NGD: 1985 Norlin Les Paul Custom (Update!!!!!!)

The lacquer finish is what you’re seeing that’s black. The neck is maple and looks just like my 76 does.

As you can see the African mahogany fibers are skinny and narrow, where the maple has many more dots and are spread out.

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godgrinder said:
Some sources would say it's '81 when they started bringing in the mahogany necks again but there's no definite answer. Yours look like a mahogany neck considering how big the spores are.

A mahogany neck is probably more desirable for many though.
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I have 4 81 Les Pauls, 3 customs and a standard, all maple necks.
 
godgrinder said:
The construction changed around '78/'79. From that time onwards they have the "pancake" maple layer between the maple top and a one piece mahogany body.

Which is probably why Adam Jones insists on using Norlin Silverbursts. Because that finish coincides the spec change so it's easy to tell.
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None of my 4 Les Pauls are pancake, they’re all 81s, although my wine red standard is a five piece top.
 
glpg80 said:
You ever want to sell it let me know.

It’s also been refretted at least once in its lifetime. I can tell because the fret tangs that came stock on them are gone which is common in refret jobs. Looks like Dunlop 6100 was installed, they look nickel and not stainless. It means the nut is also new and likely bone although it’s tough to tell.
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Yes, I had it refretted mid 2000’s with nickel frets.
It has the original nut though.
I got so much earache when I bought it I’m reluctant to part with her!
You never know though 😉
 
Kevcleat said:
Yes, I had it refretted mid 2000’s with nickel frets.
It has the original nut though.
I got so much earache when I bought it I’m reluctant to part with her!
You never know though 😉
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Oh I bought this one and another one this year too. The amount of ear ache I’ve received could start WW III. I sympathize for you if it was as much belly aching as I’ve gotten 😂😂
 
glpg80 said:
Queue Brittany Spears Oooops I did it again 😂

I’ve been saving up for a long time on this one. I found this one a few months ago and it’s a perfect compliment. I love the tobacco burst as it screams deep southern rock.

I plan to have Stephen at Truly Strings who worked on my 76, also do the same work to this one: Stainless jumbo frets, bone nut, replace the 12th fret marker with a better piece of mother of pearl, and some replacement nickel hardware (someone marred the screws with a screwdriver).

Maple neck and all - she’s a killer guitar. The pickups are stock but the cover has been removed on the bridge. I plan to remove the neck pickup cover to match the bridge. I do have all of the original hardware.

This being an 84 means this was the last year of Gibson custom shops being made in the original Kalamazoo factory before they moved to Nashville.

She’s a monster :rock:

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Sold my tobacco burst custom several years ago and regret it ever since. Enjoy!!!
 
When I get around to putting the t tops in my 73 Norlin, going to wire the push pulls to disconnect the tone pots. Not sure it will make that much difference, but worth a try.
 
blackba said:
When I get around to putting the t tops in my 73 Norlin, going to wire the push pulls to disconnect the tone pots. Not sure it will make that much difference, but worth a try.
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I love the aggressive voicing of the T tops in my 76, but they’re very weak and not in an A2 smear easy-to-play kind of way like my traditional which I really like. I find them honestly too weak for my preference and I’ll likely be changing mine out. I’m thinking a Duncan custom in the bridge and something else for the neck.
 
glpg80 said:
I love the aggressive voicing of the T tops in my 76, but they’re very weak and not in an A2 smear easy-to-play kind of way like my traditional which I really like. I find them honestly too weak for my preference and I’ll likely be changing mine out. I’m thinking a Duncan custom in the bridge and something else for the neck.
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Agreed I always found them to be a bit thin and wiry sounding, but I guess can maybe be a decent fit for some of those really thick sounding Les Paul’s. Didn’t like the MCP T-Wrecks much either (his take on T-Tops)

Even in my ‘69 Les Paul Custom Black Beauty I’ve swapped out the stock (never before removed) T-Tops (sacrilege I know haha) (or whatever pickups they are) with my various Tone Specific pickups and honestly sounded so much better to me with those. Just sad that some idiot collectors may care about the soldering joints no longer being original if I were to ever sell it, but has been a keeper for a few years so far
 
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Yeah no I don’t cater to collectors for vintage Marshall’s or Gibson guitars. If I pay the premium to get the best of the best, I’m doing whatever it needs to put it in regular rotation with the rest in the stable.

I’ve always wanted one maple neck Les Paul custom loaded with EMGs and this tobacco burst will be the one.

I agree on the wire sounding type of vibe from T tops. It comes through nicely with a great bite but I just wish it had more balls behind the notes without changing the frequency response.

I won’t go as far as to tear apart original T top pickups for magnet swaps, but I certainly don’t care about ripping out oem electronics or changing pickups.

I do like the BB3 in my 2019 standard. Now that I think about it, I might do a Duncan Custom and a 490R Gibson neck, or a 498T and 490R all Gibson combination in the 76.
 
Update!!

Here’s the results of the inlay repaired/replaced!

Extremely lucky that the shade matches and now that your eyes don’t go directly to the 12th fret, it really brings out the crazy figure in the other mother of pearl inlays.

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glpg80 said:
I love the aggressive voicing of the T tops in my 76, but they’re very weak and not in an A2 smear easy-to-play kind of way like my traditional which I really like. I find them honestly too weak for my preference and I’ll likely be changing mine out. I’m thinking a Duncan custom in the bridge and something else for the neck.
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The 73 is super thick sounding, so the t tops may work really well for me in that guitar. If I don’t dig them, I can always go back to the Suhr thornbuckers I have in there now, or Anderson h1- and h2+ or some bb pros that I used to have in there. I have heard the t top neck and remember liking it, never tried the bridge.

Love the pics of your guitar work in progress, can’t wait to see it all done.
 
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