Where have all the LP's gone..?

[HatchA]

Anyone know if PBG have discontinued any & all LP-style kits? I don't see any on the main site - am I missing something? :/

Thanks, Steve.

[Simon Barden]

All gone. Too big a risk of possible litigation. Even though the position is defensible, PBG couldn't afford to even begin to defend themselves in court against a company as big as Gibson. So PBG's lawyers recommended they remove them from sale. It's a shame, but LPs aren't the only guitars.

[HatchA]

Completely understandable. Thanks Simon.

At the end of February I ordered an ash EX with a few modifications, so hopefully it'll be in the shipment due at the end of this month

Lately though, the idea of a translucent red LP (not especially figured or spalted - just wood grain beneath trans lacquer) has created an itch in my brain, and it's been steadily growing in size. The other night I ordered a single cut kit from Thomann - and again, about a month until restock *sigh - but it's probably basswood, and I was thinking of the denser woods available through PBG.

Onward & upwards!

[Simon Barden]

The HB kits normally have some form of light satin finish coat on them, so this normally needs to be sanded down and removed if you plan to stain the bodies and necks. Also, if you want to use something like nitro, I don't know how compatible the finish they've used is.

The provided electrics are supposed to have faulty wiring (they may have fixed this). And of course it has the HB headstock shape, and a bolt-on neck with a cutaway heel, so not a classic LP style. Some of the PBG kits were bolt-on, some were set neck.

The body wood looks to be a similar form of mahogany to that used in the PBG GSJ-1 and GSM-1 kits that I'm working on at the moment, albeit not as well matched. This is a very light and soft mahogany, so similar to basswood when working. Easy to sand, but also easy to mark.

[HatchA]

Yeah, I'm really interested to see what it feels like out of the box. You know when you look at a picture and can almost physically feel it? Might be some form of synesthesia going on hehe.

I've got three electric guitars and each of them have high gloss finish on the neck. I've never really had the chance to play a satin neck, so I'm also interested in how that feels. General consensus seems to be "glossy necks give a sticky feeling when playing", but if you've never known any different, and your playing style has evolved around dealing with glossy necks, is it even a thing? I'm not any kind of "shredder" - my technical skill is all but non-existent - but if the neck feels as comfortable out of the box as the reviews and YouTube builds seem to say, I'll be happy enough leaving as-is.

I'm considering gluing the neck in place and replacing the screws with hardwood dowels. I have an idea which involves fixing the neck in place with glue (I'm thinking Alcolin Pro) and two of the screws while I drill out the other two holes, then glue in two dowels. When the glue's gone off, remove the screws, drill out the holes, plug with glue and dowels. When everything's solid, finish the back of the neck pocket nicely. I've got some pieces of a few different woods (maple, wenge, black walnut kinda thing), so I could even make a feature out of it if I didn't use a solid colour. Just a thought.

I've been working on my 30+ year old Hohner LP copy, and bought a new loom with pot's, switch, and a Pure Tone socket (I believe I have you to thank for that... What an amazing piece of kit!), as well as a pair of Entwistle Dark Star ND's - but I think I'll put all that into the HB kit, and put the HB electrics into the Hohner. It's an old plywood body and is probably about 40% "cavity", so all the ungainly wiring will have plenty of room to lurk beneath the surface

It'll be just my luck that the lockdown will be fully lifted before either of the kits get here

Either way - fun times ahead!

[Simon Barden]

It's a plan. Be aware that the neck heel will certainly have some finish on, and the interior of the pocket may well do as well, so that will need to be removed before any gluing, otherwise the joint won't be as strong as it should be.

[Joe Garfield]

There’s not much more American than a giant guitar company suing a small instrument seller over an approximate guitar shape! It seems like it would be easy to make a guitar ‘different enough’ to avoid a lawsuit, but just the thought of legal representation could be enough to scare any small shop.

Some fun facts: Gibson sued PRS over the Single Cut being possibly mistaken for a Les Paul. Gibson won the initial claim but PRS had it overturned in appeals. Gibson even stated in court ‘only an idiot would confuse ‘a PRS Single Cut for a Les Paul at the point of sale.’ Yet they tried to sue back. PRS Single Cuts do look a lot like Les Paul’s, at least in general body shape from a distance. One of the initial claims by Gibson was ‘someone in a Smokey bar could see a PRS Singlecut on stage and confuse it for a Les Paul.’ The big differences are the carved top of PRS, and the shape and color of the headstock, according to the courts.

Legal stuff is weird. It seems like, if Gibson tried to sue over a general shape and lost, then they don’t have much to stand on if enough things are different. But I guess if you shape the top and change the headstock you could be getting a call from Mr. Smith’s attorney....

[Simon Barden]

Its very easy for a big company to simply outspend a small one on legal fees, especially if they are then allowed to recoup those costs if they win the case. So it's very hard for a small company to defend itself, even if in the legal right. And if a big legal department of a big company aren't seen to be doing anything, then that big legal department will soon become a small legal department, so the temptation for them is to find ways of keeping busy.