Finally decided (Bavarian content)

[Netwarrior]

Hey guys, back from a week of holidays. First day at work is always hard, but I have something to ease the stress...

Florian finished to redo the top carve. It looks gorgeous!

I was really hoping for an update of this thread!
The re-carve looks good and with a decent amount of "dish", even though the change is subtle and I always struggle to see the difference without a direct before/after comparison.

 

[LesPast]

I was really hoping for an update of this thread!
The re-carve looks good and with a decent amount of "dish", even though the change is subtle and I always struggle to see the difference without a direct before/after comparison.

I see what you mean.

From what I can see from the pictures, and how I remeber the R7 was, there is a "flatter" area all around the perimeter of the maple cap. It is very noticeable from my point of view, the original guitar had a much smoother transition.

 

[LesPast]

Short bushings have been removed. They will be replaced by custom made for Florian, vintage length, correct material and shape.

Since the tailpiece position will be slightly changed, one of the holes will be plugged, a new hole will be drilled.

Asked Florian about what should I expect from the longer, vintage bushings and studs, in terms of tone. He said in his experience the improvements are more bottom, punch and sustain. One of the reasons I always preferred this particular Les Paul is that it had a very deep low end, a wide frequency response at both ends of the spectrum, and a very bold tone. Compared to the other few I used to play, I always had to turn down the bass and the gain a bit on the amps. So I am very curious to hear it after these improvements!

 

[Netwarrior]

View attachment 413715

Short bushings have been removed. They will be replaced by custom made for Florian, vintage length, correct material and shape.

View attachment 413716

Since the tailpiece position will be slightly changed, one of the holes will be plugged, a new hole will be drilled.

View attachment 413717

View attachment 413718

Asked Florian about what should I expect from the longer, vintage bushings and studs, in terms of tone. He said in his experience the improvements are more bottom, punch and sustain. One of the reasons I always preferred this particular Les Paul is that it had a very deep low end, a wide frequency response at both ends of the spectrum, and a very bold tone. Compared to the other few I used to play, I always had to turn down the bass and the gain a bit on the amps. So I am very curious to hear it after these improvements!

I'm so impatient to see the end result and hear some sound clips

 

[LesPast]

Old bushing hole tapped and sanded. Florian has matched the surrounding grain of the top, I can hardly spot where it was. I am speechless.

 

[Netwarrior]

Old bushing hole tapped and sanded. Florian has matched the surrounding grain of the top, I can hardly spot where it was. I am speechless.

View attachment 413992

what a perfect job!
I'm curious to see how "slanted" the tailpiece will look after the relocation.

 

[LesPast]

The new tailpiece hole is drilled, the ground wire placed.

Then, the long bushings are installed, and the position of the tailpiece and the bridge is shown. These photos also show the new "belly" very well, it really looks great!

 

[Netwarrior]

The new tailpiece hole is drilled, the ground wire placed.

Amazing. The relocation looks invisible. Not that It would matter since it will be a goldtop, but quality craftmanship is always a pleasure to look at.

 

[LesPast]

Florian is now treating the grain of the mahogany with a dark pore filler.

I have asked for a reddish-brown darkback, where you can actually see the grain of the wood, not an almost black as it was before.

This would be a great example, 7 5216.

 

[LesPast]

And the sprayed back and neck. So impressed!

Just gorgeous!!!

 

[Netwarrior]

Back tint looks amazing. The lacquer coat looks extremely thin. It scares me that the mahogany pores under the lacquer do not look entirely filled

I wouldn't be worried though, I'm sure the master has a plan

 

[LesPast]

Serial is back on the guitar...

 

[Dr. Arkam]

The back of that guitar looks amazing. Good call going with the lighter brown, I love being able to see the grain on the back of a GT.

 

[DanD]

Exactly the back color I'd want. That looks perfect.

 

[Rock City]

This looks... sick. In both ways. Looking at this makes me not buy R7 I was warming up for

 

[RocketKing]

Wow, it's coming out beautifully

 

[LesPast]

And now the gold:

Looks very nice: warm and strong, I don't like the greener, duller shade of gold.

 

[Dr. Arkam]

That’s gonna be awesome.

 

[LesPast]

Binding has been scraped. The gold color looks really amazing.

 

[Netwarrior]

Binding has been scraped. The gold color looks really amazing.

I like the gold a lot! The hardest part will be waiting for a month or so that the lacquer cures, after Florian is finished spraying it