BadgerDave Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Gibson made some interesting guitars during the Norlin era, including one that I've been fixated on since my teenage years: The Les Paul Signature. Made from 1970 - 1972ish, this was a weird crossbreeding of ES-335 and Les Paul body shapes (the Les Paul parts are the treble side cutaway and pickup selector location) combined with ES330/ Epi Casino nearly full hollow body construction and high impedance pickups. More than anything else, the high impedance pickups and complicated switching system confused potential buyers and not many of these were sold. The pickups were uniquely shaped, so substituting humbuckers or P-90s was not possible without significant modifications to the body. They do have a cult following, however, so prices on clean used examples can reach into the mid $4K range. I've long harbored the thought of finding a beat or modified LP Sig that could be "rescued". Eventually, this one turned up: It had been crudely refinished, but was in decent shape structurally. No broken bones! I bought it and sent it off to Murkat for a professional diagnosis. Dr. Jay said the patient could be resurrected. He performed a full re-fret, new nut, fixed some binding issues and prepped it for Dr. Stike, who I'd lined up for the cosmetic surgery: Last week I got a message from Stike. It was done and on its way back home. It will be no surprise to HFC members that Stike's work was both flawless and way beyond my expectations. Here is a teaser: Here's a shot of some of the new parts I've added: Did I mention that its getting the set of these: I'll be adding photos and a full tone report soon. I spent Saturday afternoon assembling the pickup/wiring harness and putting everything together. I can tell you that the guitar fought me every step of the way during reassembly. Not a single part fit without some filing, sanding or reaming. It was definitely a bonding process. That said, once it was together, the effort was more than worth it. It resonates, it intonates, it feels amazing and it is gorgeous. It is still fighting me a bit, though. I need to pull the wiring and figure out where I made a mistake in hooking everything up. Once that's done, I predict a long and happy relationship. My thanks to both Jay and Ben for lending their incredible skills to this project. They are amazing! More to come.
G Man Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Looking forward to the full monty shot, but damn that is a thing of beauty. Congrats and rock on.
cmatthes Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 I saw that one on a previous visit to Stike's shop and JUST missed it when I was there picking up some stuff last week. From that teaser shot alone, it looks FABULOUS.
BadgerDave Posted June 1, 2015 Author Posted June 1, 2015 Not trying to be overly dramatic, I just haven't been able to capture the full awesomeness of Stike's finish in a photo yet.
Sugartune Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Cool! I like those oddballs too! I'm quite interested to see the shots when you receive it.
elduave Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Big fan of those! Owned a couple. Kudos to Murkat and Stike!
Tres Aardvarks Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 I've never seen one of these before, but it's pretty cool. I dig the longer treble horn with the ES-335 body. Neat! It also looks badass in your teaser photo!
JohnnyB Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 I've never seen one of these before, but it's pretty cool. I dig the longer treble horn with the ES-335 body. Neat! It also looks badass in your teaser photo! There was also a bass version that sort of lives on as the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass. He found an LP Signature bass in a New York store in 1985 and liked the overall bass but wasn't so taken by the pickup. Ccollaborating years later with Epiphone produced this one: BTW Badger, that LP Sig resurrection looks breathtaking.
Armitage Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 It wouldn't take much to change a high impedance pickup to a low one... just unwind the coils some.
veatch Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 I've always loved the look and thought of the signature, but never played one that I bonded with. I think you did the ideal thing. With Jay's work, it *will* play killer, and with Stike's work, it will *look* killer. Well done!Congrats!
velorush Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 It wouldn't take much to change a high impedance pickup to a low one... just unwind the coils some. I think BD meant to type low impedance. As with the other 'different' guitars bearing Les' signature (the solid-bodied Personal, Recording and Professional models, made around the same time) the Signature had low impedance pickups (though not as oddly shaped as those in the three solid-bodied models): What I've seen looks great! Can't wait to see the complete guitar.
Ting Ho Dung Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 I remember when you got that. Glad to see it's progressing along. Looks like sparkle on the horizon.
Steve Haynie Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Not trying to be overly dramatic, I just haven't been able to capture the full awesomeness of Stike's finish in a photo yet.An awesome finish will look good whether or not you fully capture it. Post something!
Armitage Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 It wouldn't take much to change a high impedance pickup to a low one... just unwind the coils some.I think BD meant to type low impedance. I was thinking that after I posted... it'd be more work, but you'd just have to strip the coils and wind'm up with thinner wire.
mc2 Posted June 3, 2015 Posted June 3, 2015 LOVE Les Paul Sigs!!My fave Gibby hollowbody.I have a pair of rare Sunburt ones...6-string and bass....and one of the only black 6-strings (think there were three) from a former Kalamazoo employee.http://s1359.photobucket.com/user/mc2NYNO/media/LesPaulSigs_6n4Web_zpsb7b7b9f8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=451http://s1359.photobucket.com/user/mc2NYNO/media/LesPaulSignatureBlack_zpsb98cb795.jpg.html?sort=3&o=450Nice restoration.BTW, Dave.....I have a stash of NOS Les Paul Sig pickup covers with the Gibson logo.
elduave Posted June 3, 2015 Posted June 3, 2015 I'd love to have one again, but won't find one for what I paid back in the day. I can't recall if Epi made a guitar version.
cmatthes Posted June 3, 2015 Posted June 3, 2015 I'd love to have one again, but won't find one for what I paid back in the day. I can't recall if Epi made a guitar version. They did back in the '90s, at least. I've seen them before and have some old Epi catalogs with them in there.
humfree Posted June 3, 2015 Posted June 3, 2015 That's cool - never seen one beforeI wonder if you shrank it down it would be the Eclipse?
JohnnyB Posted June 3, 2015 Posted June 3, 2015 I'd love to have one again, but won't find one for what I paid back in the day. I can't recall if Epi made a guitar version.They did back in the '90s, at least. I've seen them before and have some old Epi catalogs with them in there.They show up on eBay from time to time. They seem to typically go for around $450-550, though one highly optimistic guy has one listed for a BIN of $1200.
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