sepultura999 Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 I am an absolute noob but I have been gathering information here and there from this forum. Please put your inputs and if I mention something that I may be doing wrong, PLEASE tell me haha. I found a really good deal on a Vantage LP copy, so I took some pictures of what I'm dealing with here. One of the pictures is blurry, but you get the idea of the finish. The guitar is a vantage LP copy. Mahogony body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. I believe the top is mahogony, if not, maybe a flamed maple. Hard to tell due to the terrible custom paint job... pic 1 pic 2 As you can see the guy painted on this and didn't do too well of a job. I believe he used acrylic poster paint because it has that drywall feel to it. I am thinking about purchasing this guitar. If I do, it needs quite a bit of work; - new bridge - new tailpiece - new knobs - new switches, pots, etc. - new pickups - new finish - Can anyone recomend any tailpiece and bridge? Can anyone recomend any switches, pots, etc. for Epiphone Goth LP pickups? The neck is a bolt on, and as you can see the guy who previously owned it for some reason yanked it about half an inch forward - why I don't know. A little wood filler in the holes of the neck and re-drill should fix the neck no problem. The guy painted over the pickups and I thought I read around here that painting over the magnets could dim the sound slightly if not all of it. It doesn't matter since I'm putting new epiphone goth pickups in. I am choosing to use 2 pickups instead of 3. Woodfiller again will come in handy filling in that hole. Beside the middle pickup you can see that there's a screw about 1-1.5 inches away, I haven't seen this before so any help would be nice. I don't know what kind of finish I'm planning on doing. I may choose to do just a flat satin black finish (like the goth series) or I may do a material finish. I may end up changing the neck by the way, depending on the measurements because I am a fan of mahogony and ebony and would go nice with the mahogony body and the goth pickups Thanks everyone for your input and help, can't wait to hear from you all. -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAI6 Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 First thing first...... Before you go ahead and move the neck into the neck pocket, double check the scale length. I have a feeling that the neck wasn't "yanked" forward, but instead it was replaced with a neck that was slightly shorter. Second, if it turns out that you DO need to move the neck, please stay away from the wood filler when it comes to filling the holes in the neck. Drill them out and insert dowels. THen you can position your neck properly, and drill new holes. Oh, and how much are you paying for that guitar...? It sounds like all you're really getting is the body, and the rest you're planning to toss in the garbage....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 So far, the body is 75 bucks, Epi. LP Goth pickups i got for 45, the bridge and tailpeace i can live with, they're just a bit rusted and in a few months i'll probably get a graphtech ghost tune-o-matic bridge but I just checked ebay and for 20-40 dollars you can get a tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece. Is there a way to deal with the rust anyways like steel wool or maybe a polish? *I AM NOOB * My uncle has tools for sanding, finishing and soldering so no money out of my pocket there except for the finishing. If the scale is fine, I can live with that little hole. It looks a little weird but I don't play that high up anyway! Thanks for the tip on the woodfiller on the neck and then redrilling! I may change the neck I am not sure at all, it depends on the price and I may be happy with the final result anyways. Btw, all the funds I have stated are in Canadian. I'm going back saturday since I have a lesson there and I'll make sure to measure the scale length like you said as well. I will also measure the bridge and tailpiece to figure out which one I will need in case I do buy. For the ebony fretboard, I am emailing a luthier in hamilton (30 mins. from where I live) and ask him how much it would cost to make and put one on. I'm a huge sucker for ebony fretboards probably because I'm so sick of seeing rosewood all the time, but I also like the feel and the tone it gives, especially with the epiphone LP goth pickups! To answer your question, so far it will cost 120 canadian, that's if I don't get a new tail and bridge. and 140-160 canadian if i do get a new tail and bridge. Electronics? I don't know yet because I don't know actually if the electronics are good or not in this guitar except for the pickups (since he painted on them and it could effect the sound *someone correct me on this?*. But if I decided to get four new pots and a selector it would cost between 40-45 canadian. Most I'd pay then would be 200-210 maybe less maybe a bit more *keep in mind I am not including paint costs yet*. Knobs are easiest to find and that won't be a problem. So far I think it's a good deal. If not please inform me so I don't waste my money *off topic* Does anyone know of any soundclips on the internet of a fretless guitar in action? -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAI6 Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 In regards to a fretless guitar...... I don't know if there's anything floating around on the web, but check out Steve Vai on the G3 "Live in Denver" CD or DVD. Triple neck guitar in action................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Thanks. I did find some audio clips on UBL.com just select to search album and type in fretless guitar For the bridge and the tailpiece if I decide to get this has rusting, would steel wool help clear this away? or maybe CLR? -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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