Question about 70s Les Paul 3piece Sandwich bodies..

[MrDan666]

I have seen a few late 70's LP Customs recently, and on the side of the body where the center piece of the sandwich body(thinnest part) is.. the paint seems to have like a hairline crack going all the way round the body. Right on line with the thin center piece.

Kinda hard to explain as i dont have any pics to show it.. but hopefully you get what i mean..

Is that common or anything to worry about?

 

[MrDan666]

It's common. I guess it's from the finish settling into that joint or something.

Seriously Chris?

If it is common and its not anything bad, i would most likely go and buy that guitar straight away.. it played and sounded great! But i was really concerned about that hairline crack in the paint thats all...

 

[MrDan666]

Every Les Paul I've seen from the '70s has that finish crack thing going around the body where the two pieces meet. So yeah, I'm pretty sure that's just how it is! These guitars are pretty old and I'm just guessing myself that the finish settles into that joint. I mean, it makes sense that's what it is anyway.

I wouldn't let that stop me. My '71 had that too and the paint was even chipping there.

Ahh that makes sense!!

Honestly that was the only thing holding me back from buying it.. its a '76 LP Custom in Black with the maple neck/ebony board. The nibs on the fretbinding are all still intact too.. humbuckers have been replaced but big deal.

I think i may go buy it tomorrow!

 

[kannibul]

I have seen a few late 70's LP Customs recently, and on the side of the body where the center piece of the sandwich body(thinnest part) is.. the paint seems to have like a hairline crack going all the way round the body. Right on line with the thin center piece.

Kinda hard to explain as i dont have any pics to show it.. but hopefully you get what i mean..

Is that common or anything to worry about?

It's common, it's where the finish has sunk into the seam, and continued to shrink as it aged, eventually cracking.

Seriously, those old guitars have teh mojoz

 

[MrDan666]

It's common, it's where the finish has sunk into the seam, and continued to shrink as it aged, eventually cracking.

Seriously, those old guitars have teh mojoz

This guitar has teh mojoz

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Personally, I would stay far away from any LP that had a Sandwich body and/or a top with 3 or more pieces. They don't have the tone/resonance as the one piece bodies nor do they have the resale value.

IMO of course...

 

[kannibul]

Personally, I would stay far away from any LP that had a Sandwich body and/or a top with 3 or more pieces. They don't have the tone/resonance as the one piece bodies nor do they have the resale value.

IMO of course...

Sometimes, that's the point.

Play one...they feel, smell, look, and sound like the Les Pauls that made rock music in the 70's and (early) 80's.

With that, resonance isn't always a good thing. it turns to mud/mush under certain circumstances.

 

[MrDan666]

Sometimes, that's the point.

Play one...they feel, smell, look, and sound like the Les Pauls that made rock music in the 70's and (early) 80's.

With that, resonance isn't always a good thing. it turns to mud/mush under certain circumstances.

Exactly why im after this era LP Custom.. I had an R7 VOS goldtop that resonated amazingly, but it lacked the clarity and punch that i need for the kinda style i play. So i sold it off..

I find these late 70s LPCustoms seem to cut through and stay tighter sounding, compared to the older 1piece all mahogany LP's which sound much thicker. Also i like the extra stability of the 3piece maple neck!

 

[MrDan666]

And see, I think even the newer Customs without the pancake body stay tighter and have more "presence." Maybe it's the ebony board, larger headstock, additional binding, etc...? I think it is.

Maybe! I dont know what it is.. all i know is when i tried several late 70s Customs out and then tried some newer Customs and VOS Customs to compare.. the late 70's ones just seem to have the tone, whereas the new ones sounded different.

Maybe its the maple neck that really makes that difference? as i know the new Customs are all mahogany necks.

 

[kannibul]

The ebony board would give it more bite, probably make certain frequencies of the notes sustain differently.

 

[MrDan666]

Well, I was just comparing Customs (in general) to Standards (in general.) Old, new, etc... Customs seem to be brigher with more "punch" to them or something. That's neither good or bad.

Well it depends on what your sound is i guess.. I found that my R7 sounded gorgeous when used with a mid gain type rig, but with high gain settings it got muddy easily!

I find the Custom's are usually better for the higher gain rigs where you need the guitar to be able to cut through and keep lots of note definition! But when you're after that really smooth singing tone, the Standard or Reissues are more suited for that! All IMO.