ESchmidt
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2015
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Hello everyone! I would like to take some time today to share my thoughts on working with Andy at BadMojo makeovers. But first the back story of the guitar:
I purchased a 1971 Les Paul Deluxe off of Reverb a few years ago. It was originally a factory goldtop, but at the time of purchase had the top stripped off and finished natural (badly I might add). It also had a poor re-fret job and was once routed for humbuckers but then filled for mini hums to go back in. It was the ultimate players guitar and project for the following two reasons: 1-Look at that flame top! 2-it has a nice chunky neck (fairly rare for a 70s Les Paul). So I decided to have it converted to specs of my choosing. I sent it off to a vintage repair specialist Chad Fitzpatrick at CF Restorations and had the top finished in the beautiful faded honeyburst you see. I also had him re-fret the guitar, add cellulose nitrate inlays, re-radius the fretboard, re-carve the top to a deeper dish, and rout for PAFs. He did all of this work flawlessly and I cannot recommend him enough for vintage restorations.
But one thing that I always kicked myself for was leaving the back and sides the factory brown color, as seen on a goldtop. It did not look too out of place considering the top color was a faded honeyburst, but I knew I would not be happy unless the project was finished and the sides and back were done in a faded cherry red.
I learned about Andy from Badmojo Makeovers on this forum and everybody I spoke to had nothing but good things to say about him and his work. I figured he would be a great choice to finish my project. I sent Andy my guitar to have him strip and refinish the back and sides to a faded cherry red, on the cusp of turning orange. He also added the headstock stinger and re-stamped the serial number in a 1950s typeface. He nailed the color exactly and I could not be happier with how everything turned out. He took notice to include things such as a little binding bleed and making sure the weather checking extended over the binding, so everything looks correct. He also aged the newly refinished back and sides to match the aging and patina on the top. You would be hard-pressed to tell that they were refinished nearly two years apart from each other. Throughout the process Andy was patient with me and responded to emails and calls quickly. His customer service matches his excellent skill. I would like to express my thanks to him for finishing this project for me. Now on to the pictures!!
I purchased a 1971 Les Paul Deluxe off of Reverb a few years ago. It was originally a factory goldtop, but at the time of purchase had the top stripped off and finished natural (badly I might add). It also had a poor re-fret job and was once routed for humbuckers but then filled for mini hums to go back in. It was the ultimate players guitar and project for the following two reasons: 1-Look at that flame top! 2-it has a nice chunky neck (fairly rare for a 70s Les Paul). So I decided to have it converted to specs of my choosing. I sent it off to a vintage repair specialist Chad Fitzpatrick at CF Restorations and had the top finished in the beautiful faded honeyburst you see. I also had him re-fret the guitar, add cellulose nitrate inlays, re-radius the fretboard, re-carve the top to a deeper dish, and rout for PAFs. He did all of this work flawlessly and I cannot recommend him enough for vintage restorations.
But one thing that I always kicked myself for was leaving the back and sides the factory brown color, as seen on a goldtop. It did not look too out of place considering the top color was a faded honeyburst, but I knew I would not be happy unless the project was finished and the sides and back were done in a faded cherry red.
I learned about Andy from Badmojo Makeovers on this forum and everybody I spoke to had nothing but good things to say about him and his work. I figured he would be a great choice to finish my project. I sent Andy my guitar to have him strip and refinish the back and sides to a faded cherry red, on the cusp of turning orange. He also added the headstock stinger and re-stamped the serial number in a 1950s typeface. He nailed the color exactly and I could not be happier with how everything turned out. He took notice to include things such as a little binding bleed and making sure the weather checking extended over the binding, so everything looks correct. He also aged the newly refinished back and sides to match the aging and patina on the top. You would be hard-pressed to tell that they were refinished nearly two years apart from each other. Throughout the process Andy was patient with me and responded to emails and calls quickly. His customer service matches his excellent skill. I would like to express my thanks to him for finishing this project for me. Now on to the pictures!!
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