My latest ‘50s Les Paul conversion project- eye popping original flame top!

jumping@shadows

Hi all, I thought I’d share an exceptional find I recently was lucky enough to score- an early ‘53 LP Goldtop that’s free from any breaks but had been half stripped on the back, refinished on the top with rattle cans with no wood prep, drilled for various unknown bridges and had each and every original part lost since the ‘90s- as you do!

The fact it weighs an astonishingly 5.6lbs undressed with a humbucker friendly ‘53 neck pitch, and all the mods means it’s value as a Goldtop has been destroyed, it’s a perfect candidate for a PAF Burst conversion- but there’s more..

When I first received pics of it I immediately homed in on the heavy ripples in the crappy refin, indicating there was flame figure beneath (and no sealer coats!), plus I could just make out the hint of a two piece very nearly centre seam top, so I was more than a little intrigued.

WezV

Need pics... I saw it on IG and it is stunning

jumping@shadows

Next came this..

jumping@shadows

Aaaaaaannnnddd..
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shaunyshaun1234

Why on earth would anyone want to hide that??

jimmyguitar

  

jumping@shadows

shaunyshaun1234 said:

Why on earth would anyone want to hide that??

Perhaps like Leo Fender’s thinking on flamey necks- if you do a few like that, EVERYONE will want one

jimmyguitar

Glad it ended up in the best possible hands, can’t wait to see it finished!

IvisonGuitars

You know my feelings on conversions mate but I have to say that is f*cking stunning! That is up there with the flame on some of the worlds finest bursts, good to know it's in good hands, can't wait to  see how this turns out!  

jumping@shadows

jimmyguitar said:

Glad it ended up in the best possible hands, can’t wait to see it finished!

miserneil said:

You know my feelings on conversions mate but I have to say that is f*cking stunning! That is up there with the flame on some of the worlds finest bursts, good to know it's in good hands, can't wait to  see how this turns out!  

Thank you my brothers  

impmann

I'm not a fan of flame tops or bursts, as people know...

But I can see why you'd want to show that off. I can't help thinking it would be cooler with P90s, though... ;-)

paganskins

jumping@shadows said:

What's going on between the controls, extra switches removed and filled? Interested to see how you tackle that.

guitars4you

looking forward to see how this pans out - exciting

what hardware, pick-ups and loom will you load it up with

TA22GT

That is a fantastic project. There are some tricky bits if it is going to be a flame top but why would you hide that flame???

Good luck, your work is stunning and I look forward to seeing the finished product next week.........!

jumping@shadows

paganskins said:

jumping@shadows said:

What's going on between the controls, extra switches removed and filled? Interested to see how you tackle that.

Yeah some switching bullshit, but that’ll be made very acceptable with some grain matched plugs

jumping@shadows

guitars4you said:

looking forward to see how this pans out - exciting

what hardware, pick-ups and loom will you load it up with

Me too!
I’m going the whole hog with ‘59 PAFs, ‘59 loom, ‘50s nickel hardware, ‘50s plastics- I think this one deserves it  

jumping@shadows

@TA22GT thanks dude! 

Skipped

miserneil said:

You know my feelings on conversions

I accept that they are Marmite, and respect your POV.

In their favour I would say:

1. All of Les Paul's personal guitars were heavily modified Gibson Les Pauls.

Conversion = Heavily modified Gibson Les Paul.

2. Les Paul admitted that the neck angle on the  '52 Gibson Les Paul was an early production error. A mistake.

3. The remaining 2000 unmolested Trapeze Goldtops are in no danger whatsoever. The guitars in collections will be untouched. The guitars wilth players will benefit from the Glaser or mojoaxe bar.

4. Having the strings over the bridge and not  under the bridge really does enhance almost all playing styles.

5. For the player, a Conversion is arguably the most desirable guitar on the planet. A 'Burst that can never leave the house would be frustrating. That may explain why many of the 'Burst owners on LPF are also Conversion owners and are cautious when estimating what their Conversion gives them (by comparison). "99%" seems entirely reasonable in the circumstances.

Skipped

This looks awesome jumping@shadows.

If this was me I would be spending 12 months agonising over the colour.

jimmyguitar

@jumping@shadows what are you going to do about the shallow neck angle? Reset?

mburekenge

Holy shit. That is amazing