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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first of three posts regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. The truss rod cover says "Gibson," while the headstock face sports a silk-screened "Epiphone" logo and the words "Special Model." Etched into the chrome neck plate are the Epiphone logo and serial number (07020798).
As received, this solidbody was covered in dust and grime; while the hardware was tarnished and/or corroded. The barely-functioning three-way toggle switch, pots and output jack had certainly seen better days; and were in dire need of replacement.
Perhaps the most critical issue concerned the bolt-on neck. Due to a bad fall, the headstock/neck scarf joint had cracked open. It was a bad break, with only the truss rod and rosewood fretboard holding things together. Speaking of the fretboard, well; it was in no better shape than the rest of this guitar.
After determining the repairs/servicing that would have to be carried out, this restoration job was split into three distinct phases: (i) degrime/derust/clean/polish, (ii) electronics overhaul/upgrade; and (iii) scarf joint repair/neck refinish. The pics below cover only phases (i) and (ii) of this restoration. Phase (iii), namely the scarf joint repair and neck refinish, will be covered in
Part Two of this series. Thanks for dropping by, and see you soon :)
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| Image 1 - Headstock before and after cleaning |
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| Image 2 - Fretboard and frets before and after cleaning |
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| Image 3 - Control cavity components and wiring as received |
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| Image 4 - Corroded pots, toggle switch and output jack |
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| Image 5 - Pickups as received |
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| Image 6 - Years of dust, dirt and grime |
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| Image 7 - Hardware removed for cleaning |
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| Image 8 - Pickups reinstalled after servicing |
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| Image 9 - New components and wiring |
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| Image 10 - New Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack |
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