So Im Thinking Of Converting An Lp Junior

[Ledzendrix1128]

I got this guitar from a friend for free, wants me to fix it up and give it back to him i guess (is what i find out later). But i was thinking about turning it into a double cut. It doesnt seem like its that hard to do, but the only thing im worried about is the fact that its made out of ply wood (epiphones = crap). If i put grainfiller over this on the edges will the layers of laminate still show through the finish? cuz the layer definately show with the finish over it in the pickup cavities. So basically im asking for things to look out for while doing this project, and also if there is a special method used when finishing the edges of plywood...

[stageleft]

Been there done that, to the same guitar......if you put a good primer on and a solid color finish the ply will not show through.

George

[Ledzendrix1128]

thanks that all i needed to know

[thegarehanman]

The neck joint on a singlecut and a double cut are totally different. You realise you'll have to do a lot more than just cutting out another horn, right? I would estimate that(if you use the same neck) you'll have to reroute the neck pocket, and the humbucker cavities, as well as redrill the bridge post holes. You could avoid all of that, but it would require a different neck. I'm just making sure you realise what has to be done.

peace,

russ

[soapbarstrat]

I didn't realize that adding a cutaway to the *bass* side of the neck/body joint was considered a *repair* or a way to get a guitar to play/sound better.

[Ledzendrix1128]

haha, nvm, i decided not to do it... but how is it a different neck joint? I mean.. .its still 4 bolts no matter what you do. maybe explain this a little more?

[thegarehanman]

The neck joint is in a totally different place and I'm pretty sure the actual neck tenon doesn't look the same. Do a google image search for lp jr's and look at how the double cut's neck joins the body at nearly the end of the fretboard. This leads me to believe a double cut's neckjoint is more like a prs style neckjoint that extends into the body, past the end of the fretboard. If you used the same neck, it wouldn't look the same as a normal doublecut lp because the fretboard would have to substantially extend into the body. This would also require you to move the bridge post holes(to maintain your scale length). You could let the bridge humbucker stay where it is, but it'd be halfway between the bridge and neck now. You could use the old neck joint, but it would look odd from the back, nothing like how it's "supposed" to be done. Just look at pictures of the front and back of dc and sc lp jrs, you'll see what I mean. Also, I'm having a hard time finding a dc lp jr that doesn't have a set neck, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. You can do this, it's just a question of how much work it is. I wouldn't consider this a "repair" though.

peace,

russ

Edited November 3, 2005 by thegarehanman

[soapbarstrat]

I know all about teenage guitar repair. I was there at one time, and remember thinking " now, if I'm going to work on this guitar, I have to do something that really changes the look of it". Now I know that if you put set-up work first (and doing repairs that might be needed to allow a great set-up to happen), then you appreciate the original looks of the guitar more. Or in other words, I think back then I would associate the looks of a guitar with the poor sound or playing quality it had, and thought a change in looks was needed as the beginning of changing everything undesirable about the instrument.