Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, i could do with some helpfull advice. I've just got hold of a 70's Les
Paul replica. It's in pretty bad shape but i've decided that i will put in the
time and effort to restore it. It's my first attempt at guitar repair/
replacement and need some guidance.

Which are:

1. What is suitable glue for joining a rose wood fretboard to the neck.
And how should i set it, with G clamps?

2. The pickups are vintage DiMarzio open humbuckers, would putting
chrome humbucker covers on them affect the sound?

3. What's the best way to attach the nut to the neck?

4. How do i set the internation?

5. Does it matter what type of solder i use on the electrics?

If you could spare five minutes to give me some guidence or point me in
the right direction of where i can get this information, it would be much
much appreciated.

Thanks.

1. titebond is what I would use and I use threaded plastic FB clamps I got from LMI. They conform to the radius of the fretboard and are cheap. I use about 8 of them.

2. I am not the guy to answer but I don't think so

3. Here again I would use titebond

4. Yes if you replace the fretboard you will be doing a new fret job. So yes do a complete set-up job.

5. Here again I will passMichaelP39029.4184259259

2. The cover may make a slight difference in the sound of the pickup.

4. Set intonation by comparing the 12th fret harmonic with the string fretted at the 12th fret.

5. Use rosin core solder.

The info above is solid but if this is your first attempt at this type of work, I'd recommend reading one or more of the publications that Stewart-MacDonald carries on repair and setups for electric guitars.

Jumping into such a project with limited experience could cause more damage than you're trying to repair.

Patience and preparation are the best advice I can offer!

...and BTW...Welcome to the OLF!

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

[QUOTE=Duppy] Hi, i could do with some helpfull advice. I've just got hold of a 70's Les
Paul replica. It's in pretty bad shape but i've decided that i will put in the
time and effort to restore it. It's my first attempt at guitar repair/
replacement and need some guidance.

Which are:

1. What is suitable glue for joining a rose wood fretboard to the neck.
And how should i set it, with G clamps?

2. The pickups are vintage DiMarzio open humbuckers, would putting
chrome humbucker covers on them affect the sound?

3. What's the best way to attach the nut to the neck?

4. How do i set the internation?

5. Does it matter what type of solder i use on the electrics?

If you could spare five minutes to give me some guidence or point me in
the right direction of where i can get this information, it would be much
much appreciated.

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

1. I use epoxy to attach my fretboards to the necks. Reg. Titebond is a great overall glue. It cleans up easy too
2. Putting metal covers on any pickup definitely affects the sound.
3. Tight fit is all I use. no glue at all...but if you must ONE drop of titebond is enough. never use CA.
4. With a good tuner...preferably a srobe.
5. use a rosin core solder. that is soft and doesn't require any flux.

Dan Erlewine has some great set-up, intonation, neck setting and advanced fretting videos for sale at Stewart McDonald. I believe the url is www.stewmac.com

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Thankyou so much for all your help, i really appreciate it. As was pointed out
by JJ Donohue, i know i could make mistakes and maybe cause a little
damage along the way if i'm not carefull, that's why i'm only using a
cheapish guitar, i'd like to get better at this and as they say, practice makes
persfect.

Just one more question. A couple of you pointed out that putting covers on
the pickupos will affect the sound.

1. How will they affect the sound, wil they sound duller and muddy'er of
lighter and brighter?

Cheers, Matt.

Cheers Hesh!

[QUOTE=Duppy]
1. How will they affect the sound, wil they sound duller and muddy'er of
lighter and brighter?
[/QUOTE]

In my limited experience, you will get a more rounded tone with covers and slightly more percussive attack without them. But being an electric guitar, that difference may be subtle as well.

I wish you the best! I'm just starting out learning about repairs and lutherie myself, and this forum is a WEALTH of knowledge-- soak up everything these guys say! (With the exception of me-- I wouldn't listen to me much yet... hahaha!)

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Duller, less feed back, not as good for playing Smoke on the Water..... [/QUOTE]

Hesh... you said it exactly ! however, i might add that the gentle and suttle tendencies of the harmonic content will not manifest quite as exhuberantly as the frequency reponse may be altered.

What sounds one way to me likely sounds a little different to you and to the next guy. Try it! You might like it! or you might hate it and smash the guitar to a thousand bits...(that's what I would do)

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

And now stay tuned for another installment offfff......"Samurai Luthier"...starring Dave Bland!!!

...remember the SNL bit by John Belushi?....that's our brother Dave!!!

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Hey that is me !

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"