HI Folks, it’s been quite a while since I last posted. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t even been keeping up with the Forums, so apologies for my absence. Unfortunately I seem to have fallen in a bit of a heap over the last few months and haven't been able to get myself going.
To get out of my "funk" I decided the best therapy would be to start my next kit. The LP Junior DC. I've had the kit for quite a few months now, but I have had neither the motivation nor the enthusiasm to even start it.
Anybody who has followed my previous builds knows that, for me, the guitars are all about playability. So I wasn't too sure that the original compensated wrap-around bridge would be good enough for accurate intonation, so I ordered an individual saddle wrap-around bridge. Unfortunately the new bridge is quite a few mm's higher than the original so I have had to rebate the post holes.
As it only has one pick-up I thought I would get a good replacement for it. I have never owned a guitar with a P90 (until PBG I hadn't even heard of them), so after a lot of Googling I decided on a Lollar "Dog ear" P90. When it arrived I found that the "ears" were even less flexible that the stock Pup which made mounting it on the slightly contoured Arch Top of the kit rather problematic.
To cut a long story short, I had one of those “it seemed like a good idea at the time” moments. D’oh!
So I decided to cut the top of the guitar to fit the P90, but I had to go much deeper than I had planned so then the pickguard wouldn't fit properly. So I cut the body for that, and then I realized that the P90 will be too low (by several mm's) so I will have to make a shim for it. It wouldn’t be me if it didn’t have tummy and forearm cuts. Plus for this one I’ve also included a “leg” cut to make it more comfy while sitting and playing. All in all my rasping, filing and chisel skills are coming along a treat.
At that stage I had realised that it had all got out of hand and I knew it I was well on my way to making a guitar that will probably hold pride of place in the "Ugly Guitar Thread". Lol.
I was pretty disappointed with how it was turning out so I wasn’t going to do a Build Diary but I thought it will give me the incentive to see this through to the bitter end.
But I reserve the right to terminate this Thread if it gets too bad.
So I have reluctantly added a few photos of my rather haphazard progress. I am just making it up as I go along folks, so I have no idea how it will eventually turn out. Hopefully over the next month or so I will have something that will not be too Frankenstein-ish.
My main regret is that it is no longer a Les Paul Jr. But like all our guitars, it will be unique. Ugly, but unique.
At least it’s good to be back
Cheers
rob
Pic #1. I wanted to try and reproduce the sound of the Jr so I didn’t like the idea of the Humbucker cavity under the P90 so filled it in with a block of wood. Here I have started to cut the body to take the standard pickguard.
Pic #2. Pickguard shape cut out, and the Pup cavity finished
Pic #3. Finished mutilating the top.
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