Les Paul DC Project

[Maher]

Hello guys ive decided to go ahead and make a LP DC , i decided on this for a few reasons- overall the Gibson LP is my favourite guitar, i like is look and i love its sounds, but i dont like the fret access i find it differcult to access the higher register. so i think a LP with a double cutaway is the perfect way to go

Alot of you guys are very expirenced with building instrumenst and i know i can learn a great deal from you, so i am asking you to look over my specs and give me your bruterly honest opinion

here it goes:

Body:

Carved Mahogany Body with a Flame Maple Veneer

White binding

Neck:

Mahogany neck

Set Neck

Ebony FingerBoard

MoP Trapezoid inlays

22 fret

white binding

Head stock:

Orginal Les paul type headstock

"Mayer" (my last name) MoP inlay logo

Gibson Custom Diamond MoP

Ebony Veneer

White binding

Finish:

Gibsons "Manhatten Midnight" Flame maple top

back and sides of body stained blue, neck also stained blue.

Electronics:

Seymour Duncan 59's

Mini Toggle switch

Hardware:

All chrome hard ware

Tune o matic bridge (with fine tuners)

and locking tuners.

This is what i have so far, can you please give you opinions

[jimmyb]

whoa man that looks/sounds nice! (y)

oh and be sure to post lots of pics!! also have you got a template or drawings of it yet? if so could you plz gimme a PM.

thanks

Edited May 10, 2004 by jimmyb

[GregP]

The manhattan midnight sounds great.

I'm a bit confused about the body carve, though-- you say you will use a carved mahogany body with a flame maple veneer; however, you will likely find that you will not be able to veneer a carve properly.

Alternatively, you could get a maple cap (Les Pauls are typically 5/8", but from what I've seen, a thicker piece would make your life easier if it's available and affordable) and do the carve on the maple, which is the 'standard' way of doing things.

Other than that, I'm absolutely gonzo for DC Les Pauls, and you've picked the kind of finish I love to see.

What will the mini toggle be used for, in the end product?

Greg

[Maher]

I dont have any plans as yet , (if anyone has got some please PM me)

About the veneer, are you saying i cant put a veneer on a carved body? flamed maple cap is quite expensive, but if thats what i need thats what o need, im not making any cut backs on this project, everything is going to be the best i can do

[rob]

that sounds sweet man, have you thought about making your own plans? you could find plans of a normal lespaul (can get them on UK ebay for about £10) then modifying them for your own design. This is good if you don't want an exact copy, but somthing that looks very close to the orginal, and is still your own.

[spirit]

check out www.guitarbuild.com they have CAD downloads for LP Junior DC, and the outlines are the same, so you could use that.

[GregP]

About the veneer, are you saying i cant put a veneer on a carved body? flamed maple cap is quite expensive, but if thats what i need thats what o need, im not making any cut backs on this project, everything is going to be the best i can do

I haven't done one personally, but in many recent threads, people have discussed veneering 'compound curves', which is what a carve would be. The consensus is that it can't be done, though the discussion indicated that there may be ways to do it... involving really thin veneer and soaking the wood in rice vinegar (and possibly also using vacuum clamp).

In other words, it might be possible, but it'll likely be less expensive to get the cap, if you don't already have all that other stuff.

If you want to do a good job and save yourself a headache, I think most people would agree that for a carved top DC LP, you should get a maple cap, at least 5/8" thick, and thicker if you can.

Greg

[Maher]

Thanks for your help so far

i will hopefully getting 1" book matched Flame Maple, but what grade shall i get 3a? 4a? 5a?, what goes gibson use on there Les Paul standards? and how much should i expect to pay for this ill check gibsons website maybe i find out there.

also, does anyone know where i can see a detailed tutorial on making a set neck guitar?

One more question:

How do i finish a fingerboard? do you leave it natural, or oil it it somthing? im having a Ebony FB if that helps.

thank you guys.

LeeM

[GregP]

Somewhere along the way, I read that Gibson does not use top quality flame. Perhaps the information only referred to the original Les Pauls, which weren't even bookmatched. I think I saw that here somewhere....

Anyhow, use whatever you're comfortable with! I got "unfigured" maple for my project that has enough figure for my tastes <grin>. I haven't priced a flamed maple top, so I don't know if the law of diminishing returns is in effect or not (ie. is 5A way more expensive for only somewhat better figure than 4A, or is it only a little more expensive?).

From what I've heard, Ebony is left 'natural' except perhaps for a bit of fretboard conditioner, which is a light oil-based product. I'm planning to figure out exactly what I need for my own ebony fingerboard, so I'd be curious to know the answer to this one for sure myself. What I DO know is that I've not heard of anybody applying a true "finish" (laquer, oil, or otherwise) to an ebony fretboard.

Greg

[Maher]

I found out gibson use 2a flame maple i thought they would have used much better stuff than that, anyway does anyone in the UK know where i can get 1" Flamed maple cap? and anywhere i can get a 1 piece mahogany body blank for under £35?

[Maher]

Hi,

What length timber do i need for a gibson style set neck will 30"x4"x2" be ok?

also wont routing pick up cavaties weakin the neck joint?

and with the 2" thickness of the neck will i be able to get the 13o head stock angle?

Btw, i imagine i will be posting a hell of alot of question, should i keep them all in this thread? that way you can see my whole process of making

[GregP]

Warning: this advice comes from reading, not from experience.

Well, the distance from your nut to your bridge is only 24.75" or so, so 30" should do you, although some blanks are a bit longer. 2" is pretty thick compared to a Strat-style blank, which is about 7/8"; however, without doing the math, it's possible that you'll still end up needing to do a scarf joint for the headstock. No problem, it's stronger that way anyhow. If you're doing a mortise and tenon, you may need to build up the heel area a bit, which means that you'll be cutting into that 30" of length a bit, which could lead you into wood shortage territory.

The best thing you can do is draw up a diagram. It'll answer all those questions you have.

Greg

[Maher]

thanks,

does anyone no where i can see a tutorial of a set neck guitar,

im worried about the stengh of a set neck on a DC. look at the postion of the neck pick up, tthhat is going to make a set neck imposible?

http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=8715690

[spirit]

Erm, Gibson make their DC with a set neck don't they?

[Maher]

yeah, but i wont to know how they do it.

[spirit]

With glue?

[Maher]

thank you for your detailed describtion.

but i want to be able to see how its done..

[westhemann]

Hi,

What length timber do i need for a gibson style set neck will 30"x4"x2" be ok?

also wont routing pick up cavaties weakin the neck joint?

that is more than large enough...i am making a set neck right now which is from a blank 28" long......width and height are also more than enough

the set neck on that guitar needs to have the heel extend into the body and under the pickup rout,and since it is a set neck,you can make the heel much taller(towards the back of the guitar) to make sure you have enough glueing surface....

maybe someone else can draw a picture

[Maher]

ohh ok thanks for your help. do you know how far the set neck goes into the body?

[westhemann]

ohh ok thanks for your help. do you know how far the set neck goes into the body?

no i don't...but if i was making it i would take it all the way through the pickup rout(who am i kidding i would make it a neck through)

[Maher]

i was thinking about through neck but i heard that it will lose sustain , so i thought id go for a regualer set neck or a Deep Set Neck Tenon:

[westhemann]

i was thinking about through neck but i heard that it will lose sustain

untrue....neck through has sustain from hell because your strings,pickups,and bridge are all in the same piece of wood

[Maher]

Ed Romans a bullshiter then, maybe ill go with a thru neck then..

[westhemann]

Ed Romans a bullshiter then, maybe ill go with a thru neck then..

well it is your choice...a set neck is also nice...but your wood is only long enough for a thru neck if you do a scarf joint for the headstock...you should stickwith the set neck...i was only expressing my love for the qualities of a thru neck

[westhemann]

oh and i believe roman says that because he prefers to build set necks rather than thru necks because it is cheaper that way