1960 Les Paul ‘Burst’ Restoration

Brize

Amazing workmanship but the maple infill just inside the binding is always going to look wrong. It would have been much better to restore it as a two-pickup Custom.

jumping@shadows

GuyR said:

I can't help feeling a little regret at the loss of a really interesting historical anomaly, but it's your guitar and I have to say the result is a testament to your obvious skills. Thanks for posting and I look forward to your next project.

Thanks man, but really is it any less the ‘same guitar’ as when it was painted black and everyone thought it was just another Custom? By that token stripping the top to paint it orange was the travesty, and it should have gone back to black, regardless of it being a flame top Standard..
I think it’s all semantics based on a particular belief- I’d never dream of adding a maple cap to a ‘50s LPC, that’s just bonkers, but returning a ‘60 Burst with added Custom cosmetics and black paint job, back to Burst spec if you have the skills to execute such a job to honour the goal, then it’s a no brainer imho. 

jumping@shadows

Brize said:

Amazing workmanship but the maple infill just inside the binding is always going to look wrong. It would have been much better to restore it as a two-pickup Custom.

It wears its journey openly, and to the guy who dreamed of one day owning a genuine flamey Burst and doesnt have £185,000 to spare, a couple mm of extra maple by the binding is pretty acceptable imo  

scalino65

@jumping@shadows What amaxing skill you have Yuuki, Also, isnt it terrific for fans of vintage guitars that you are not tucked away in your workshop punting stuff out as original? Whenever I've spoken to you, Ive been very impressed by your honesty which is a rare quality in the vintage guitar world
Your guitar and so your choice is my view! I'm more impressed that some sucker wont be buying it as a real deal because I think your level of skill might well be good enough to fool some people.
Tell us what it sounds like and how it feels to play, surely that must come into it:)
Many thanks for sharing.
Will

Brize

jumping@shadows said:

Brize said:

Amazing workmanship but the maple infill just inside the binding is always going to look wrong. It would have been much better to restore it as a two-pickup Custom.

It wears its journey openly, and to the guy who dreamed of one day owning a genuine flamey Burst and doesnt have £185,000 to spare, a couple mm of extra maple by the binding is pretty acceptable imo  

Each to their own. To me, it's still miles away from being a proper Burst.

I have the utmost respect for your incredible restoration skills but I think this is a good example that, just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should. Still, as is often rightfully said on these threads, it's your guitar and therefore your prerogative. I've briefly played one of your conversions and it was very impressive.

TA22GT

CHRISB50 said:

PinstripePhil said:

Dude. You are a gem of this Board. We are so lucky to get to share in your work. 
 When the time is right for you, I would just love to hear that guitar sing.
 All the very best Phil x

Shit, I didn't realise you posted here. I love your videos on Youtube for Fretted Americana!

You got me for a minute there! Hook, line and sinker!. LOL!

PinstripePhil

CHRISB50 said:

PinstripePhil said:

Dude. You are a gem of this Board. We are so lucky to get to share in your work. 
 When the time is right for you, I would just love to hear that guitar sing.
 All the very best Phil x

Shit, I didn't realise you posted here. I love your videos on Youtube for Fretted Americana!

@jumping@shadows Amazing work. Your paint jobs are a thing of beauty.

lmfao. Good one!! :-)))

 By the way, there are lots and lots of similar maple capped Les Paul customs out there.  So everyone can rest easy and just enjoy the restoration work.    

jumping@shadows

Brize said:

jumping@shadows said:

Brize said:

Amazing workmanship but the maple infill just inside the binding is always going to look wrong. It would have been much better to restore it as a two-pickup Custom.

It wears its journey openly, and to the guy who dreamed of one day owning a genuine flamey Burst and doesnt have £185,000 to spare, a couple mm of extra maple by the binding is pretty acceptable imo  

Each to their own. To me, it's still miles away from being a proper Burst.

I have the utmost respect for your incredible restoration skills but I think this is a good example that, just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should. Still, as is often rightfully said on these threads, it's your guitar and therefore your prerogative. I've briefly played one of your conversions and it was very impressive.

Fair do’s man- I say let’s lay the moral blame with the bloke in Kalamazoo back in ‘59/‘60 who decided it would be quicker and cheaper to just grab a Burst off the production line and cobble it into a Custom thinking ‘Meh! No one will ever know once it’s black, plus we’re discontinuing these lemons anyway..’

ourmaninthenorth

jumping@shadows said:

Next comes the fun part- the middle pickup fill! 

That scores highly on both the surrealistic and the bravery scale, in equal measure.

Now that's what I'd call a "moment".

The flame match on the treble side, once painted, is little short of superb. 

Congratulations Yukki, I'm pleased you've finally got your dream guitar. 

jumping@shadows

ourmaninthenorth said:

jumping@shadows said:

Next comes the fun part- the middle pickup fill! 

That scores highly on both the surrealistic and the bravery scale, in equal measure.

Now that's what I'd call a "moment".

The flame match on the treble side, once painted, is little short of superb. 

Congratulations Yukki, I'm pleased you've finally got your dream guitar. 

Thanks man! 

meltedbuzzbox

jumping@shadows said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

You are clearly a very, very talented dude and you are a master at your craft but I do feel a little sad that the last two examples of your work that I have seen have ended up as burst conversions. 
This guitar was so unique and had a great story about it. A 60s maple capped custom with 3 pafs surely is a much more unique piece than a burst conversion?
It seems a shame to eradicate it from history.

I guess we’ll always stumble on that mate.. Personally the Burst is the pinnacle of ‘50s Les Pauls, so I tend to aspire toward that aim, but you have differing inclinations, which is perfectly valid   

ultimately its yours buddy and you have made a great looking guitar at the end of it all.
Despite the controversial nature of it all, if you have ended up with a guitar you wanted that's all that matters really. 
This place would be dull if we all agreed on everything. 

GoldenEraGuitars

Truly amazing work @jumping@shadows . Isn’t it funny that such a talent and level of craft can disgruntle that many people? 

I love the way that you’re always able to find a piece of maple to patch in a repair so perfectly. It really is a joy to see this. Thanks for posting

jumping@shadows

meltedbuzzbox said:

jumping@shadows said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

You are clearly a very, very talented dude and you are a master at your craft but I do feel a little sad that the last two examples of your work that I have seen have ended up as burst conversions. 
This guitar was so unique and had a great story about it. A 60s maple capped custom with 3 pafs surely is a much more unique piece than a burst conversion?
It seems a shame to eradicate it from history.

I guess we’ll always stumble on that mate.. Personally the Burst is the pinnacle of ‘50s Les Pauls, so I tend to aspire toward that aim, but you have differing inclinations, which is perfectly valid   

ultimately its yours buddy and you have made a great looking guitar at the end of it all.
Despite the controversial nature of it all, if you have ended up with a guitar you wanted that's all that matters really. 
This place would be dull if we all agreed on everything. 

Hear hear, and I always welcome considered and genuine opinions of all angles  
I knew my intentions from the moment I understood what it was- not an LPC with a freak maple cap, but a Burst with freak LPC dressing, but really didn’t know if I had the skill to pull it off, so I’m really pleased with the results  

springhead

Amazing work as ever, well done!  Did you keep the custom diamond logo on the headstock as a nod to its past?

PS66

incredible work on this..well done!!

ICBM

lonestar said:

Isn’t it funny that such a talent and level of craft can disgruntle that many people?

It’s not the talent and skill which upsets some of us. There’s no question that the workmanship is outstanding.

But it’s been used to erase a unique piece of Gibson history - it’s not at all the same as a conversion on a guitar that’s already been hacked after it left the factory.

This guitar was not modded - it was simply finished in a different way from normal. With jumping@shadows skills, it could have been properly restored. It perhaps still could be...

p90fool

I'm saying nowt.

Twinfan

I'd have put it back as black custom with appropriate relicing as I'm of the same opinion as ICBM.

Regardless though, the quality of your work is outstanding and the guitar looks fabulous 

maltingsaudio

Fantastic piece of work and real hats off to @jumping@shadows for the bravery to do the job. I am however in @ICBM 's camp not for the doing the work its your guitar and do with what you want;, but I think befor the restoration the guitar looked more alive, different, and appealing than the result which for me is just another old Burst. Without seeing it in the flesh, as pictures no doubt can't do it justice, it appears the flaming has been considerably reduced. As to a lost piece of Gibsons history well  what you never knew you'll never miss.and its not like losing/finding a Van Gogh masterpiece, Gibson was and still is just a firm which makes guitars

ourmaninthenorth

Yukki has restored this guitar to it's original form. 

A one off snatch off the line does not a summer make. 

Unless of course I'm a halfwit and 50's LPC's came with flame maple caps, specific examples anyone?