Question on having les paul neck re-shaped

[the crush 36]

Has anyone ever had a neck reshaped I'm so use to my les paul classic's with 60's slim taper neck, I'm hating my les paul custom' s fat neck! I was curious if I could have the neck sanded or reshaped to match my classic's neck spec's? Thanks!

 

[halebox]

Just sell it and get what you need. You will take a huge hit when you try to sell the sanded custom

 

[Drew]

I sanded down a Les Paul Standard's neck to a shape that is more comfortable to my hand and it worked out great. I'm never selling the guitar so the mod wasn't an issue. And I prefer the wood feeling of the back of the neck now.

One thing to be aware of is--depending on how thin you want to go, there is a truss rod cavity in there and I have seen people sand down a neck and go too far and get to that cavity. One guitar repair expert I know drills a tiny little hole in the back of the neck to gauge how much depth there is before hitting the cavity--then he fills the hole back up and starts sanding.

Also be aware mahogany sands off really easily and when you sand it's really easy to take too much out of the middle of the neck vs. the down by the nut or up by the heel as with each swipe, you hit that middle area twice.

 

[~Abstract~]

I wouldn't sand.

I'd use rasps...and gauges...and think REALLLLLLLY hard about paying a luthier to do it right.

 

[paulyc]

I have a bunch of Norlin era customs with maple necks (and ebony fretboards) that I sanded the finish off the back, reshaped myself, and tung oiled them up a 'la Zakk Wylde, also paid a luthier to compound radius the fretboards and slot 'em with 6100 frets...LOVE them now. I remember reading that when the Gibson custom shop was doing the Page LP, they were AMAZED how thin his '59's neck was from the back to the truss rod cavity, so all those people who go on and on about a '59 neck sounds fatter or whatever, think about that...I'm sure Page's neck is slimmer than a Classic's 60s taper neck.

 

[the crush 36]

Hey thanks for the replys I want a Luthier to do the work but didn't know if it was possible to make a 50's neck into a 60's slim taper!

 

[fretout]

If it was my guitar, I definitely wouldn't sand or reshape the neck, but the thick neck is part of the reason I love my Customs.

It's quite the job, and there's a ton of ways to ruin the guitar. I would definitely take it to a luthier if it absolutely has to be changed, but I think your best bet is to just sell or trade for a LPC with a thinner neck. Don't even think about a reissue, those necks are massive. Go for a modern LPC. The newer ones are quite a bit thinner than any of the Norlin-era LPCs, and a lot thinner than the Historic/Reissues.

 

[paulyc]

When you think about it, a Zakk Wylde LPC is really a Norlin guitar with a reshaped and tung oiled neck with EMG's...and they get a ton of money for them. I'd buy a Norlin any day. The maple necks sound better to me. Lots of other players agree, John Syke's # 1 LPC is a Norlin, as was Randy Rhoad's.