{"id":331,"date":"2013-10-05T20:24:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-06T01:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/?page_id=331"},"modified":"2013-10-21T22:57:20","modified_gmt":"2013-10-22T03:57:20","slug":"331-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/?page_id=331","title":{"rendered":"2013 Penfold “Les Paul”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rplp9\"<\/a>I have always been a Fender man and never really had a great love for the Les Paul but Gibson changed my mind.\u00a0 Not because they make a particularly good guitar.\u00a0 In fact the standard product quality is in my opinion sub-par.\u00a0 Gibson likes to sue the pants on anyone that makes copies of their guitars, as they have every right to do because they are patented or trademarked or whatever.\u00a0 Such is the case with Warmoth Guitar Parts in Washington.\u00a0 Under threat from the Gibson lawyer folk they had a blow-out sale on their Gibson copies.<\/p>\n

I really like Warmoth.\u00a0 I do not think anyone makes better quality after market bodies and necks.\u00a0 And in this case the price was right for me to build a Les Paul from Warmoth parts before they were gone.\u00a0 It was my hope that I would end up with something of much greater quality than stock Gibson models.<\/p>\n

So I bought a beautiful transparent blue mahogany chambered Les Paul body with a flame maple cap and natural masked binding and a birdseye maple neck with rosewood fretboard.\u00a0 The thing I immediately like is this is a bolt-on neck rather than a set neck like Gibson makes.\u00a0 Google bolt-on vs set neck to see the debate.\u00a0 Normally I would buy an unfinished body and stain\/lacquer it myself but the price was too good not to snag this one.\u00a0 I did finish the neck myself with many coats of nitrocellulose lacquer buffed to a satin finish.\u00a0 And of course I did my own logo work on the headstock.\u00a0 Yes I used the actual Les Paul logo…Gibson please don’t sue me, its for my own use and not for sale.<\/p>\n

When it came to the pick-ups there was not even a question what I was going to use…Lollars of course.\u00a0 They are the best.\u00a0 Period.\u00a0 For my hardware (tailpiece, bridge and tuners) I went with TonePros on the suggestion of a veteran guitar player I know, Bob Egan.\u00a0 He’s a member of Blue Rodeo and before that Wilco so when he recommends something, I tend to believe him.\u00a0 He hasn’t steered me wrong yet.\u00a0 After it was all said and done, it looks beautiful and sounds even better!\u00a0 It is probably the best sounding\/playing guitar I own.<\/p>\n

Specs:<\/strong>
\nBody – chambered mahogany, flame maple cap
\nBody Finish – transparent blue dye, gloss polyurethane finish
\nNeck – birdseye maple with rosewood fretboard
\nNeck Finish – nitrocellulose buffed to satin finish
\nPick-ups – Lollar High Wind Imperial Humbuckers (nickel finish)
\nBridge\/Tailpiece – Tonepros (nickle finish)
\nTuners – Tonepros Klussen (nickle finish)
\nWiring – CTS 500k pots, orange drop caps, switchcraft switch & jack.\u00a0 Wired to ’57 Les Paul specs<\/p>\n