Visual ID for Pancake Body

[Satyricon]

I'm picking up a 78 les paul today. Probably one of the best Les Pauls I've ever played. Rich, deep, sustain for days. Played it against a 56, 59 and 60 VOS and it cut them all to shreds. A real surprise for a Norlin. I'm pretty sure the pancakes were ended in 77 but curious if there's a technique for ID'ing a pancake body. I don't think it is. Had a good luthier examine and concluded it was a solid - but just want to be sure. Thanks in advance.

 

[fretno]

if it's a clear back you won't be able to miss the sandwich'd body

 

[Satyricon]

if it's a clear back you won't be able to miss the sandwich'd body

Ebony.

 

[fretno]

Ebony.

I would think that maybe you might see some finish shrinkage along the seam but other than that could be difficult to tell .

 

[Shawn Lutz]

you probably won't be able to tell if its ebony unless there is a poor seam and finish shrinking into it. It is plain as day on trans finishes however. I've only seen a few of them and they were pretty much two identical pieces of the body glued directly on top of each other, you can't miss it.

 

[Satyricon]

I would think that maybe you might see some finish shrinkage along the seam but other than that could be difficult to tell .

I went over it pretty heavily, but the laquer is still flat and even. There's a quarter-sized wear mark on the back, but not enough to give me a definite. Nothing pops out as a red flag and the sound and tone is pretty amazing. So, I kind of feel the proof's in the pudding. Thanks for the response.

 

[fretno]

I went over it pretty heavily, but the laquer is still flat and even. There's a quarter-sized wear mark on the back, but not enough to give me a definite. Nothing pops out as a red flag and the sound and tone is pretty amazing. So, I kind of feel the proof's in the pudding. Thanks for the response.

Even pancakes can sound amazing and they are still valuable instruments so it sounds like a win win , pics when she arrives you could perhaps black light it though not sure it would reveal anything or not .

 

[Satyricon]

you probably won't be able to tell if its ebony unless there is a poor seam and finish shrinking into it. It is plain as day on trans finishes however. I've only seen a few of them and they were pretty much two identical pieces of the body glued directly on top of each other, you can't miss it.

Thanks Shawn.

 

[Satyricon]

Even pancakes can sound amazing and they are still valuable instruments so it sounds like a win win , pics when she arrives you could perhaps black light it though not sure it would reveal anything or not .

Will do, for sure. Swapping out the PUPS for Fralin Split Singles. Can't wait.

 

[fretno]

Will do, for sure. Swapping out the PUPS for Fralin Split Singles. Can't wait.

might be t-tops in there so they could be keepers

 

[Satyricon]

might be t-tops in there so they could be keepers

No plans to discard. Def. keeping.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

yeah, the proof is in the pudding if she's a tone monster. It wouldn't bother me one bit if it was pancaked with 20 pieces if you couldnt see it

Post some pictures when you pick her up....I already have Jeff Beck mental picture of an Ebony Standard

 

[acstorfer]

Why are you so concerned about it possibly being a pancake if you dig the way it plays and sounds?

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Didn't they reintroduce one-piece bodies in 1977?

At any rate, pull the control-cavity cover and look for a seam there.

 

[roodyrocker]

Why would you be surprised that a Norlin ripped some Reissues to pieces tone wise? While I won't say thats always the case as there are good and bad from all eras I think its time people got over the myth that a Norlin LP has to be inferior to modern Reissues.
As far as telling if its a pancake body, if its a 78 it most likely isn't pancaked. However, when you go to change pickups or if you look inside the control cavities you should be able to see the layers on a Pancaked LP
BTW, congrats on finding a nice one

Rudy

 

[oli]

Didn't they reintroduce one-piece bodies in 1977?

At any rate, pull the control-cavity cover and look for a seam there.

They did, indeed. 77 was the transition year. So that 78 should not be pancaked. Like Thump said, look for a seam in the control cavity or in the pup cavities. But I'm pretty sure you won't find anything.

 

[acstorfer]

Why would you be surprised that a Norlin ripped some Reissues to pieces tone wise? While I won't say thats always the case as there are good and bad from all eras I think its time people got over the myth that a Norlin LP has to be inferior to modern Reissues.

I'm guessing he's surprised because of the Norlin hype. It's very indicative of HotBrit's fact or myth thread. People heard it from someone, who heard it from someone and so on, instead of actually trying them for themselves. I still don't get why anyone would care if their guitar was pancaked, especially if they dig the guitar.

Luckily we know better

OP

Congratulations on keeping an open mind and not buying completely into the hype. Enjoy your new guitar!

 

[blindriver]

yeah as ppl have already posted, and you can see by going to the Norlin subfoum sticky, this one would be after pancakes. I have a 74 black beauty custom, no separation, but you can see it just by looking and not even too close.

Here is another 74, not too shabby lol

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcoweoZ6jpM]Crazy Train: Live with Randy Rhoads - HQ on After Hours TV show - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Satyricon]

Why are you so concerned about it possibly being a pancake if you dig the way it plays and sounds?

I'm not - I guess that's kinda the conclusion. It sounds amazing so, I guess I could care less. I have just heard that pancakes dont hold appraise as well. It's all rumor - not like I spoke to anyone who actually owned one.

 

[acstorfer]

I'm not - I guess that's kinda the conclusion. It sounds amazing so, I guess I could care less. I have just heard that pancakes dont hold appraise as well. It's all rumor - not like I spoke to anyone who actually owned one.

Actually the earlier 70's models are doing very well regarding value. I guess it's all relative though. If you owned or played a Norlin era Gibson you'd be tempted to get another. If you owned a pancaked LP, you'd be tempted to get another.

Also, pancaked LP's have other things going for it, built in Kalamazoo, mahagony neck, transitional tenon and generally the earlier 70's LP's are lighter than the late 70's through 80's. Of course that is not to say that many don't prefer a maple neck. Probably the biggest thing going for the pancakes is they are older and not as many of them.

Of course in the end, who cares? An LP with pancake, maple neck, tenon size, volute, whatever as long as it sounds kick ass!