WTF!?! He's MODIFYING an ORIGINAL 1952 GIBSON LES PAUL???
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- čas přidán 16. 12. 2020
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In this video we'll look at one method of modifying an ALL ORIGINAL, 1952 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top with the trapeze tailpiece to make it more playable and maybe even an overall more desirable and valuable instrument
We will show how to install a Mojoaxe CTT-A Aged Compensated Trapeze Tailpiece, replacing the original Gibson tailpiece, then we'll intonate the guitar and set it up. Finally, we'll demo the results through a 1956 Gibson GA-20T amplifier.
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In hibernation for 40 years, now back in action. Glad you made this for your viewers.
We're not the only ones who have been in lockdown...
#Covid52
Personally, I don't see any sense in changing P90s for humbuckers on a Les Paul, because a Les Paul with P90s, vintage or not, sounds like heaven.
You said it. P90's are savage pickups.
@@scottsteel4230 I’m a metal guy, and I totally agree!!! Been liking these pickups a lot on high gain, just very different and they are very fat sounding. I think ppl are getting more into these in metal. A good thing, when recording a song, so many have a similar sound these days. I love em man
I'm a Metal player, too. I've had them in Les Paul's and SG's. Humbuckers have alot of sustain, mid and low end roar. P90's....the high end shears the top of your F#&KING head off. Tony Iommi was using straight P90's on VOLUME 4, AND HIS TONE WAS LIKE IT WOULD SHATTER GLASS. IT WAS BLISTERING. Townsend at WOODSTOCK. For Metal, they are razor sharp DEADLY, and, if I may say so, they're OFFENSIVE sounding, and I LOVE EM. All it takes is ONE listen to the opening notes in Supernaut, on VOL 4, and you know how absolutely VICIOUS these pickups are.
Agreed!!!!
yes. few people realize that the original santana, black sabath, etc, etc, albums were SGs with P-90s. amazing sounding.
brad you did a national service today fixing up that american treasure, must have one of the best days of your life
Should’ve put some robo tuners on that bad boy!
We could have Groverized it.
Yes officer, this comment right here
Robo tuners, a Floyd Rose, and a refin would definitely be an interesting video.
Just some Raman and glue is all it needed.
A wire brush and some spray paint and that LP would be good as new.
Raucus, balanced, clarity, honk, and sustain for days - electrifying sound. That guitar's been waiting to be played for a long time. Good job! Thanks
Thank you, for moving the parts off the top....those laying there gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Yeah, something ironic about them commenting on the beautiful finish and checking of the top while the metal hardware rattled around on the surface.
Ha Ha that was my feeling exactly 😬
me too. I know it's the old mans guitar, but you got to respect your instrument. :p
I was wondering if I was the only one who felt that way!
Absolutely wonderful video. Makes me realize how much I miss being around people. Thanks for posting this for us.
Instruments like these are our Stradivarius. We need to care for them like someone will be playing them three-hundred years from now.
Facts
Agree with the sentiment but these original Les Pauls are in no way comparable to a stradivarius. They are historic instruments, I'll give ya that but here's the thing about stradivariuses: They were handcrafted by a single dude (he might've had an apprentice help out) to order for specific players with astonishing attention to detail. The fact that these early Les Pauls were mass produced at a fairly low quality (gibson didn't even bother stamping a serial number on this one) makes them curious collector's items important in the history of rock n roll but not in any way comparable to anything handcrafted by a trained luthier...
Most Stradivari spend half their time in repair anymore. Being playable and in tune are preferable. Historical presentation is fine if you are putting them in a vault. But they are made to be played.
@@ceyarbro none of that was true
@@fernank017 the first LP rolled off the line in 1952. The ABR 1 compensating bridge wasn’t added to the LP standard until 1955. Meaning the first 3 years the intonation was off
17:00, Steve pissing while forgetting his microphone was on while "looking for grease or vaseline" 😂😂. Great video btw
Coolest video in recent memory! Where else you gonna see something like that? Great video Brad.
Love seeing you guys hanging out, two genuine people that enjoy eachother's company, not fronting for a camera like half these other youtubers
So happy for you Brad to work on this 52. With everything thats gone on. Thank you for all you do and post.
Holy mother of pearl, that is a sound I haven't heard for a long time! What a beautiful piece of quality history. You just made my day and I'm a bass player!
Agreed not many sound like that 52
Haha, same here 3 years later, and I'm also a bass player...
"I've been waiting, for a girl like you", now after 40 years you found her!
I really enjoy when you do these types of videos Brad. Thanks for bringing us along man. And thank Steve for us all for inviting you to do the work and record it. Super cool guitar! I've never actually seen a '52 LP before.
This was a great video, easily one of my favorites.
That old gal sounds fabulous! Thanks for letting us observe as you brought it back into service.. that new bridge is great stuff! 😀😀👌👌🎵🎼🎸🎵🎼🎸🎵🎼🎸👍👍👌👌👌👌🤗🤗🤗🤗
Hats off to Mojoaxe for coming up with this bridge!
Yes it's a good idea, better with than without it, but the strings still seem too high to me, really not enough neck angle on these LP's.
@@strat0871 they have enough neck angle. you have to lower the bridge all the way down and they are perfect. at least with the glaser bridge. these guitars will surely go up in value. they have been cheap to long at 10 to 12k
Some of those moments were intense I was on the edge of my seat with ya. What a great experience.
Fellow KY boy here!! Very cool video. Started watchin' because I'm a big fan of Matthew Melton and his music.
love, love , the camera work. the HD, the conversations, as if i was sitting right there drinking coffee watching ya'll work on this guitar. please, hold onto the format.
Wow, a piece of music history comes back to life & it sounds awesome!
Thank you, Steve, for sharing your guitar with us! And thanks again, Brad, for another journey into the innards of an old relic.
I've made up my mind. When I grow up I want to be a guitologist.
Thank you Steve for allowing this to be seen and heard! I was waiting for you to play it.
it's funny how we covet the early mistakes, trials, and engineering (or lack of) growing pains/ blunders that brought us to where we are now.. in so many cases what's most interesting and valuable is/was barely playable (by today's standards).. what an awesome gourd.. that room, i'd love to spend a day there just smelling the cigarette smoke on grill cloth on the brownface behind you, or feeling that checked lacquer.. taking in the history.. appreciating the significance of the items and memories.. this is good stuff Brad.. Thank you for sharing it..
Thanks man.
Heaven on Earth !
Buddy Guy said that cigarette smoke is partially responsible for the tone on his oldest strats...
My '52 is mint. Plays awesome. Les gave it to my dad who is Mary Fords nephew.
Am I hearing 6V6 RCAs behind that guitar? This whole gig is fantastic thanks guys !
Yes. 1956 Gibson GA-20T with 6V6 output.
@@TheGuitologist 😎
@@TheGuitologist Is that the GA-20 you were 🎸🎛🔉🤤 drooling over in the last video you did in that shop? EDIT: Just realized you were drooling over the GA-77 in that other video.
So good to see you happy Brad! Nice work, great vibes you two have! 🤘🎸
Even through a computer screen, you can hear every bit of that guitar. It's a living thing in your hands.
Brad: "Hey Steve, what are you up to today? I am kind of bored, you have anything we can do and maybe make a video?"
Steve: "Uhhh, lets see... well, I have a 52 LP somewhere around here that I haven't touched for 40+ yrs, maybe we could ....." God damn.
Yeah, there seems to be a lack of acknowledgment of "what this is" on the owners part... A bit too accommodating about a piece of history..
Just amazing, one of your best episodes yet brad! Good to see you smiling man! Keep on keepin on brother.
This is Brian Kim Keenan. I've been a guitar tech for 4 decades. There's two ways to look at modifying a guitar. I had a friend with a vintage SG guitar. It had 1962 Grover tuners. It wouldn't stay in tune and he had me install Schallers tuners into it. Schaller type machines were just introduced back then. I questioned his decision on that and his response was that of, Hey, Its my Guitar, My Tool , I'd rather play it in tune than own a collectible. I bought it to play not keep in a case.---------- The Schaller tuner install caused almost no damage to the Gibson. No holes drilled bigger, no major screw holes. We kept the original tuners in the case.
And now it stays in tune.
hard to believe the grovers wouldnt hold tune. you got lucky having schallers with the inline tang. schallers are so ugly on vintage guitars. give me grovers any day
@@johnsmith-bk4ps You know, I was trying to explain that to a true blue professional , that guitar was owned and played by a man that needed it to stay in better rune. He was tired of the worn out ones and he replaced them. It was an improvement.. These are Our instruments, that we improve and play upon. They were made to play. They're not baseball cards And we're not sticking them in the spokes of a bicycle.
So good to see you so happy!
Shout out to MojoAxe! I have one of their wraparounds on my Les Paul Special.
LMFAO......love the 'crash' @ 21:28
Read this right before it happened lel
Classic expert tip moment
Man that sounds so good! You and Steve have a great rapport -it would be cool to see more of it. Great vid, thanks.
Thanks for sharing this with us brad !! I bet that was a treat to work on & play !!
I don't know why, but I think was the best video you've put up. The guitar, the vibe between the two of you, the topic and just the chill and groove feel and playing at the end. Loved it.
Glad you dug it. I had a great time making this one.
Would love to hear some quality recording of that guitar so we could really hear what it sounds like. I also think a guitar that
has been neglected for a while sounds better after a few days solid playing...don't no if that's true or not but it always seems that way to me
I played a 53 in 2005 or so and I'm not lying,...it was F@#$%^G MAGIC. No way to explain it or how amazing it was and I'm not even a Gibson guy. I imagined Les himself must've played a few chords on it.
WOW! Man it makes me happy to see a big smile on your face, and a guitar in your hands, and what a guitar! You never said what amp you were playing through, but when you were playing "I'm going down", you had that thing singing. Very cool video Bradley.
Peace, Keith in RVA
Thank you guys so much for sharing that with us !! It was a true joy to watch and hear !!! Loved it !!!
from a hanger to a banger...excellent work gentlemen!
Hot damn this is sweet content. Happy to see the light back in your eyes brother. I know it’s been a rough year but you’re winning. 👍😎
Steve helped me with some amp servicing. He’s a wealth of knowledge.
Good to see you happy again and doing what you love to do, great video and great guitar !
It's the perfect forum for Brad to show us more of his inspiring guitar work. His varied musical tastes and southern upbringing really come through in his phrasing, choice of melody, and feel.
It was perfect for that particular guitar. I'm glad he didn't rock out on it, it would have ruined the vibe. The epitome of respect towards Steve and that awesome '52.
Wow, I love the tone! I'm gonna ask for one of those for Christmas!😂👍😎🎸🎶
🎄 🍻 😎
The sound was exactly as I was imagining it! Crisp throatiness!!! Thanks for the vid, Brad!!
Man!
thanks for sharing this Steve and thanks Brad for documenting these pieces of history.
Nice playing to bro.
Have a great Christmas and may 2021 be a better year for all
👍✌😎
I dont think I can remember last I enjoyed a video this much :D This was truly an educational and inspiring story to me :D Thanks for the great work, and keep your fingers rockin!
Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video Brad, Here is my story of my 1952 Les Paul. Back in the mid seventies I was looking for an old Les Paul and I had dealer send me a an old Les Paul. It was a a no number gold top. It had a tunematic and stop tail piece both shaved underneath to compensate for the shallow neck angle. The interesting thing which I learned about this was that on the case was the name Owl. Probably stolen from Canned Heats Alan Wilson when on tour in England, I only learned this years later through net research. I'd be happy to post a period picture of me playing it. Where is now? l traded it for a 1957 ex Elvis Costello strat. Best wishes to you for Christmas and let's hope next year is better. I have not giged since March. This lock down is killing me. Best regards from Bonnie Scotland.ps I've told my son to sell my old Music Man 210 65 so he can by my grand children some Christmas presents.
That is the most fun I have had all week Brad. Watching you guys get that old guitar back to playability was a real treat. Thanks for all the great videos during the Pandemic. Seasons Greetings to you all.
Awesome vid Brad!!!!!! Your playing in the end was Killer!!!! Great job man! Thank you!
one of the best LPs I've heard in a long time.
Best Les Paul I've ever heard! Thanks Brad....Great playing
That sounds so vintage amazing! those cleans so sweet ! I'm very impressed
This old dude cool as hell. He knows what’s up.
You are correct with your string winding, that's how I do mine. Never bend.
Well worth the mod. Amazing improvement if you ask me. Bravo.
Awesome as always - great video!! Happy Holidays!!
Loved this! Thank you for taking us along!
I once turned one of those down in the mid seventies because of the action. Could have picked it up for 500.00. Stupid stupid stupid!
I think we all passed on a lot of great gear back in the day. $500 bucks was a lot of money in the 70's. A brand new Les Paul was less than a grand back then.
I passed on one in 1992 for about the same money.
I have a time machine for sale, are you interested?
@@miaoupha2370 Only if it's the 1.21 Jiggawatt Flux Capacitor model.
@@TundraMan watttt???
I believe the conversion les Pauls (53 or so to 59 spec) are a brilliant idea, however i hate to see when people convert good condition gold tops. I think the best way to do a conversion is to find a thrashed example maybe already refinished and routed, and then convert one of them instead to bring it back to life rather than kill an original good condition gold top.
I feel the same way! there is no way i would ever convert a good example goldtop.
The cleans on that are just absolutely perfect thing of beauty, this is the second time I've come watch this video for listen to that tone
I'm one of the "5" people that have one of these!. I'm waiting on my MojoAxe bridge. Cant wait to get it on, but I am terrified of bending the trapeze bars. I hope mine fits as well as yours did with no mods! thanks for the video.
I've been using that restring method for decades now. One difference though, I cut the strings beforehand using the other tuners and guesstimation to get the right length. Usually end up with one wrap above and 2-3 below.
Ive used the exact same technique for years. Low E A and D I measure the string to the next tuning machine. G B and E are measured two tuning machines away.
I do the everything but the string looping thing, it's unnecessary in most cases when you drop the 5 windings around the post nonsense old timers always stood by. No maker suggests that many wraps ever. Neither do string manufacturers. It's baffling that such an easy tuning screw up persisted for so many decades. 1.5 to 2 full wraps around post is the sweet spot. This will even stop issues with tuning on a Les Paul.
I can listen to you two for hrs..i love guitars and history.. I now have the collecting bug every guitar every amp I want
This is awesome, I hope there’s many more vids like this!!!
That's a Home-Run broadcast, Brad; and a Win/Win, zero-impact mod to a prototypical Iconic Guitar, with a friend for life!
Those are in fact Cornell Dublier “Grey Tiger” Wax Paper/Aluminum foil .02uf/22nf 400v capacitors.
It sounds absolutely awesome. That GA-77 needs a damnned video, Brad!
I forgot about the 77. You’re right!
@@TheGuitologist you are one lucky bastard to have access to such an amazing collection. The brown Fender amps would make great videos too. You don’t see a whole lot of those anywhere.
That's interesting. I always thought that the Strat which was invented in 1954 came first. You learn something new every day.
The Fender Broadcaster (Tele) beat the Les Paul to market.
@@TheGuitologist I'm sure you're aware that Bigsby and another gentleman's designs, (Hedley Jones), predate both Leo, Les and Ted's creations. I discount the Beauchamp frying pan as a novelty, and don't consider the first electric "spanish" style set necks to make the grade either.
@@TheGuitologist I guess "to market" is the key here. How's it been Brad?
Leo had Esquire prototypes circulating in the late 1940’s and offered the first production guitar, the Esquire in 1950. He followed it up with the broadcaster, a two pickup version of the same design the next year (maybe the same year) which was later renamed the Telecaster to satisfy an objection by Gretsch who sold drums with the name broadcaster. The Stratocaster was in development by this time and debuted in 1954.
@@TheGuitologist And the Esquire beat the Broadcaster.
Great video. I felt all of the reluctance to damage a beautiful old guitar and was amazed that the action got down to playable with that neck being so low to the body. I love the tone you bring to it. Glad I upgraded my PC to an IO with monitors. Some of the magic still comes through despite the digitization twice on the way to my ears. Magic! I bet it sounded way better in the room. Thanks for sharing the experience.
Best informative gear video I’ve seen in a while. Love those P90’s too through that Gibson amp.
What a time capsule. Beautiful.
What a great video Brad. Your friend has so much knowledge on anything music. That sounded amazing. How were those skinny frets to play on?
What a treat it was to watch this video. The care you took to treat this guitar the way it should be treated. What a treasure. I have a 2018 gold top p90 with the bridge and the stop tail piece (that's all I can afford) , but still love it. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys for a bit. That LP sounds as good as it looks. Almost 70 years old, awesome.
Yes, THANK YOU STEVE!!
@ 7:50, thanks for removing the hardware off the body. I didn't realise I had OCD until this video!
I cringed. Lol
My second time watching this one. You & Steve are a joy to watch together.
what a fantastic watch. Love seeing and hearing those old beautiful axes.
Don't wipe the chrome dust off - there is magic tone in there
Lol
Great show as always Brad. And what a phenomenal guitar. Tele on steroids.
Thats it! a tele on steroids,thats what ive been looking for!!
What a beautiful sounding old guitar. It didnt take that much to bring it back to life. Well done. It's amazing the way the pots cleaned up after just a little spray clean. Those pots, pickups and neck have been sitting there since 1952 just waiting for someone to come along and wake them up! I love P90s PUs, the way theyre so responsive to the tone control. I have a copy of this model and you would be forgiven for thinking the tone control is a volume control!!.
16:58 over a certain age one can only dream of these sounds
"I've seen you catch before".... Brad=🥺 lol
Yeah dude, that was a case of boomer not getting the subtext. :D
@@TheGuitologist I laughed so hard I dropped my phone 😂😂😂
It's a joy to see you guys work. The things we wish Gibson's had come up
With. But to play it as it was ment to
be. The sound we need to hear.
Was the mother of this invention.
Brad, in my opinion this is the best video you've done so far!
Thanks Brad , a great video . Beautiful guitar , fantastic playing.. a welcome relief from "real life !" Peace and love brother 👍🏻☮❤
thanks man. Have a peaceful Christmas season.
@@TheGuitologist And to you and yours, B. R 🎄 🍻 😎
cool video, MojoAxe makes great stuff, I have their compensated wraparound bridge on my Les Paul Junior TV
Trapeze Solution from www.1952lespaul-trapeaze.com does a fine piece as well. But mine cost almost double what yours did.
I like it though. Fun watching you guys.
Such a killer vibe , the guitar , the room , the amp just draw you in and the players total respect of the instrument . Awesome video please feed us more 😁
The look you gave home when he said “I’ve seen you catch before” 😂😂😂 you’re like “wtf you mean catch?!”
I dont consider swapping a part like this a mod, but that's just me. This is reversible.
Good swap though. Love these trapeze Gibsons... LP, 225, 295, etc. I have one I'm trying to find a donor husk for.
*edit The string tension should push that bridge down enough. No need for lubricant, especially an aerosol. The fact that the Mojotone bridge will wrap over the instead of the original route will force the bridge/trap down. I'd have done it without lube or bending first.
The lube should help prevent rust at the joint too. So positive side effect. I don't see a downside.
@@TheGuitologist I agree, it can be put back and allows a great piece of history to live a new chapter of it's life.. win/win
@@TheGuitologist I was thinking about it potentially dripping. Those things have always been stiff. You rarely move them so there's really no need to have it loose. To each his own.
I'm glad you documented this. I'll watch the rerun when i get home.
Hey Brad, these caps are actually called “Grey Tigers” and are the same as Bumblebees except the casing. Their value should be .02uf.
Cool video guys! Thanks for letting us tag along!
Diggin' watching y'all work on that relic! Looking forward to the end for the sound check!!
great sustain... "these go to eleven..."
You hit that first chord and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I know people think I'm crazy but I love those old p90's piss on humbucker's.
Times like this a dental mirror may help?? Amazing seeing this '52 opened up and sounds fantastic IMO! Thanks for the video Brad! Love it!!
Great video! Love hearing those old Les Paul’s! And now it’s a playable guitar for him that’s been in the case for 40 years but it can be put back to its original condition if he decides to sell!! It’s amazing that our minds can remember a sound from 40 years ago.