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The long running saga: De-Kahlering and restoring-ish my ’81 Special


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Bought this '81 Special with a Kahler a very long time ago, not even 100% sure when (15-17 years?). Wasn't super expensive, I was into thinner necks at the time and I thought I could live with the Kahler. Well, you know how that all goes! The retro fitted Kahler was unstable, the bridge saddles liked to move around, I wasn't really using the trem anyway and after one session where I couldn't get the guitar to cooperate at all I said ENOUGH, the Kahler must go! 

So I’d pulled and sold the Kahler years ago, the guitar had been sitting with a loose truss ever since. It had been refretted, it was ready to rock, just needed a new bridge which of course means a plug which mean a re-top I just never got around to moving forward with such a project. Covid hits, this guitar is sitting in it's case begging for attention, lots of time on my hands and I thought, “…I’ll bet I could plug this myself and maybe not re-top, but make it functional again at least…” Talked to my luthier, him knowing my general skillset agrees I could do this, gives me some guidance and encouragement, he then tracks down some mahogany blocks and UberEpoxy for the project and I was on my way.

First up, plugging the Kahler Kavity. Block shaping to get it fit, clean up the original Kahler pit, sand/check, sand/check, sand/Recheck, over and over again. Plug the other holes as well (Kahler mount holes and an added switch). This took a while but wasn’t terrible. Level and clean up the top as best I can, LOTS of little knicks and dings from it’s 40 year life so some of it I just left alone…

For the bridge I could have gone with a new Mann Made reproduction, but I’m a heretic and wanted to use a Hipshot and go all black. The Hipshot required a pretty good sized shim, initially this was a wood setup I built up and tested, it got the guitar generally setup but the wood wasn’t stable enough for long term use. One $15 block of aluminum and two hours later, I had a Hipshot sized shim, cut, sanded, drilled, painted and ready to go.

I decided to do a sheet of vinyl on the top just to “try” and hide the imperfections a bit. I didn’t spend a ton of time trying to hide the witness lines and such, if the top is ever reshot/permanently finished or re-topped obviously that would be addressed. But, for $15 a sheet of black vinyl to just make it look more “presentable” seemed like a good alternative! I thought Black to match the headstock, all black hardware and parts and there’d be a blend to the original red colored back on the body as well as headstock. I wasn’t 100% sure how it would turn out but easy enough to remove the vinyl if it came out like complete crap.

Total investment: $15 for the aluminum block for the bridge shim, $15 for the black vinyl sheet and $78 for the Hipshot bridge. And 423 hours of labor, which at my current “Luthier” rate equates to about $4.23.

Overall I think it came out pretty darned good. Up close you can see the imperfections, I had some issues here and there, the vinyl isn’t perfect either but I looks pretty darned good. Still some more tweaking to do to get it 100% but if it’s as solid as I think this probably proves it deserves better than my half-assed finishing work and maybe we’ll do that sometime in the future. Or, maybe I’ll just keep enjoying my homebrewed beastie for just a bit longer… Fralin Pure PAF Low Winds, bridge I converted to an A5 magnet. Original wiring/pots, etc.

Looks like I need to track down some black Schaller tuning machines... 😉

Oh, truss rod covers; need one of those for this thing. Any ideas?  

Happy Easter!!

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I like it!!!  Fantastic job!

Makes me wanna find a molested Special and convert it to a junior. But no thin necks over here...  😜

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I considered the 1 Hum option myself, or maybe going to a single coil in the neck to really make it different. And then I remembered what a major PIA it was to fit the Kahler block and said "...ya know, two hums, it will be FINE that way."  😉

The option is still here to do either actually, since the top is just vinyl and another plug could be fitted. Truth be told though, I'm in and out of the neck pickup often so I think I'd feel the loss. But the 1 Hum specials are pretty killer and I have more wood; humm....

I thought of going solid Red on the top, or some variation there of and just opted for black thinking the contrast would be fun. It really looks even better than I expected, I think my instincts were right. 

Thanks for the kind words and reviews!

Any idea on a truss rod cover? Do the Gibson Les Paul Liberty Bell style fit right on these earlier Specials? The rest of my Sunburst/Specials are later and have the spear point style.

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50 minutes ago, stedge said:

That looks great. Leave as is and play it. Well done!

This would require me to "leave well enough alone," which by all the laws of guitar tinkering is not allowed. 😉

For now, that's what's going down for sure. A few things need to be addressed but minor elements. 

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I have to give you kudos on the vinyl idea.  I did similarly on a beat to crap P-90 Special, changed the tuna/stop to a wraptail and did vinyl on the top.  Only it was partial and I stole the idea from that goofy Five Neck Rick guy from Illinois.  It covered the worst of the top dings and gouges and turned out pretty cool.  Turned a beater into something I'm proud to play.

 

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10 hours ago, tomteriffic said:

I have to give you kudos on the vinyl idea.  I did similarly on a beat to crap P-90 Special, changed the tuna/stop to a wraptail and did vinyl on the top.  Only it was partial and I stole the idea from that goofy Five Neck Rick guy from Illinois.  It covered the worst of the top dings and gouges and turned out pretty cool.  Turned a beater into something I'm proud to play.

 

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Those look great too! Nice work. 

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5 hours ago, Drew816 said:

'81 Special, '91 Sunburst w Factory Floyd, '92 Sunburst, '93 FM Special

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AND, I need better lighting...  😉

I keep seeing all of these killer Aztec gold Special FM’s that remind of the one I let get away...

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Not sure if you knew, but John Mann also did/does black Sustainblocks.

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Fantastic for what you’re into it! Don’t sell yourself short on making a trc. You may be as surprised. 
this is actually reminding me of the first hideous electric guitar I had as a teen. Had a headstock almost as long as the neck and a terrible burst finish on a not very desirable wood. Since I had plenty of headstock material to work with. I cut it out in a Jacksonesque fashion. Then I “painted” it with an El Marko magic marker. I wish I would have been as happy with my results but while it was better, it was far from nice

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On 4/2/2021 at 1:58 PM, sonic1974 said:

I like the contrast of the black top and the red!

Me too.  Needs a zebra/double-creme setup to receive the kizanski seal of approval, but dekahlerization is always a good thing.  

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There are Zebras under the covers. Honestly it looks more sinister with the black covers on, but I will INDULGE my friends here at HFC and take a few pics with them off. Covid Guitar Picture Stimulation is recommended by 9 out of 10 Doctors! 😉

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1 hour ago, Drew816 said:

You wanted Zebra's, here you go! Not a great picture, I'll get more later on...

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Those are "reverse zebras"  (yes, I'm That Guy).
...and crème rings, FFS!

Kidding.
It looks great.

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