Dylanwad Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I recently bought a Keiper Les Paul copy with the intention of customizing it. The original plan was to re paint it matallic blue but I actually quite like the finish so I'm going to keep the paint as it is. I'm going to replace all the hardware with black versions, locking machine heads, tele style knobs, straplocks, Graph Tech nut and saddles, relocate the toggle, add a killswitch, pickup covers, stain the fretboard black and re finsh the headstock with a custom design. I was also going to replace the pickups but as it turns out they sound ok. In fact, the whole guitar is pretty good considering it only cost me £36 (+£15 postage)! I realize this isn't like building from scratch (I am in awe of so many of the guitars you guys are building) but I'm excited to finally be doing this, it's been on my mind for too long! It's the first guitar I've bought since 1992 (my Ibanez RG550 is still going strong even if it does look a bit battered these days!) and it feels wierd that I'm going to take it to bits! Right, I'm off. I'll keep you posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 good luck with the project, where are you thinking of relocating the toggle switch, and what will you do to cover up the hole, if your not going to re finish the body, I would suggest, keeping the toggle where it is, and adding a kill switch down near the volume/tone knobs, or have the kill switch where the toggle is right now, and have the toggle down near the volume and tone knobs, Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Thanks Curtis. The plan is to move the toggle down by the knobs and to put the killswitch in the original toggle position up top. I'm doing it that way round cause I keep hitting the toggle accidentaly when I play! I stripped the original parts today, taking the knobs off revealed some damage by one of the pots but hopefully the new ones will be large enough to cover it. It also looks like the machine heads have sunk into the laquer and left an imprint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Thanks Curtis. The plan is to move the toggle down by the knobs and to put the killswitch in the original toggle position up top. I'm doing it that way round cause I keep hitting the toggle accidentaly when I play! So its better to hit a killswitch than a pickup selector switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 im pretty sure i came across this guitar in china it was a Keiper LP same colour but it had f-holes selling for 120 AUS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Thanks Curtis. The plan is to move the toggle down by the knobs and to put the killswitch in the original toggle position up top. I'm doing it that way round cause I keep hitting the toggle accidentaly when I play! So its better to hit a killswitch than a pickup selector switch The killswitch will be a push button and will only stand out a few millimeters and will be pretty much impossible to accidentaly press. For me, when strumming my hand always knoks the toggle (in the original position), and since the switch goes from side to side its the worst possible switch in the worst place for me! Sorry, I should of exlpained my self better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 im pretty sure i came across this guitar in china it was a Keiper LP same colour but it had f-holes selling for 120 AUS I think they're made in China for a German company. Your right about the f-holes, they have 3 different Les Paul type guitars, one of them has a different bridge and f-holes. I think they call it the jazz model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 yeah i was highly tempted but i got this baby for only ten buck more this guitar sells for $450 american i bought it for $130 Aus u do the math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 im pretty sure i came across this guitar in china it was a Keiper LP same colour but it had f-holes selling for 120 AUS They're cropping up a lot on ebay in the UK at the moment, I was tempted by one of the Floyd loaded super strats as it seemed cheaper than the sum of it's parts...but then I looked them up on Harmony Central Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 i gotta say that the "jazz model" i play was pretty darn nice nice action and sweet mellow tone but thats for jazz depends wat u want plus doesnt harmony central have a bad rep. for reviews???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 yeah i was highly tempted but i got this baby for only ten buck more this guitar sells for $450 american i bought it for $130 Aus u do the math That nice! Bargain. I was pleasantly suprised by the Keiper, I didn't expect much for the price but it's not bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 ohh sorry that ones a johnson still very nice i was suprised by the quality and range of guitars in such a remote city of china were i bought it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 I've always found H-C to be very helpful but you have to actually read through the reviews & understand that they are only opinions. There's always a lot of unexperienced musicians who use the pages as a place to list their whole gear history (or lack of) & list their favourite bands etc. There's also people that have bought a good/bad product from X company & then proceed to write about it in every single section of that manufacturer's product line affecting the final scores. But, with the popularity of ebay, I've found it extremely useful to find out some of the history of a product & how reliable it is. Of course every company will produce an occasional dog but if a product has say, 50 reviews & they all seem to say very similar things, you can get a good idea of what it's like. Without H-C I would never have considered buying any of the Zoom OD/Distortion/Fuzz pedals or my Charvel acoustic or my Laney amp or some of my other FX pedals. I'm not saying that this particular guitar is bad, just that the guitar that I considered had several terrible reviews including fat neck that twists after a few weeks, poor finish, lifting frets, poor binding, noisey pickups....etc. There might be hundreds of very happy customers who didn't bother to submit a review & maybe if they did I would have bought one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 yeah i hear ya i wasnt backing it up ive never been to the HC review i just think i heard some on say their review arnt great ohh well all i can say is that the only model ive played from this brand of guitar was nice and for 36 (pounds im guessing) id buy it and have a crack at doing it up myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 I don't trust HC at all. Their user review section is populated by fools. As biliousfrog says, you can glean useful information by being a critical reader and extracting the wheat from the chaff... But I'd rather just avoid HC's user reviews altogether. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 I've just ordered all the parts but I'm still undecided on one thing. Should I stain The Fretboard black or not? I've found somewhere I can get Fiebing's Leather Dye, it seems to be what people suggest.Would it stain the inlays as well or won't it penatrate them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
another doug Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 I can't tell you whether or not you want to dye it, but if you do: I assume your inlays are either pearl or plastic, in which case the dye wouldn't penetrate (I've used it over both). You just wipe it on, and wipe off the excess. When you wipe off the excess, it should come off of the inlays. Even if there's a bit of a film left over the inlays, it should come off pretty easily. Watch out and be careful, cuz that stuff can be a mess! Edit: It just occurred to me that, if the fretboard is oiled, it may affect the penetration of the dye. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems likely. Even if it hasn't been "oiled" as such, there may be natural oils from sweat. Please keep in mind that I have only done this on new, unfinished fretboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Thanks Doug. Somethings been done to the fretboard, you can see the messy finish at the end of it. Here's a closer pic of the fretboard. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w223/Dy...fret-agos-2.jpg Should I sand the fretboard down before trying to stain it or if it has been oiled does it penatrate too deeply to bet rid of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
another doug Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 My opinion is hardly an expert one, but I would be tempted to leave it alone after seeing that pic. Sanding may be difficult (or at least tedious) without pulling the frets. Also, even if it does take the dye well, it might be difficult to get a clean line at the edge, since there is no binding. I don't think it looks that bad as-is, so it may not be worth the risk and effort. I'd just clean the fretboard, and maybe wipe on a fresh coat of oil. Just my 2 cents. If anyone has dyed an existing fretboard successfully, I would trust their word over mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Why do 3 saddles on a tune-o-matic point forwards and the other 3 backwards? Does it have anything to do with the type of saddle? Should I put my Graph Tech saddles on in the same fashion? Sorry if this is a daft question, I've never noticed before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 mine does that then again its from china too lol haha nar im pretty sure its normal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 So far I've put on the straplocks, knobs, bridge, tailpiece, relocated the toggle and put in the killswitch. I like the look of the new knobs and toggle. The experience of drilling into a guitar for the first time is interesting! I can't imagine what it feels like when building from scratch, you guys must have steady hands. Knobs and toggle - http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w223/Dylanwad/du-3.jpg I couldn't find a switch that did what I needed and looked the part so I bought a couple of different ones and had a go at using the functional switch with pieces from the other that had more of the look that I wanted. I'm still working on this but here's how it looks at the moment. Killswitch - http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w223/Dylanwad/du-4.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I need to file down the underside of the new nut because it sits too high. Is there a certain type type of file I should buy? I could only find refrences to slot files with the search function. Should I heat up the old nut to soften the glue before tapping it out? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 The saddles are like that to help with intonation, the bass side saddles will need to be adjusted further back & they probably wouldn't get far enough if they were the other way round. The experience of drilling into a guitar for the first time is interesting! I can't imagine what it feels like when building from scratch, you guys must have steady hands. nah, we use a drill press They can be bought for as little as a decent hand drill & are much more accurate but they need a good throat depth to reach bridge posts. I need to file down the underside of the new nut because it sits too high. Is there a certain type type of file I should buy? you might find it easier to stick some sandpaper to a flat surface & rub the nut over it. If possible use something as a fence to keep the bottom square to the sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanwad Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thanks Biliousfrog, I'll give sandpaper a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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