anyone reduced the heel on a Les Paul successfuly?

mburekenge

Hi there, I'm a novice, and I wouldn't attempt it myself, but has anyone ever reduced the size of the heel on a Les Paul?

I'd quite like a bit more comfortable upper fret access on my R7.

I'm not interested in resale value etc, this one is a keeper.

I'm wondering whether it would be unwise in terms of making it unstable.

cheers

olafgarten

I'd ask a more experienced builder, I imagine it's quite a bug job and you will have to consider the strength of the neck joint. 

@FelineGuitars @WezV @Andyjr1515 ;

WezV

I would only do it on a guitar where I had fitted the neck, so integrity could be guaranteed.

If it's a keeper, don't go doing major structural changes

GSPBASSES

I certainly wouldn't recommend cutting a way the heel on Gibson Les Paul. Gibson are not known for quality neck  joints in terms of a tight fit, you may find gaps between the body and the neck as you cut away wood from the body.

ICBM

GSPBASSES said:

I certainly wouldn't recommend cutting a way the heel on Gibson Les Paul. Gibson are not known for quality neck  joints in terms of a tight fit, you may find gaps between the body and the neck as you cut away wood from the body.

This. Have a look at some of the online pics of the horrors you can find inside Gibson neck joints before you even consider it. There's a very high chance of cutting through into a cavity - a near certainty in fact, they almost never fit perfectly on all three surfaces.

Andyjr1515

^^^^^All of the above.  Like @WezV, I do it where I've fitted the neck (which in my case are usually through-necks in any case) but never where I haven't.  And never, never, never on a Gibson.

sweepy

I imaging that the Axcess LP's have much better neck joint tolerances then ! I'd flog the R9 and buy an Axcess tbh

mburekenge

hi guys, thanks for the advice, and I don't think I was very clear. No way would I try and do this myself, it's be a highly recommended luthier doing the work rather than me!

WezV

The job is simple, but the issues are the same whoever does it.  

you(your chosen luthier) could play it safe and only remove a small amount.  But is it worth doing half a job?

StormshadowGuitars

mburekenge said:

hi guys, thanks for the advice, and I don't think I was very clear. No way would I try and do this myself, it's be a highly recommended luthier doing the work rather than me!

I think you'd be struggling to find a Luthier to take it on anyway, most know the pitfalls of Gibson's which are highlighted above.

roberty

HP series?

Winny_Pooh

Buy a Feline

mburekenge

Winny_Pooh said:

Buy a Feline

would love to! Don't have that kind of bread available sadly.

TTony

mburekenge said:

No way would I try and do this myself, it's be a highly recommended luthier doing the work rather than me!

I doubt you'd find a "highly recommended" luthier to take that job on.

If they're highly recommended, they'd recognise all the potential issues, and run a mile before they lost that coveted highly recommended status!

impmann

Axxess Les Paul?

WezV

of a 2016 LP Standard HP

DartmoorHedgehog

mburekenge said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Buy a Feline

would love to! Don't have that kind of bread available sadly.

Isn't an R7 £3000+ new?  So pretty similar to a Feline (actually more expensive than some of them).  Feline are relatively unknown, so I'd guess the Gibson will hold its value better than the Feline - meaning you ought to be able to buy a used Feline for what you'd get for the R7.  Or am I wrong - are used Felines worth a lot more than a CS Gibson?

FelineGuitars

Thankyou as ever for the kind words guys.

Used Feline Lions don't come up for sale too often, and obviously there are fewer of them , so they often get snapped up by those who do know the brand.

Quite a few on this forum may have tried one so they know how they handle & feel.

We have a few examples in at present but they will be £2800 and above for arch top ones and £2400 and above for flattop variants.

mburekenge

This is a great Les Paul, I'm not talking about a huge modification to a really easy heel like on the Feline or access, more of a trim than a grade one all over lol. I'm aware that's impossible to totally restructure the guitar. 

Basically I was going to upgrade the pickups and possibly install callaham hardware, so was wondering whether a small mod like this was possible.

After the success of speccing my own Bravewood strat, getting a custom made Les Paul type like a Feline would definitely appeal, but there's no way I can scratch together the corn, and I can't get rid of the R7 for lots of reasons. It's a crazily resonant and lovely guitar (It was the pick of between 20 and 30 reissues when I got it).

My playing has improved a lot (that's not saying much) since I got the R7 and I'm spending more time at 'the dusty end' hence the interest in a wee shave.

thanks as ever for the input.

ibis

I have an R7 that bugs me with top fret access. I keep it cos it's a nice axe but...
I bought a PRS Bernie, gutted the electronics and put SD WLH set in it. Its my main stage guitar. Don't kill your guitar. Sell it or keep it as it is, and buy something  that works for you.

John_P

mburekenge said:

...and I can't get rid of the R7 for lots of reasons. It's a crazily resonant and lovely guitar (It was the pick of between 20 and 30 reissues when I got it).

This is why you should leave it alone.   
You're talking about a non reversible mod that has a strong possibility of ruining the guitar.  

I felt the same about my Les Paul's so I saved and bought an axcess - you can also have bonus of choosing a Floyd Rose model at the same time