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This just showed up on Youtube. The first episode of a first time guitar build. What could go wrong? So far; nothing. It looks interesting.

Edit. I see that the guy REPAIRS guitars, so at least he knows more than I did!

https://youtu.be/dEz-J3ftfas?si=O2fLg3JuA482qPGu

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Why be normal?

So what is impossible about it?

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

It's not impossible, and I don't expect disaster. I do imagine that small things will go wrong, but things almost always go wrong somewhere. The guy is very comfortable with his machines, so it should come out very good. I don't even have one router.

He has handled Les Paul's before, and might have one or two around. I usually have a picture or drawing.

He has also watched builds, and has a real plan.

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Why be normal?

Dr. S's second build at Greenridge has been a Les Paul Black Beauty interpretation, and my latest note from him included a couple nice photos of the nearly finished instrument. The note also contained the inevitable self-critique, which is one of the things that makes him such an amazing person and surgeon... Dr. S is constructively self-critical and actions the changes needed to move closer to excellence. After his ABG build - his first - he suggested the most challenging elements of the LP execution were the body contour around the neck pocket and milling the neck pocket to the desired neck angle. Beyond that, the project involved a lot of router pattern development and the usual attention to joinery and shaping on a carved-top instrument. I believe this may have been the first LP style guitar to come out of the Greenridge shop, as the other electrics have been one-offs, the usual Fender Strat, Tele, and offsets, and a handful of 335's.

FWIW, Dr. S did mention that the overall black color scheme did allow for the hiding of a multitude of sins... which seems unlikely to have been necessary, given how nicely the project appears to have turned out.

Finally, when carving the LP top, the suggestion was made that having something like a appropriately vintage LP or one of the good reproduction on hand was helpful, given plans seldom provide detailed contour information where needed around the neck pocket.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

For what it is worth, my first electric guitar build was a 59 burst LP. I used the old StewMac plans and Melvyn Hiscocks book as my guide and pretty much just winged it. I had built a few acoustics so I understood geometry, neck setting and all of that stuff, the top contours are probably different from a real Lester but my goal wasn't to try to make a perfect clone.



Somehow he has sourced a cnc carved top which eliminates all the carving issues, I don't understand the little box thingie for cutting the neck tenon (I just did it on a band saw). There are several steps missing (routing the internal cavities before gluing the top on). I don't understand his use of formaldehyde glue.

However I will follow along , should be interesting.

Is that your first burst Freeman? It looks really nice. Actually looking at the pickup covers in your photo, (yes, I never looked at the pickup covers before) I have an idea of how to make the acoustic ElectroLess Paul work. The first edition bit the dust. The first step will be to buy a plan.

And then alter it; keeping all the shapes. The last one went off right at the beginning the I was assuming the neck was at the 14th fret.The entire arch was off.

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Why be normal?

Thanks Ken,l it is my first sprayed burst, I had done a couple of hand wiped ones before. I was trying to get close to the iconic '58 burst.

The pickup rings are standard plastic wedge shaped ones, they follow the neck angle and top contour. Color was close enough to match the binding. There is a classic LP build thread on another forum where the guy goes thru extreme effort to duplicate everything on a '58 including the mold lines on the pickup rings.

I've actually made two les paul inspired guitars, this and another that ended up being chambered and bound in rosewood. Chambering takes a full pound and a half out of the guitar - recommended



I have many pictures from both builds as well as top contour drawings if you are interested. Many people use the contour drawings to route the top.

The guy is on episode 3. He did his fret slots freehand. I do too, but I just measure with calipers, cut down a bit, and check the distance between, subtracting the fret width. He was eyeballing the center. Probably close enough. I do have a wooden box to keep it square.

The think I thought was interesting was the binding cutter he has. It looks simple. Everything I've seen looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Home built?

https://youtu.be/oCXv8GcWYiw?si=csgiC5aOtGFe_AYu

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Why be normal?