allstellar Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 I've seen a few on evay.. epiphone to gibson conversions..... Sooo.. How hard is it to convert an Epiphone Les Paul standard headstock to Gibson Les Paul standard? What's the best way to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Sure, sure, I believe you. Well, here's the best way: 1. Save up your money. 2. Sell the Epiphone 3. Buy the Gibson 4. Play 5. Wonder why you bothered 6. Look at headstock 7. Say, ah, okay, well it was worth the extra grand.... I'm actually being serious --I'm a sucker for the logo too, at least as far as guitars are concerned. Even though I 'know' that an Epiphone can be the equal, or even superior, to a Gibson, it just can't ever be the same... Anyway, sure, you could sand off the existing logo, apply a Gibson fake to it, refinish, etc. But if you're really going to keep the guitar forever, you'll always know it's a fake, so it's just not worth the effort. And if you're actually planning on selling it, ripping off some poor sucker who only buys for the logo, then you're a criminal. For what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Sure, sure, I believe you. Well, here's the best way: 1. Save up your money. 2. Sell the Epiphone 3. Buy the Gibson 4. Play 5. Wonder why you bothered 6. Look at headstock 7. Say, ah, okay, well it was worth the extra grand.... I'm actually being serious --I'm a sucker for the logo too, at least as far as guitars are concerned. Even though I 'know' that an Epiphone can be the equal, or even superior, to a Gibson, it just can't ever be the same... Anyway, sure, you could sand off the existing logo, apply a Gibson fake to it, refinish, etc. But if you're really going to keep the guitar forever, you'll always know it's a fake, so it's just not worth the effort. And if you're actually planning on selling it, ripping off some poor sucker who only buys for the logo, then you're a criminal. For what? ← I take the fictitious assumption that I am a criminal seriously and heartily. The simple fact is that I used to own a few les pauls and prob could affoard one fairly easily…… But I’m building a home and already have 5 or 10 guitars… …..it is more of a “I miss em’ thing.. I did not ask how to forge a serial number or build a fake guitar….. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Anyway, Has anyone here done this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 (edited) I take the fictitious assumption that I am a criminal seriously and heartily. ← Hey, relax, you brought it up. Nice to know that your intentions aren't criminal though. Anyway, it's not difficult. Just sand off the existing logo, repaint the headstock, make a new logo and clear coat over that. You can make your logo from decal paper, or use the transparency method as described in the main Project Guitar site. The decal will look better, but if you want gold letters, you'll might want to use transparency paper (unless you have a printer that can print gold ink). Alternatively, you can try to buy a (gold) logo, or have one made for you. On the other hand, why not do something fancy --like make your own logo....do a custom paint job for the entire guitar...etc.... Here's a logo I made using transparency paper to give you an idea of what you can do: Edited May 17, 2005 by idch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvkeith Posted May 18, 2005 Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 There was a guy from Germany selling Gibson Headstock overlays on ebay from $50-$60. Identical to True Gibson overlays. Supposed to be NOS. I bought a couple to to upgrade my son's SG Special Headstock to Look more like a custom. Only problem is Epiphones with the Bolt-on neck compared with Gibson's Set neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted May 18, 2005 Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 Probably the easiest way to do it would be to sand the finish off the headstock, fill the tuner holes, lop off both sides off the headstock even with the fretboard, add new fresh wood to either side of the headstock, carve the Gibson profile, drill new tuner holes, and paint and add whatever logo to the newly recarved headstock. Not that I'm advocating doing it, but nothing anyone says here is going to stop you, anyway. BTW, something to think about: Modifying the headstock into a Gibson and playing it in public as a Gibson is just as criminal as selling it as a Gibson. If you really miss the feel of the real deal that much, how about trading one or two of those guitars in on a used Les Paul or something? If you really want to do the project, I'd suggest carving your own design and a different logo just for the practice. I bet you could come up with something cooler than the original Gibson design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 18, 2005 Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 IMO the issue should be the ugly shape of the Epi' headstock, not the name on the guitar. If it were me, I'd reshape the head, working around the logo, then refinish the head, feathering it into original finish. Alternatively you could strip the head, and save the inlay (which on most Epi's is a thin overlay suspended in thick lacquer) and reapply it after reshaping the head. This would make for a more elegant instrument, which is still true to it's origins, and neatly sidesteps the issue of fraud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted May 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 IMO the issue should be the ugly shape of the Epi' headstock, not the name on the guitar. If it were me, I'd reshape the head, working around the logo, then refinish the head, feathering it into original finish. Alternatively you could strip the head, and save the inlay (which on most Epi's is a thin overlay suspended in thick lacquer) and reapply it after reshaping the head. This would make for a more elegant instrument, which is still true to it's origins, and neatly sidesteps the issue of fraud. ← Now this is a great soloution.... I simply feel that the epi headstock looks... bad.. it's not really the name that kills me... thanks.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elynnia Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 IMO the issue should be the ugly shape of the Epi' headstock, not the name on the guitar. If it were me, I'd reshape the head, working around the logo, then refinish the head, feathering it into original finish. Alternatively you could strip the head, and save the inlay (which on most Epi's is a thin overlay suspended in thick lacquer) and reapply it after reshaping the head. This would make for a more elegant instrument, which is still true to it's origins, and neatly sidesteps the issue of fraud. ← Hiya, Although I'm not a LP player, I have a hollow-archtop that I want to modify the headstock of - being an acoustic-sized guitar (and cuz I've never worked with guitars much), I'm unsure how to do this. Also, I'd like to redo the clear coat on the front of the headstock - what do I use? thanks, elynnia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 On the Epi-Gibson "conversion"... My first reaction was squarely in the "fraud" category, but on further rumination...Gibson does own Epiphone, so legally I don't think you're committing fraud to put a Gibson headstock veneer on an Epiphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted August 7, 2005 Report Share Posted August 7, 2005 it is fraud, and we are not having this argument AGAIN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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