Less Tall gets Johnsonized!

[pinefd]

For those of you familiar with the "Less Tall" Model that made its debut on the other forum, and those not yet familiar with my half scale Les Paul project, I just wanted to share some exciting (for me) developments. Today I received my #2 (out of 3) Less Tall guitar back from Dave Johnson, who performed an amazing finishing job on it. I still need to finish making the hardware for it, and then comes the delicate installation process. But I couldn't wait that long to show off Dave's work, so below are some photos I took of the guitar within minutes after tearing open the shipping box it came in. BTW, this one has a Brazilian board on it.

And for those interested, here is a link to the first (and lengthy) thread on the other forum about the Less Tall project, in case you're interested in finding out more about the history of the project: http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=119762








And here's some of the hardware that will be going on it:



Hope you like it!

Frank

p.s. Here's a photo of a half size hang tag that Dave made for me by copying an original tag:

[FLICKOFLASH]

can you please post some details on the case & guitar

LPF link will not work for us nonLPF members

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by FLICKOFLASH

can you please post some details on the case & guitar

LPF link will not work for us nonLPF members

Sorry about that. I'm happy to oblige. Here are some photos of my prototype, followed by photos of the case. Also a couple of other photos thrown in for good measure.

[pinefd]

And the case:

[ptate]

WOW..............COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

[Todd Louis]

Smoking!!!!!!! !!

[M.T. Pockets]

Thanks for sharing the pix, Frank.
That's a beautiful paint job

[Alex]

Daaamn, Dave does an awesome job indeed!!

Thanks for sharing, Frank.

[GuitarGal]

Originally Posted by pinefd

Aww that is sooo ADORABLE little guitar~ I've always liked any of small or mini collectors~

[RR2rock]

That's really kewl and interesting to see...how long did it take to put together?






~RR

[pinefd]

Thanks for all the nice comments, guys...and gal.

RR, the prototype shown above unpainted, took me about 8 months to make. However, this included making some templates and molds for making future ones, and included fabricating all the metal and plastic parts (because you can't just buy parts for a half size Les Paul!). That time also included time spent reading books, and on the computer researching construction and fabrication methods, because it was the first time I had ever built a guitar, or worked with metal or plastic. Also, trying to source all the raw material I needed to make the guitar took quite a bit of time as well. The case took another two months to make, but again, included R&D time, along with some mold making for future projects. The painted guitar shown above, along with my #3, "Sweet Baby Duane", shown below, took about three months to make, although this doesn't include time spent on fabricating the hardware.

Sweet Baby Duane (almost ready for finishing):

[FLICKOFLASH]

who is going to paint that ?

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by FLICKOFLASH

who is going to paint that ?

Just got myself a fresh new can of high-end Benjamin Moore paint and a new paintbrush, and thought I'd try my hand at it!





On second thought, since Dave was gracious enough to offer his assistance on this one too, I might just give him another shot at it...

[RR2rock]

8 months?? Kewl, even more so with the fact that you've stated that you've never worked with metal or plastic...this is a really kewl piece of work you've put together man! Really astounding...looking forward to the finished paint work as well! Keep it up...you obviously gonna be an 'expert' with this--





~RR

[GuitarGal]

Originally Posted by GuitarGal

Aww that is sooo ADORABLE little guitar~ I've always liked any of small or mini collectors~

Who is this guy wearing blue shirt on the right hand? I think I recognize him - not sure~

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by GuitarGal

Who is this guy wearing blue shirt on the right hand? I think I recognize him - not sure~

GuitarGal, that guy on the right is the adorable little guitar maker...me! That picture was taken last July at Gibson's Summer Jam, with Rick Gembar on the left (the head of Gibson's Custom Shop), holding my first Less Tall.

You being from NY, it's not likely that you know me, unless you've spent much time in Connecticut or Massachusetts, or were around during the mid '70's through the early '80's during the height of my musical career (LOL)...although I didn't have as much grey hair back then.

Frank

[GuitarGal]

Originally Posted by pinefd

GuitarGal, that guy on the right is the adorable little guitar maker...me! That picture was taken last July at Gibson's Summer Jam, with Rick Gembar on the left (the head of Gibson's Custom Shop), holding my first Less Tall.

You being from NY, it's not likely that you know me, unless you've spent much time in Connecticut or Massachusetts, or were around during the mid '70's through the early '80's during the height of my musical career (LOL)...although I didn't have as much grey hair back then.

Frank

You look young~ You made the adorable little guitar? How much do you sell for it?

You're right~ I haven't been to Connecticut or Massachusetts~

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by GuitarGal

You look young~ You made the adorable little guitar? How much do you sell for it?

You're right~ I haven't been to Connecticut or Massachusetts~

If I look young, then how come my 5 and 8 year old kids don't think so! Maybe because I'm old enough to be their grandpa!

Regarding the Less Tall guitars, I'm not yet at a point where I'm able to sell them. They still take sooooooo long to make, I'd have to charge as much as 2 or 3 high end R9s in order to make it worthwhile. Maybe someday I'll be able to produce them faster, and by then, who knows, maybe I can hire my kids to help build them!

[pinefd]

Here are some progress photos showing the guitar partially assembled. On the body, the to-do list includes: mount (screw down) the pickup rings, install the jack and jack plate, install the stap buttons, and lastly, install the control cavity covers on the back. I may wait to complete the headstock hardware installation while I research other ways of making a workable tuner. Therefore, the strings won't be installed until the tuners are on.




And a token "don't forget how small this thing really is" photo, with the guitar resting in a full size case:

[GuitarGal]

Originally Posted by pinefd

Beautiful~

[GuitarGal]

Originally Posted by pinefd

If I look young, then how come my 5 and 8 year old kids don't think so! Maybe because I'm old enough to be their grandpa!

Regarding the Less Tall guitars, I'm not yet at a point where I'm able to sell them. They still take sooooooo long to make, I'd have to charge as much as 2 or 3 high end R9s in order to make it worthwhile. Maybe someday I'll be able to produce them faster, and by then, who knows, maybe I can hire my kids to help build them!

Well, good luck and let me know if you plan to someday~

[Red Baron]

Truly amazing work and very cool!

[GuitarGal]

Originally Posted by Red Baron

Truly amazing work and very cool!

Yeah, It is amazing work and very cool~

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by Red Baron

Truly amazing work and very cool!

Originally Posted by GuitarGal

Yeah, It is amazing work and very cool~

Thanks again for the nice comments.

And FYI, tomorrow (Thursday), Sweet Baby Duane is being shipped to Dave Johnson for some more magic! Here it is just prior to being packed for shipment. This one I pre-drilled with 90% of the necessary mounting holes, so that assembly should be quick and easy once I get it back. I can't wait...and I haven't even shipped it yet!

[pinefd]

Well, Sweet Baby Duane made it to Dave's ok, so the wait begins anew. Meanwhile, I'm still working on trying to come up with a solution to the tuner dilemma, so I haven't tried installing any "dummy" tuners on the first one he painted, until I can figure out whether real ones will be do-able. Here are a couple of recent photos of the first one, together with some case candy (but minus tuners and strings):






And in case the COA isn't completely visible from where you are, the Model Number is "LT 59", and the Serial Number is "9 700.5" Yes, that's the first "half" Les Paul produced in 2007!

[Darkburst]

Looks great!!!

[BCRGreg]

I am utterly blown away by this.

I don't know what to say. Awesome!

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by Darkburst

Looks great!!!

Originally Posted by BCRGreg

I am utterly blown away by this.

I don't know what to say. Awesome!

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the nice comments. It's been a real fun project, and the encouragement I get from my fellow Les Paul friends is what gives me the incentive to keep plugging away.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, and will show photos of Baby Duane as soon as I get some from Dave.

Frank

[Ducati]

Fantastic work, very fascinating to look at.

Where did you source the pink case lining and brown leatherette covering? Would love to find out.

[pinefd]

Originally Posted by Ducati

Fantastic work, very fascinating to look at.

Where did you source the pink case lining and brown leatherette covering? Would love to find out.

Ducati, first of all, welcome to the forum! And thanks for the nice comments.

The brown leatherette covering is actually book binding material. I bought it from this place: Cover Material Sales Bookbinding Cloth Buckram, and I believe it was the 1051 Kid Tobacco color. The material came in the plain brown color shown on the website, and I sponge painted the case design on the material to look like an original (or at least a re-issue).

The pink case lining I found at a fabric store in downtown Boston. I couldn't give you any of the details of the material (except I believe it was a velour of some kind), just the website for the store: Winmil Fabrics - Boston, MA - Home Page

I hope that helps!

By the way, for those who may be interested, here's a photo of Baby Duane after Dave shot the burst. I'm loving it!