Shocked to hear of the passing of our friend Doug Rowell. He was an incredible musical talent, producer and guitar geek of the first order. Doug gave me an appreciation for good guitar/ amp tone. So happy to know the 53 Gold Top will live on. Keep up the good work!
I suppose it’s just a contrivance except the bits are smaller. Your attention to detail would serve you. I had to learn out of necessity, just like cars, I could not afford to pay someone else to take care of my gear. Geez, I can hear my dad saying “if someone else can do it, why can’t you?” Thanks Barry.
Just came across your channel! That’s an amazing piece of LP history. Looking forward to your labor of love. Also, it’s clear how much your friend means to you. I’m sure this will turn out awesome! Cheers! 🎸 😎
Hello sir, as a fellow guitar player, it's an absolute bliss to hear a man who knows his business and is passionate about it like you talk about such a wonderful and iconic Les Paul. I think the gold top is my favourite finish ever since I saw Slash rock it in live shows in the late eighties, early nineties. Looking forward to seeing your progress on that guitar and I'm sure your friend will be proud on how you'll restore it. Take care
@@donsmanufactory Then it would be awesome to be a little demo of how the guitar sound once you're happy with the restoration, will be cool to hear that baby sing again! Tc
Just after the 5:00 mark he takes it out and stupidly scratches the hell out of the back of the guitar. You can hear it too. Would you remove a piece of furniture that you've made from its shipping container then use the furniture to move the container out of the way? Some people are just truly dumb. Rob peter to pay paul type people. The common clay of the new west. Bang bang that's not a gun, it's the beating old man is putting on the guitar. Rosa String Works, Stew Mac, this guy. These old mofos just bang these instruments around.
@@philmazzie3674 🤔... You Okay, Bruh ??.... He's doing a Full restoration... Your rant doesn't really fit the crime... It's not a finished piece... It's a husk with buckle rash, stripped cap, mismatched pickups, non original bridge and tailpiece and a broken neck.... And You're ranting about putting it down on the case edges !?... Take a deep breath, my dude... It'll all be ok, in the end.
I played with Doug many times and have played that particular guitar; though that was more than a decade ago. At the time, the headstock repair was already there and I think he said he got it that way. It had the Grovers, no tones and the stop bar/tailpiece. I think Doug told me it had the trapeze when he got it, but Doug was about playability over collectability. As I recall, that mahogany patch under the pickup switch is actually a block.
Thanks for the info. I would like to document all the info that anyone may remember about Doug and this guitar. I did not receive any parts that may have been removed. If I could get my hands on the trapeze parts, the bad neck pickup that would be fabulous. What do you mean that patch is a block?
Yup; what Willy said. I only recall seeing and playing that guitar the one time, but I recognized it instantly when I saw the thumbnail for this video. Excited to see how your restoration turns out. Cheers!
Amazing project. I’m not affiliated, but I put a Music City Bridge on my Les Paul Jr, and it’s amazing. It would look like a vintage ‘50s bridge, but solves intonation problems, etc. Worth looking into (as alternative to Badass bridge).
It's interesting that it wasn't wired '50s' style originally. You can tell by the bridge tone pot center lug not being the one that's grounded to the casing. It was actually common for them to do it either way in the 50s. You probably knew this, but I thought I'd share. Also, the capacitors used were called Grey Tigers. That Black Beauty was from after 1960 and is essentially the same as a bumblebee
@@donsmanufactory- I thought that if you used one of those music city conversion bridges, you didn't have to reset the neck. If that is the case, that is what I'd do. It would really suck to have to drill into your friend's guitar to heat up that glue in the neck joint.
Trapeze Wrap-Over Compensated Tailpiece, 1952 - 1953 Gibson Replacement Bridge. OR IF YOUR GOING TO CONVERT IT TO 54 SPEC. YOU COULD PUT THE STUDS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND USE The Savvy™ - Compensated Wraparound Tailpiece
I had a similar guitar long ago. I put a Schaller “harmonica” bridge on it because it was the only thing low enough for thst neck angle. I doubt if the later stop tailpiece will work either ( without resetting the neck”. You might look into the “Music City Bridge” that puts a low compensated bridge at the end of the trapeze. As far as everything else, just do what you want.its your guitar.
Beautiful piece worth the effort. I see no pickguard. I recently bought a P-90 Goldtop and am dealing with static emanating from my pinky riubbing the pickguard for stability. It seems this is not uncommon with P-90s. Gold is a good idea.
Thanks, I deal with that too, annoying popping and snapping the faster I play. Try using anti-static plastic polish on the covers and pick guard. This is what I use Brillianize 8 Ounce (240 ml) Plastic Cleaner in Pump Spray Bottle a.co/d/htIiD9e
Big decisions to make because of that neck angle. If I was in your boat, I'd probably leave the neck angle and buy one of those drop-in, conversion bridges that a company in Nashville (I believe) designed for the 52/53 Goldtops with this issue. That way, you end up with a playable guitar and don't have to do a neck reset. It would really suck having to pull a bunch of frets and drill into this guitar.
I hear ya, unfortunately I do not have the oem trapeze and other parts. It’s already been messed with non stock wise mods and parts. Thanks for the info.
As an owner of an early production (unbound neck etc) Lester, I’d suggest a Mojoaxe bridge/tailpiece combo. The authentic Gibson tailpiece trapezes aren’t too hard to find because it was the same tailpiece as used on ES-125s, 175s etc. - I’ve seen many for sale at guitar shows. Mine has had the neck broken several times, and has finally been doweled to hold it solid. Does yours have a two piece center seamed top like mine? Mine still has functional original pickups, pots and caps - yes, they should be grey tigers though I’m sure over the years my magnets have lost some strength and the caps probably leak a bit. If playability is the goal, look for the Mojoaxe bridge setup (I think Music City no longer offers them?). Well worth investing some time, love and money into.
Greg and I saw that guitar when it wasn't messed with at the Duff's jam in Portland. I was reagular there for years. It sounded great, but of course Doug always played too loud for me, so half the time I'd go outside to save my hearing :-) Very sad to see how it ended up like this. He kept telling me the pickups were really "hot," but Greg measured them out the jack, even though you don't get a fully accurrrate reading that way. They actually read on the low side, so they were very bright. Bright pickups are often thought to be "hot" by guitar players when actually hot pickups are high winds, and noticeably less trebly. Low winds have more frequencies than the sought after higher winds. I'd offer to restore the neck pickup, but only if its an original. But those shiny pole screws say otherwise. Definitely don't refinish the back. Its sad that I see so many guys try to turn these in PAF equipped Les Pauls, thus destroying the historic value of them, glad you're not doing that.....
Hey that’s cool, can you describe the guitar when you saw it? Was it a trapeze set up? Were the frets new jumbo’s? Any info or pics would be greatly appreciated. Also, I haven’t looked at the oem bridge pickup. It may need a new bobbin, is that something you could restore? Thanks so much.
That 1053 was NOT the date code! The pot code is 1347641. 134 is for Centralab, 76 is for the year, and 41 is the 41st week. That pot is from the 41st week of 1976. The other three pots look original, and the pot codes are on the side. Look for a leading 134 or 137, and then a single digit year code in the 1950's and then the two digit week code. 137 is for a CTS pot.
Man, I'd leave that beautiful patina top as-is and just touch up the patch at the switch to blend in and match. It looks like some of the gold top finish is still there, and the worn -away spots are cool!
Unfortunately the top was sanded off and a poly finish applied. The back has a brushed on shellac that isn’t adhered very well. Every part of this thing has been messed with. Only the bridge pickup is original. Thanks
A way to tell if poly or shellac is methylated spirit test, shellac will soften poly won;t. I think it will lose its Mojo if you refinish it back to gold top, definitely leave the back alone. With care a maple patch will fix the previous repair under the switch, it could be a round one cut with a large plug cutter, with the poker chip on most of that area is hidden. I Like what others have said find correct trapeze and the modern bridge fix for it, . Your guitar, just my thoughts.
I was thinking the gold finish would hide the needed repairs to the body. Don’t want to refinish the back and sides, there is a lot of great patina there.
@donsmanufactory yeahif u want to hide the repairs a gold top refin would be the best option. Gold tops look awesome. A guitar with that patina is special, every scratch can tell a story 🙌
Yeah, I go round & round thinking about which way to go. Upgrade to 54 spec or 55 spec? I don’t want to screw it up but it’s not up to snuff in the playable department. That stop tail piece was drilled off center too. What a shame.
@@donsmanufactoryIt's a cool guitar, and since it's been modified the brand of caps really wont make much difference from a collector sand point. I like the idea of putting a wrap around bridge back on. I'm looking forward to how things progress on your build. 👍
The pods don't really tell date, they and being a pod made that late in the year. I think the gold tops came out in 54. Either way it's old one for sure.
@@donsmanufactory there is one thing making me think it could be a 53, there's no post holes filled in and it looks to me that the 54's had the 2-peace bridge setup, I love trying to figure out old things that were restored at some unknown point in time. When looking up the serial dates, they only mention 54 to 60's so only Gibson would know. .....Never mind this, I just confused myself looking at too many guitars lol
Shocked to hear of the passing of our friend Doug Rowell. He was an incredible musical talent, producer and guitar geek of the first order. Doug gave me an appreciation for good guitar/ amp tone. So happy to know the 53 Gold Top will live on. Keep up the good work!
Yeah, I miss him a lot. He helped me through many situations with his wisdom and kindness. Thanks for thinking of him.
❤❤❤❤❤
Liked and subbed. I love the 50’s gold tops. I look forward to seeing this piece come back to life. Looking forward to the playlist.
Thanks DeeTee from DT
That’s cool. I appreciate your knowledge on these. I know nothing about guitars.
I suppose it’s just a contrivance except the bits are smaller. Your attention to detail would serve you. I had to learn out of necessity, just like cars, I could not afford to pay someone else to take care of my gear. Geez, I can hear my dad saying “if someone else can do it, why can’t you?”
Thanks Barry.
Just came across your channel! That’s an amazing piece of LP history. Looking forward to your labor of love.
Also, it’s clear how much your friend means to you. I’m sure this will turn out awesome!
Cheers!
🎸 😎
Thanks, I appreciate it.
I've watched your car videos but didn't know you were into guitars also. Now I have more things to watch. Awesome!
@@joebob344 - Thanks Joe
Doug was a great guy! I was fortunate to play a fair few gigs with him in and around Portland 😊
Thanks,
I really miss Doug, I only played one gig with him back in the 80’s but we did a lot of studio work together over the years.
Hello sir, as a fellow guitar player, it's an absolute bliss to hear a man who knows his business and is passionate about it like you talk about such a wonderful and iconic Les Paul. I think the gold top is my favourite finish ever since I saw Slash rock it in live shows in the late eighties, early nineties. Looking forward to seeing your progress on that guitar and I'm sure your friend will be proud on how you'll restore it. Take care
Thanks, I hope I’m doing the right thing. I’m not a collector, I’m a player. At least I used to be.
@@donsmanufactory Then it would be awesome to be a little demo of how the guitar sound once you're happy with the restoration, will be cool to hear that baby sing again! Tc
So Cool. Liked and Subscribed. Looking forward to this restoration.
Just after the 5:00 mark he takes it out and stupidly scratches the hell out of the back of the guitar. You can hear it too. Would you remove a piece of furniture that you've made from its shipping container then use the furniture to move the container out of the way? Some people are just truly dumb. Rob peter to pay paul type people. The common clay of the new west. Bang bang that's not a gun, it's the beating old man is putting on the guitar. Rosa String Works, Stew Mac, this guy. These old mofos just bang these instruments around.
Don’t know what you thought you heard but that ain’t it.
@@philmazzie3674 🤔... You Okay, Bruh ??.... He's doing a Full restoration... Your rant doesn't really fit the crime... It's not a finished piece... It's a husk with buckle rash, stripped cap, mismatched pickups, non original bridge and tailpiece and a broken neck.... And You're ranting about putting it down on the case edges !?... Take a deep breath, my dude... It'll all be ok, in the end.
Thanks, you said it better than I.
I played with Doug many times and have played that particular guitar; though that was more than a decade ago.
At the time, the headstock repair was already there and I think he said he got it that way. It had the Grovers, no tones and the stop bar/tailpiece. I think Doug told me it had the trapeze when he got it, but Doug was about playability over collectability.
As I recall, that mahogany patch under the pickup switch is actually a block.
Thanks for the info. I would like to document all the info that anyone may remember about Doug and this guitar. I did not receive any parts that may have been removed. If I could get my hands on the trapeze parts, the bad neck pickup that would be fabulous.
What do you mean that patch is a block?
@donsmanufactory he means the patch isn't a thin veneer but a block. Reset the neck angle and get a wraptail. Those string anchors add weight.
@@WillyMcCoy50- Thanks
Yup; what Willy said. I only recall seeing and playing that guitar the one time, but I recognized it instantly when I saw the thumbnail for this video.
Excited to see how your restoration turns out.
Cheers!
The Music City wrap around bridges are nice
Thanks, I’ll check them out.
Amazing project. I’m not affiliated, but I put a Music City Bridge on my Les Paul Jr, and it’s amazing. It would look like a vintage ‘50s bridge, but solves intonation problems, etc. Worth looking into (as alternative to Badass bridge).
Thanks for the info, I’ll look into it.
Love the natural top.
Thanks Steve.
Yeah, it’s cool, wood ain’t so pretty though.
Pretty damn cool if ya asked me.
Thanks Sam, I hope Doug is smiling down on us.
It's interesting that it wasn't wired '50s' style originally. You can tell by the bridge tone pot center lug not being the one that's grounded to the casing. It was actually common for them to do it either way in the 50s. You probably knew this, but I thought I'd share.
Also, the capacitors used were called Grey Tigers. That Black Beauty was from after 1960 and is essentially the same as a bumblebee
My friend Doug Changed the wiring in there so who knows how many iterations it has gone through. I'll be keeping it 50's. Thanks for the info.
Really cool guitar! Convert it to '54 specs and put a Stud Finder by Music City Bridge on that thang. That will make it amazing!
That’s the way I’m leaning. First up is the wood repairs and neck angle. Nerve wracking tasks.
@@donsmanufactory- I thought that if you used one of those music city conversion bridges, you didn't have to reset the neck. If that is the case, that is what I'd do. It would really suck to have to drill into your friend's guitar to heat up that glue in the neck joint.
Trapeze Wrap-Over Compensated Tailpiece, 1952 - 1953 Gibson Replacement Bridge. OR IF YOUR GOING TO CONVERT IT TO 54 SPEC. YOU COULD PUT THE STUDS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND USE The Savvy™ - Compensated Wraparound Tailpiece
I had a similar guitar long ago. I put a Schaller “harmonica” bridge on it because it was the only thing low enough for thst neck angle. I doubt if the later stop tailpiece will work either ( without resetting the neck”. You might look into the “Music City Bridge” that puts a low compensated bridge at the end of the trapeze. As far as everything else, just do what you want.its your guitar.
Thanks, I’m thinking I might try the neck reset. I’ve not done one before and it would be a challenge.
Wow, nice guitar. My neighbor manufactures guitars and sells to all the artist.
Thanks Jerry, making a guitar from scratch is above my pay grade.
That thing has a big greeny vibe goin on
Cool, Thanks
Beautiful piece worth the effort. I see no pickguard. I recently bought a P-90 Goldtop and am dealing with static emanating from my pinky riubbing the pickguard for stability. It seems this is not uncommon with P-90s. Gold is a good idea.
Thanks,
I deal with that too, annoying popping and snapping the faster I play. Try using anti-static plastic polish on the covers and pick guard.
This is what I use
Brillianize 8 Ounce (240 ml) Plastic Cleaner in Pump Spray Bottle a.co/d/htIiD9e
Big decisions to make because of that neck angle. If I was in your boat, I'd probably leave the neck angle and buy one of those drop-in, conversion bridges that a company in Nashville (I believe) designed for the 52/53 Goldtops with this issue. That way, you end up with a playable guitar and don't have to do a neck reset. It would really suck having to pull a bunch of frets and drill into this guitar.
I hear ya, unfortunately I do not have the oem trapeze and other parts. It’s already been messed with non stock wise mods and parts.
Thanks for the info.
As an owner of an early production (unbound neck etc) Lester, I’d suggest a Mojoaxe bridge/tailpiece combo. The authentic Gibson tailpiece trapezes aren’t too hard to find because it was the same tailpiece as used on ES-125s, 175s etc. - I’ve seen many for sale at guitar shows. Mine has had the neck broken several times, and has finally been doweled to hold it solid. Does yours have a two piece center seamed top like mine? Mine still has functional original pickups, pots and caps - yes, they should be grey tigers though I’m sure over the years my magnets have lost some strength and the caps probably leak a bit. If playability is the goal, look for the Mojoaxe bridge setup (I think Music City no longer offers them?). Well worth investing some time, love and money into.
Thanks Robert, I’ve been looking at a lot of different bridges etc.
Yes it has an unmatched two piece maple top.
Thanks again for your recommendation.
Greg and I saw that guitar when it wasn't messed with at the Duff's jam in Portland. I was reagular there for years. It sounded great, but of course Doug always played too loud for me, so half the time I'd go outside to save my hearing :-) Very sad to see how it ended up like this. He kept telling me the pickups were really "hot," but Greg measured them out the jack, even though you don't get a fully accurrrate reading that way. They actually read on the low side, so they were very bright. Bright pickups are often thought to be "hot" by guitar players when actually hot pickups are high winds, and noticeably less trebly. Low winds have more frequencies than the sought after higher winds. I'd offer to restore the neck pickup, but only if its an original. But those shiny pole screws say otherwise. Definitely don't refinish the back. Its sad that I see so many guys try to turn these in PAF equipped Les Pauls, thus destroying the historic value of them, glad you're not doing that.....
Hey that’s cool, can you describe the guitar when you saw it?
Was it a trapeze set up?
Were the frets new jumbo’s?
Any info or pics would be greatly appreciated.
Also, I haven’t looked at the oem bridge pickup. It may need a new bobbin, is that something you could restore?
Thanks so much.
That 1053 was NOT the date code! The pot code is 1347641. 134 is for Centralab, 76 is for the year, and 41 is the 41st week. That pot is from the 41st week of 1976. The other three pots look original, and the pot codes are on the side. Look for a leading 134 or 137, and then a single digit year code in the 1950's and then the two digit week code. 137 is for a CTS pot.
Thanks for that info.
All of the pots have the same numbers.
@@donsmanufactory this is clearly not the case. The 1 pot has numbers on the back, and the other 3 pots do not.
@@robostyle9773- maybe, they have stuff soldered right where the numbers are. I haven’t looked that closely since disassembly. I’ll check it out.
Man, I'd leave that beautiful patina top as-is and just touch up the patch at the switch to blend in and match. It looks like some of the gold top finish is still there, and the worn -away spots are cool!
Unfortunately the top was sanded off and a poly finish applied. The back has a brushed on shellac that isn’t adhered very well. Every part of this thing has been messed with. Only the bridge pickup is original.
Thanks
It's only original once. Leve it as it is, with that story and patina
Thanks
Original 53 with Trapeze Tail Piece . Original Klusons . Around $32.000 rough value .
Thanks,
Well, this thing is far from original so it would never fetch that much.
A way to tell if poly or shellac is methylated spirit test, shellac will soften poly won;t. I think it will lose its Mojo if you refinish it back to gold top, definitely leave the back alone. With care a maple patch will fix the previous repair under the switch, it could be a round one cut with a large plug cutter, with the poker chip on most of that area is hidden. I Like what others have said find correct trapeze and the modern bridge fix for it, . Your guitar, just my thoughts.
Yeah I hear ya. I could relic the front after it’s refinished to match the wear appearance. I dunno, I keep vacillating back and forth.
Thanks
Refinish it in cherry like an sg it will be cool
Oh my, you are risking the wrath of the internet gods.
DONS it was good enough for G Harrison and Clapton
Dont do a refinish, that top looks awesome.thats my opiniom
I was thinking the gold finish would hide the needed repairs to the body. Don’t want to refinish the back and sides, there is a lot of great patina there.
@donsmanufactory yeahif u want to hide the repairs a gold top refin would be the best option. Gold tops look awesome. A guitar with that patina is special, every scratch can tell a story 🙌
And an added stop bar, rather than rap around bridge.
Yeah, I go round & round thinking about which way to go. Upgrade to 54 spec or 55 spec?
I don’t want to screw it up but it’s not up to snuff in the playable department. That stop tail piece was drilled off center too. What a shame.
"well, it used to be a gold top." one of the saddest phrases to hear in guitar world...
Yeah I hear ya, this poor guitar has been quite molested. I have high hopes for it.
Thanks
Nope, not the correct tone cap. Should be a paper wax, maybe grey tiger brand. That Sprague black beauty cap is common to 60's Gibsons.
Ok, thanks for the info. Unfortunately this thing has been quite molested.
@@donsmanufactoryIt's a cool guitar, and since it's been modified the brand of caps really wont make much difference from a collector sand point. I like the idea of putting a wrap around bridge back on. I'm looking forward to how things progress on your build. 👍
The pods don't really tell date, they and being a pod made that late in the year. I think the gold tops came out in 54. Either way it's old one for sure.
Thanks,
Yeah, that’s why I’m leaning towards restoring it to 54 spec.
@@donsmanufactory there is one thing making me think it could be a 53, there's no post holes filled in and it looks to me that the 54's had the 2-peace bridge setup, I love trying to figure out old things that were restored at some unknown point in time. When looking up the serial dates, they only mention 54 to 60's so only Gibson would know. .....Never mind this, I just confused myself looking at too many guitars lol
Don't do anything to it! Keep it as it is, in honour of your late friend.
Have to do stuff, it needs to be playable.