets or refins, no matter how expertly done)? Or a safer option – buying a completed conversion that sounds terrific. The other approaches to converting a guitar seem to make less sense to me – but I would like to hear the experiences of those who have gone through this process.
I’m asking because I am considering to either go the conversion route, or to just forget about buckers and buy a nice unbroken ’52, put on a Glaser tailpiece and wail away. :jim