Sully's Guitar Garage - Les Paul Studio renovation - part 1

[jumbofrets2011]

Why do I get the feeling like I'm watching a less portly Jack Black building guitars in some sort of alternate reality?!

[jsullysix]

@jumbofrets2011 Hopefully a FAR less portly! :)

[jstripe7]

Hey sully. Just discovered ur channel yesterday but I'm loving it already. Can I ask ur opinion on becoming a luthier. All I do in my spare time involves music and guitars and I would love to make it more than just a spare time activity. How did u learn? Any good schools u know of? I'm in PA. Also any idea how finding a job after school would be? I've been asking as many people as possible these questions. Thanks in advance if you can help.

[jsullysix]

@jstripe7 I learned by trial and error, reading as much as I could in books and online, and by just going for it. I'll tell ya, it's not a career where you're making a great living, for sure. Not to discourage anyone, but it's a lot of long hours and not much in the way of money. :)

[wretcheddog]

Simply don't like the black headstock even in the Gibson ones, why do you think so? It is an alpine-Olympic white one so the color should easy to find

[jsullysix]

@wretcheddog While it may be a common color, if you don't have the original batch of paint, it's quite possible to have the shade come out different. The type of clear used will also have something to do with that as well.

[wretcheddog]

@jsullysix thanks man! i want to go to my luthier too, maybe this is only me :D

[wretcheddog]

hey man i have a les paul copy in white but with black headstock (it's a xaviere xv-580) i don't know if the black headstock is a glued veneer or it's just painted in black and finished w gloss so i don't if i should sand it and repaint it or just put a coat of white paint on it and then finish it w gloss urethane which will be more cheaper what do you reccomend? also i've never done this so i'm afraid to soffocate the sound putting a coat of paint over the headstock, please answer

[jsullysix]

@wretcheddog I don't know if it's a veneer or not either, as I've never seen one. Why do you want to paint it white? You're most likely not going to find a perfect match to the rest of the finish.

[jsullysix]

@MsChrissummerfield I'd need to see a picture of it. Honestly, if it's nothing major, I'd say leave it as is, but message me for an email address, and I'll check it out.

[megadeth1818]

dude you look like shawn drover

[jsullysix]

@megadeth1818 I think it's the hair. :)

[guitarinsteve]

@megadeth1818 Yeah that was the one I was thinking of too!

[mp3sucker]

Hi Sully, I have les paul standard. i wanted to change the color but i want the binding remain. How can i keep the binding visible while i painting the the whole body?

[jsullysix]

@mp3sucker Mask off the binding before you paint it.

[MrHeavysteel]

Hey people, i have recently found beautiful les paul on garage sale for 70 bucks. Just body and cutting edge straight neck. I don't care about hardware or pickups either, one thing that worries me is headstock. Black stuff that is peeled of headstock ( Vinyl or something else) and it's available to buy on ebay. But does it fit on any les paul ? This guitar is manufactured sometimes around mid 80's. Please answer A.S.A.P.

[jsullysix]

@MrHeavysteel No way for me to know without having measurements.

[MrHeavysteel]

@jsullysix I thought that every headstock is the same, i have gibson les paul double cut, beautiful guitar, tone is beautiful and this single cut seems to have same headstock but without vinyl stuff which is glued to the wood.

[jsullysix]

@MrHeavysteel All headstocks are not the same.

[MrHeavysteel]

@jsullysix Thank you, i sold it. I will buy a studio version and replace it's hardware with "the most expensive" out there.

[TheSporosvogas]

0:26..reminds me of an ESP Truckster :P

[jsullysix]

@TheSporosvogas Which is a great reason to have repainted it! :)

[TheSporosvogas]

@jsullysix that would be really cool ;)

[jsullysix]

@TheSporosvogas A Truckster? eh, not my style. Thanks for watching the video, though!

[TheSporosvogas]

@jsullysix lol you've just said that it would be a great reason to be repainted :P

[jsullysix]

@TheSporosvogas What I meant was that in its original state (all sanded and messed up), it looked like a Truckster. Since I'm not a fan of that look, that's why I said that'd be a good reason to repaint the guitar, to save it from looking like a truckster. I know, a long way to go to make a smartass joke. :)

[TheSporosvogas]

@jsullysix oh excuse my fault...Now i got that..:)

[TheSporosvogas]

@jsullysix and also..excuse i meant to say 1:26

[blasphemmy]

mportant Question, sully!

A good friend asked me to repair he's Guitar Neck.

Its a Epiphone les paul.

The neck is just broken, so i've to fix that.

I never did that bevore but i think i know how i will do this.

I will make a video about it to show the result to you.

Do you have any tips to help me with it?..

Watching your video's always so got some idea's picked up and learned!

Cu

[jsullysix]

@blasphemmy test fit it together a few times before gluing it, so that you can get a feel of how it will go together. Get all your clamps ready and do a few practice runs before adding the glue.

[blasphemmy]

@jsullysix Ok, i think i will use Woodglue.. but i thaw maybe i can use special fluidwood..

U know someting about that?..

[jsullysix]

@blasphemmy Wood glue. 

[blasphemmy]

This is exacly what im talking about.. i will repair the Epiphone the same as part 1,2,3.. i hope it will works..

[HotPocketEXE]

My first project is an Epiphone Dot refinish. I made the mistake of taking off most of the finish with 80 grit and ended up sanding through the maple veneer in multiple areas... Now I'm going to attempt to hide it with a black cherry burst finish, live and learn.

[syman22]

i have a maverick f4 guitar and want to strip the laquor and stain off then re-stain it. I want to know what grade sand-paper to start with. no chemicals...!!

[jsullysix]

@syman22 why no chemicals? If there's no binding to deal with, shoot some aircraft stripper on there and be done with it. If you're dead set on sandpaper, start with 80 grit, but be careful.

[MrGumCuz]

I'm in the same boat as you are (building customs, repairing stuff like this). I hate the way Gibson engineered the volute on the LP's headstock. If they just dumped the antiquated compression truss rod and went to a modern 2-way rod, they'd have a couple cubic inches more wood in the base of the headstock. Oh well. I haven't seen how this one ends up, but I've seen many more of your vids on repairs and they all turned out pretty slick! Thanks for the posts!

[19gino65]

Its a nice restoration project ,but please not binding

[jsullysix]

@19gino65 I'm not going to ruin the ending for you, but keep watching. :)

[coyotejack82]

Sorry it posted twice when it finally decided t o post.

[jsullysix]

No prob. It was an ebay find. Search ebay for things like "les paul project" or "ufix" and you may find a carcass! :)

[coyotejack82]

Thanks I'll look

[coyotejack82]

Where do you find a guitar like this to fix? Would love to give it a shot myself.

[000MMproductions]

hahaha standrio

[snickers763]

holy crap it looks like a bear tried to play that guitar

[gioaragon5]

i found a ephifone freee in the dumper it still has all the parts in it XD any one knows how much would i get for it?? it needs some repair ment

[jsullysix]

nope. sorry.

[belowaveragejoe2]

how much you pay for it?

[jsullysix]

not a lot.

[RobinsReloaded]

if it was my guitar,i´d throw it away^^

but after this restoration it looked great!

[jsullysix]

that was kind of the point of the video; i bought it this way to show that these sort of things can be fixed.

[jks2]

that's a typical les paul thing. when you drop them, the headstock snaps of. jackson has the same problem as well.

[jsullysix]

Depends on the Jackson issue; the scarf jointed Jacksons won't do it as much, nor will the 3 pc neck Jacksons. Often, the ones that snap had the floyd holes go through the neck, which weakens that area greatly.

[zakkthemusicdude]

@jks2 I just snapped the headstock on my lp studio, not as bad as this, it doesn't open if you push down on it like this, do you recommend doing to the wood glue and clamp thing like you did?

[greensp4rk]

lol... les paul "standardio"

[Lachman0102]

I love your videos on The Les Paul. Their really intresting. Anyways I gotta go.

[rats94]

i have a bc rich that snapped by the neck to, its not so hard to fix,a little fun to fix it also

[FinalSkyz]

Nice like that, vintage look.

[jsullysix]

if you like how it looks in this video, you may not want to watch the rest... :)

[FinalSkyz]

I watch the rest, it is nice at the end too =) It's a Professional restauration !

But, the aged aspect at the beginning, it was natural, or artificial ?

Sorry for my English :)

[jsullysix]

Your english is great, no worries. The aged appearance that it had in the beginning was from abuse. The guitar was a project that was never completed, so it was put up for sale. I guess the original owner wanted to paint it a different color, so he started sanding very aggressively.

[shiftins]

So if you want you can change pick up

[jsullysix]

huh?

[CHIDAWGODIN]

hey nice job,you mentioned about doing some bindings on the les paul studio neck and body...i have a 1991 les paul studio with an ebony fretboard,red wine finish and gold hardware...i had a repair job done a few years ago(dumb sound guy drop it)im thinking of refinishing and adding binding on the body and neck,the rest of the guitar is fine really,but i think this guitar would look so cool with binding the way it is...my question is can it be done...have you ever done this to a studio before?

[jsullysix]

Haven't done it, and after some research when I was going to start the project, I'm not sure that I'd do it. The difficult parts would be around the neck/body joint, but it could be chiseled out. If you want my opinion, I'd leave it alone as far as binding goes.

[NeoClassicalManiac94]

How much was this sucker?

[jsullysix]

cheap. :D

[jykiii]

The only difference is that my epiphones ''wound'' is a bit smoother and probably a little more easy to glue.

[jsullysix]

It all depends, really, if it's too clean or smooth in there, it can be a little difficult for the wood fibers to fit back together. If it's a little jagged and more fibers are exposed, it can be a bit easier for the glue to do it's job.

[Toaster121]

Im thinking of buying the "paint your own guitar" e-book for my les paul studio, to give it an alpine white finish. Have you heard good things about this? also, from what i can tell, it has you removing the set neck which im really uncomfortable with, cause it looks like you have to bolt it back on.

[jsullysix]

if they're recommending neck removal, i'd bypass the whole thing. google "reranch" and read their refinishing 101. all the info that you'll need to know is on that site. the paint your own guitar e-book references using krylon and stuff like that. not a durable finish in any way. i'd avoid it.

[Toaster121]

I've looked into that site before, and it really doesnt seem as in depth as i might like, since i have no experience with finishing

[jsullysix]

you have to read, read, and read it all again. everything that i did in these videos came from that site.

[Toaster121]

so you had no previous experience?

[jsullysix]

i had no experience in working with nitrocellulose lacquer, but i've painted guitars with automotive urethanes before. but if you're interested in learning about how to do it, the reranch site (and their forum) can be very helpful.

[kristorenato]

you must had a mad concert with that guitar

[jsullysix]

no, i bought it like that! crazy, eh?

[guitarplayingmonkey]

how much was it?

[jsullysix]

not alot. :)

[eetfvk]

reminds me of james hetfield's black truckster >_>

[CJ101nicKA]

that toggle switch was a somewhat cool idea if you like doing some sweet sounding stuff in the mid of solos or somthn

[xxfroobxx]

hey man ! you got awesome videos and project keep it up !! im jealous of your hairs lol and yeah whats up with the toggle switch... :O not cool :P i'll check the rest out ! ^^

[ExiledCrow]

Only thing I can think is that the previous owner played with an odd style and kept hitting the toggle switch? Who knows ...