wheelbyte Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Hey Guys, I love the les paul juniors, and buying one is a bit out of my price range and thought maybe building one would be a less exspensive and fun alternative. I would probably buy a neck, but the body looks like it would be pretty simple to do myself. I have a friend that built a tele, and so he has tools and knowledge to help me with the actual cutting etc.. but I was just wondering if you guys had any suggestions on maybe some places to get any accurate template to follow, guides, or just any suggestions you had to start my build. Thanks, Wheelbyte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 If you donate to this site, you'll get access to some very accurate LP plans. And you might as well donate to the site, since once you start building you're probably going to be living here ;-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 I also love Juniors, its a great model to start off your building. After donating, go off the LP plans and you can't go wrong. I really like the look of the old-style juniors, wrap tail & a single P90....Captain Downstroke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelbyte Posted March 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 (edited) Is there a version for a double cutaway? Im thinkin tv yellow and double cutaway just like Johnny thunders. Also how difficult is it to do a set neck, and where is a good place to buy quality necks? Edited March 31, 2006 by wheelbyte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Is there a version for a double cutaway? Im thinkin tv yellow and double cutaway just like Johnny thunders. Also how difficult is it to do a set neck, and where is a good place to buy quality necks? warmoth.com--thats an awesome place to buy custom necks. you can choose the inlay and wood, fret #. all that stuff. we got our neck from them for the guitar were workin on now. also, allparts.com is the best site for every part you need when making a guitar. seth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mu_sound Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Not to discourage you from building, because its loads of fun, but if you love Jr's, Guitar Center had them on sale for $99 (Korean made Epi Les Paul Jr. to be specific). I picked one up as a travel guitar. I just unscrew the 4 neck screws and fold it up and stick it in my carry on. Makes the luggage a bit heavy, but at least I had a guitar for my week in Houston. I doubt that you could build a guitar for less than that. Of course the quality of this guitar is not exactly much more than $99. The nut needs to be filed smooth (the high E binds a bit). The tuners suck! The frets arent exactly flat. Once I got the strings changed to 11's and adjusted the truss rod, it had a bit of a nasty buzz at the 3rd fret. So I'm sure what you build will have better craftsmanship and better quality components. The pickup is a very important part of the sound, so make sure you find a pickup that has that dirty Junior vibe you like. I really dug the tone I had that week in Houston. I was playing into a Danelectro $20 headphone amp with the distortion cranked playing "My Head's in Mississippi" a la ZZ Top! I had a ball. Good luck with the build! You will have a blast. -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 I doubt that you could build a guitar for less than that. You're missing the point...building your own guitar is not the same thing as buying a cheapo Epiphone... --you have to compare the cost to buying a real LP Jr. Besides, by the time you get done modifying the Epiphone to make a real guitar out of it --replacing the tuners, the nut, the bridge, the pickups, the pots and jack too while you're at it, not to mention the time you'll spend getting the frets to behave--building your own will end up being cheaper, more fun, and truer to the spirit of an LP jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Not sure gibson are making LP Juniors at the moment anyway. Hamer make a nice Korina one for £3000 which i think is slightly criminal. These are very simple guitars to make with very few components, great for a first guitar. If you are worried about doing a set neck then dont. You can make it as a bolt on neck quite easily by having the neck extending past the fretboard and using a normal fender style neck plate on the back. The scratchplate will cover the extra bit of neck on the front. This works really well with single bridge pickup guitars, but obviously needs a little more planning if you are having a neck pickup because the screws might be in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 You can buy LPDC templates here. The pickup routing is different for what you want, but you should be able to figure that out. Gibsoncustom.com shows a 58 LP Jr reissue, but I couldn't find pricing on it. The DC faded is about $769, but isn't exactly a Jr. If you want the vibe of a Jr without spending a lot of time or money, look at this one from Rondo Music--just replace the tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Instead of starting a new threadI thought I could continue this one with a question of my own. I was wondering if an LP Jr. is the same size as a standard? This having to do with a build project I'm concidering. Thanks a lot in advance. Maurits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 i believe its the same size viewed from the front but,from the side i believe the standard is thicker, what with its carved top and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted April 16, 2006 Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 Thanks Nitefly, I knew about the thickness but wasn't sure about the front view size. I have the thickness taken care of allready. Turns out cheap crappy construction has saved me tons of work. It used to be a cheap LP standard copy, of which I have have actually completely removed the top in less than 15 minutes. Now it is about as thick as a tele, which I believe is close enough for my little project. Thanks, Maurits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.