NGD: Vintage V100GT Relic/upgrade project.

[Zenzeypher]

Hi, recently acquired this gold top Vintage V100 for £80, and it was an absolute steal - impressive guitar.

Great wood, thick cap and my favorite Mini-Humbuckers.

Just some quick questions if you would be so kind to answer.

It looks to be one piece, no seam be it center or otherwise, I literally cannot find one, even in the carves. Is this normal? I can't help but feel it could be a veneer or theyre incredibly good at hiding the seam.

The electrics are pure garbage, the worse switch ive seen since owning a Hondo a few years ago. I'm going to upgrade these to short shaft mini pots and sort the nut.

Also where can I get a suitable finger rest? that fit mini humbuckers/p90 ? in the UK. I can't find anything anywhere.

But overall the body of the guitar is great, the plastics are very cheap - but what can you expect.

-

I wish also to relic this.

I'm going to use razor checking technique using some images ive found online and use show polish to gnarl it up a alittle, what would be recommended to get that green/bronze tint?

thanks in advance ^^

[Zenzeypher]

Also the back has mega awesome flames! like flames in flames - it's incredible.

[szlash280z]

It's a Goldtop, there is no need to have a 2 piece center joint. It's probably a 3 piece top minimum.

The finger rest is a pickguard and that guitar is likely not made to any standard sized specs so it might be difficult to find one. You can make your own though.

Relic it by playing the $hit out of it! Haha. It's probably a poly finish so the only way you'll really change the color is to repaint it.

[Zenzeypher]

I mean't the back as one piece sorry ¬_¬

[Barnaby]

Hard to be sure, but it looks like a one-piece back to me too.

I'm far from an expert, but think that relicing depends on the lacquer - this guitar could be hard to get looking 'right'. You could check out ReRanch and get into the scary world of refinishing.

Pickguards for mini humbuckers could be OK, but may be spaced differently from your guitar. As said, it might be best to make your own from a blank. Also, if you're going to upgrade the plastics, do that before making a guard, as the new rings may be differently shaped as well.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

Be aware that the V100s have NO maple top, a veneer is already top of the line for those guitars.

That being said, they still sound really good most of the time.

[Zenzeypher]

Cheers guys, yeah it's deffo all mahogany (is it actually mahogany or a cheap impersonator?)

So today ive stripped all the hardware including the terrible electrics, the mini hums sound amazing, so theyre staying put.

This has an odd long/snub tenon, i'll put pictures up soon.

Iv'e reshaped the headstock, sanded and applied poly filler (im not taking it to wood just enough to key)

and a friend is printing off a Vintage logo in the style of..... You guessed it FENDER ^^

How or what is a good method to restain and finish the top of the headstock so it doesn't look really shitty and bare wood?

thanks again gents.

[Zenzeypher]

this is a little from today.

Showing the Headstock reshape, done with a coping saw and files lol. The shiny stuff is filler because the Poly on this is super mega brittle.

Ive reliced the top, but need some green paint/nail varnish ahahaha and some shoe polish..again the finish is brittle so larger chunks came away then expected on some parts, but I glued those down...one of the was when I accidentally knocked it off its stand, ironic the real chip looks the fakest of all haha.

ive done a ton of checking as I love it and was inspired by another members previous thread about poly checking.

also can't believe how well built this ****er is..

[Zenzeypher]

Ive realized it's just me nattering to myself.

Sorry guys.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Zenzeypher

Ive realized it's just me nattering to myself.

Sorry guys.

No, it's not....don't worry. Your thread will be really useful to people with the same guitar in the future. Replies can sometimes be slow or non-existent, but does not mean that people are not grateful.

Headstock shaping looks great, BTW.

[Zenzeypher]

Thanks Barnaby,

It's the first time ive ever used a coping saw or files, i was starting to get a bit huffy when it wasn't shaping how I wanted it initially but abit of filling sorted that out.

I'm hoping people will find it useful in future, when I was researching the guitar I sound very sporadic and very little information on this particular instrument.

Less so on the Mini-Humbucker pre Wilkinson version.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Zenzeypher

Thanks Barnaby,

It's the first time ive ever used a coping saw or files, i was starting to get a bit huffy when it wasn't shaping how I wanted it initially but abit of filling sorted that out.

I'm hoping people will find it useful in future, when I was researching the guitar I sound very sporadic and very little information on this particular instrument.

Less so on the Mini-Humbucker pre Wilkinson version.

Coping saws can be tricky - it takes a while to get the technique down, but I'm convinced that they can be really accurate with practice. How much practice I don't know, of course, as I'm certainly not there yet...

Are you going to change the rings for the mini humbuckers? It might be worthwhile ordering some so that you can get a good match on the plastics - there are dozens of varieties of 'cream' and they never seem to be the same if you buy online.

[alexanderja]

as far as razor checking goes, thats a very good job to my eye

[Cpt_Gonzo]

I'm here, too!

Mine IS Mahogany, but african 'hog.

[Zenzeypher]

Originally Posted by Cpt_Gonzo

I'm here, too!

Mine IS Mahogany, but african 'hog.

It smelt really nice when I was cutting it up ha, might of been the poly tho.

The Tusq nut arrived today, I bought the Epiphone 1/4" spacing number PQ-6060-00.

It has all the measurements for a perfectly cut nut included, so it's a case of shaping it.

In all honesty the one seemed fine, but in for a penny in for a pound.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Zenzeypher

It smelt really nice when I was cutting it up ha, might of been the poly tho.

The Tusq nut arrived today, I bought the Epiphone 1/4" spacing number PQ-6060-00.

It has all the measurements for a perfectly cut nut included, so it's a case of shaping it.

In all honesty the one seemed fine, but in for a penny in for a pound.

I don't know if others agree, but I find that customizing things like the nut on a guitar make a massive difference. It may be psychological or it may be physically measurable - I'm not sure, but the guitar feels even more like 'mine' after stuff like that, which surely affects the way I play it.

[szlash280z]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

I don't know if others agree, but I find that customizing things like the nut on a guitar make a massive difference. It may be psychological or it may be physically measurable - I'm not sure, but the guitar feels even more like 'mine' after stuff like that, which surely affects the way I play it.

lol, I'm still not very good at making nuts man. All the ones I've made are just a little bit not good enough. haha!

[Zenzeypher]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

I don't know if others agree, but I find that customizing things like the nut on a guitar make a massive difference. It may be psychological or it may be physically measurable - I'm not sure, but the guitar feels even more like 'mine' after stuff like that, which surely affects the way I play it.

Yeah same here, I find if I do anything that amounts to more then just changin pickups I get really attached to it, especially if ive spent several hours on it.

I was fixing a strat to flip, it was a ton of work, complete refinish, rewire etc... By the time I was done with it I didn't want to sell it.

.....and I hateeeeee strats, I can't stand em' but it was sad to see that one go.

All i'm waiting for now is my CTS pots to arrive in the post, with the knobs and pointers, buy some paint and laquer and i'll be on my way.

[sensei chimär]

The Vintage brand Goldtops I've seen in shops in Stockholm, don't have a typical Gibson Goldtop color: more like a sparkletop, like a Gretsch.
If you want a more accurate Goldtop Color, complete with green, sweat, relic look,
like a true old Goldtop, find a bronze based Gold Paint and re-paint it.

Or just leave it alone, as is, since the bronze based paint should have been done before the razor work.

The headstock can be hand painted over the cut out to match the existing color.
Remember to look at a lot of old guitar headstocks. They are usually beat to hell, with much damage on the edges revealing the wood under the paint.

Once you get the green effect especially where the forearm rests, you'll need to clear paint over the bronze based Gold. Otherwise, the your body sweat will continue to turn green for a long time. Just like the real deal.

I've seen old Gibson goldtops from early fifties and they were so green, the guitar lost all appeal for me.

Regarding pickguards for p90's or mini-hums, just measure your guitar and contact several internet parts suppliers. They can help you match your measurements with the correct pickguard.

Good Luck with your project.

[Zenzeypher]

Progress for today.

CTS 500K pots and rewired the whole guitar, Modern style, replaced the switch also.

Sprague Orange drops (although they look like fakes to me)

Put on reflector knobs with chrome insert, buffed the hardware to remove shine, going to cut the nut tomorrow.

might get pointers.

[Barnaby]

Sweet job so far, man! Love the checking you've got going on. I've never used the Sprague orange drops except once in a tele, so I'm curious to hear what you think of them.

[Zenzeypher]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

Sweet job so far, man! Love the checking you've got going on. I've never used the Sprague orange drops except once in a tele, so I'm curious to hear what you think of them.

Thanks,

I've used them a few times before, once in a Firebird, then a Junior and then another in my old Tokai.

I really like them, I find when I roll down they have a crisp tone to them or so that's what I perceive, a good crunchy rock growl. However I did find in my Tokai I just hated the tone and felt they didn't work well at all with my Gibson/Irongear P94 and since been put off owning or installing that pickup, just didn't get on with it, to sharp.

I'm dying to hear what it sounds like with the Minihums. So far ive done a one string test and tapped the coils with a screwdriver so ive no indication of how it's going to sound - so I'm super excited.

However I still need to finish the headstock before installing some Japanese Gotoh Kluson style tuners, the old original ones are a little worn. the japanese ones have a slightly shorter string peg so I'm not too sure how theyre going to be once installed.

I had to use short shaft pots, but couldnt use them with the star washer as there was then no thread to attach the nut to tighten...I did wish to put on some old pointers from a 70's Greco copy, but again I can't fit a nut on either.

If I'd used long shafts, there was too much and the knobs jutted to high above the guitar to look decent.

So far i'm really enjoying this project.

Tomorrow I need to spray the headstock, find a colour to paint the top to hide the cut and blend it, Pay for the Logo and buy a Truss rod cover.

Im also filling the old TRC holes with tooth picks and redrilling for a 2 screw truss rod, a standard Gibson affair.

then I need to find a pickguard and it's a gogo.

[Zenzeypher]

Started the Headstock tonight, im going to batter the top left horn abit more, the chips down the right side.

Im going to sand down the orange peel, I was looking at 60's headstocks and they appear to be consistent and nicely done.

Does anybody have any examples of ****ed early Gibson headstocks?

this is where I'm at now.

[Zenzeypher]

Wow 444 views and only 3 members have commented, is it that bad ?!

Anyways this is the Headstock imma going to emulate.

[poro78]

Well, "Looks great" is just so dull comment and I usually don't have much more to say.

[Zenzeypher]

Originally Posted by poro78

Well, "Looks great" is just so dull comment and I usually don't have much more to say.

Ha cheers, I'm not fishi g for compliments but I was more wanting to discuss ideas etc.

But thanks for the compliment, I was worried its starting to look like utter shit.

[FIGJAM]

I'd go that little bit further and get rid of that ugly horn..

[Zenzeypher]

Well it's done.

Short of waiting to finish the headstock.

Upgrades:
CTS short shaft pots.
Orange drops
New toggle
new jack
new jack plate
Japanese GOTOH Fluson style tuners

Still todo-ish:
Finish Tusq nut,
proper setup
get some /9s on er'
buff the body
add show polish.

Incase anyone gets the huffs, the Gibson is a shitty sticker till i get my decal in gold to apply, then I can add the last layer of nitro and check her up.

just couldnt resist stringing her up, deffo needs a good setup and a neck adjustment.