Refurbishing my Gibson LP

[uwmcscott]

I'd also vote for keeping the finish original, but at the end of the day it's your guitar and if you are making changes to make it more "your own" and a refinish is what you want, then i'd say go for it. Resale value only matters if you plan on selling it, right?

Having said that, there is definite "vintage" value out there in the market for 80's and even some 90's gibsons in the solid body family. Anything resembling an LP from the 50's or 60's has reached unobtanium pricing, and that is even happening to some of the early 70's models. Early 70's goldtop deluxes are 5 figures now. Even studios from the 80's and 90's can go deep into 4 figures. I have a 93 studio that is somewhat of an enigma as there were 100 made with ebony boards and p90s. I paid about $850 for it a few years ago and I saw a similar one in much worse shape sell for almost 2K last month. Anything with an ebony board is desirable from that era, another example is the Deluxe Pro from the late 70's to early 80s that was basically a deluxe with P90's and an ebony board - but they easily sell for 3-5k now. Bottom line, if it's shaped like an LP and has Gibson on the headstock, it's going to keep appreciating.

[redman]

I got the pups, bridge/saddles, stop bar and the pups in the post this afternoon I put the pups in right after supper and they sound great. I'm not sure when the nut will be here. I'm going to put put the bridge and stop bar in tomorrow usually a new bridge and stop bar go in easy enough removing it's removing the old post sleeves without damaging the guitars wood that's the tricky part. Fortunately many moons ago a friend showed me a trick that has worked the very few times I've changed out a tune-o-matic bridge.

[redman]

The LP is finished I put the new nut (TUSQ XL) in this morning now the only things not new is the body, neck and headstock.

I did a complete setup on it and she plays amazing and sounds even better I couldn't be happier with the results.

[uwmcscott]

That looks great, glad it turned out to your liking. I had a 1991 studio in my cart the other day on Reverb as your project got me thinking that a fixer-upper project sounds pretty fun, but unfortunately( fortuantely) someone else grabbed it. Happy refurbished guitar day!

[redman]

When I was finishing up my LP, I got caught up in a search for a new acoustic, I bought an Epiphone IBG J200 and A Gibson G-45 one of the first ones, no hole in the upper bout and those were just the start I had just bought my PRS SE Zach Myres semi-hollow, so I evidently put the LP in the case and locked it away for the last 6 months. I also had only set the nut in the slot put the strings on it, so it needed sanded down t o get the action where I need it. I keep thinking about going back to using bone instead of TUSQ because it's hard to sand down with old worn-out hands but it's darn good stuff. So, after a 6-month rest, tonight I finally sanded the nut to where it needs to be and installed it properly with a dab of Elmers holding it back.

[nomadh]

I'd also vote for keeping the finish original, but at the end of the day it's your guitar and if you are making changes to make it more "your own" and a refinish is what you want, then i'd say go for it. Resale value only matters if you plan on selling it, right?

Having said that, there is definite "vintage" value out there in the market for 80's and even some 90's gibsons in the solid body family. Anything resembling an LP from the 50's or 60's has reached unobtanium pricing, and that is even happening to some of the early 70's models. Early 70's goldtop deluxes are 5 figures now. Even studios from the 80's and 90's can go deep into 4 figures. I have a 93 studio that is somewhat of an enigma as there were 100 made with ebony boards and p90s. I paid about $850 for it a few years ago and I saw a similar one in much worse shape sell for almost 2K last month. Anything with an ebony board is desirable from that era, another example is the Deluxe Pro from the late 70's to early 80s that was basically a deluxe with P90's and an ebony board - but they easily sell for 3-5k now. Bottom line, if it's shaped like an LP and has Gibson on the headstock, it's going to keep appreciating.

Is that what my wife has? It's a 79/80 ish white lp with an ebony board and inlaid head. It's showing killer patina. Only problem is my wife had Tommy shaw sign the body. She said she thinks it's an lp custom. What's the diff on them?

[uwmcscott]

Is that what my wife has? It's a 79/80 ish white lp with an ebony board and inlaid head. It's showing killer patina. Only problem is my wife had Tommy shaw sign the body. She said she thinks it's an lp custom. What's the diff on them?

They did not start making the studio until 1983, so if it's from 79 or 80 it's probably a standard or a custom.

Studio's are/were considered to be the "budget" version of the les paul and generally were unbound and not as highly adorned. Most have painted logos on the headstock ( vs inlaid ), unbound bodies and fretboards. Having said that one of the oddities is that there were a few years where they came with ebony boards for whatever reason. And just like anything Gibson, there are a whole bunch of exceptions/special models/etc that came out over the years. But for the most part, I think of a studio as having the bones of an LP but dressed in work clothes vs formal wear

Post up a pic and Im sure we can help you identify the model. Would love to see some of that patina, the white models age so nicely.

[Stoli]

I have a friend that has what Gibson calls "The Paul" that is sort of like a Studio but it is made of Walnut and is a beautiful guitar. His dad bought it new for him in the late 70s. Not sure if they made something similar in white.