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GFS Les Paul build

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:20 am
by matocaster
Hello all! GFS put out a ALL MAHOGANY Les Paul kit for $180 so I figured I would pick one up and build a Goldtop for fun. I was actually blown away by how good this kit is, blows the saga stuff out of the water. This is a full Mahogany kit, no bolt on, it's actually a set neck routed the same way Gibson does it. Here we go!

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Plays and sounds great! I used GFS Fat Pat's rather than the cheap-o's that came with the kit.

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:23 am
by the isaac eaton
looks really really good!!! Do a demo!

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:54 am
by robroe
looks BAD ASS!!!!!


got any shots of you cutting the headstock?

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 4:58 pm
by Haze
Wow that looks amazing. How much was the total build cost? I would straight up copy this guitar. It looksSO GOOD.
And did you use rerance's goldtop?

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:14 pm
by Mike
You've done a cracking job there, nice one.

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:31 pm
by Noirie.
Mad skillz :wink:

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:35 pm
by Josh
welcome back matt!
dig the guitar, love what you've done to it. you are a true master of making guitars look lush.

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:49 pm
by matocaster
Thank you so much everyone!!! I'll break down the build cost for y'all

All the parts I got from GFS

kit....................................................$180 (the kit comes with all the parts you need but some of the stuff is kida chinsy)
GFS Fat Pats......................................$60
Upgraded tuners (green Gibson style)..$30
Roller tune-o-matic Bridge..................$25
Guitar re-ranch goldtop nito................$18

Total build cost..................................$313.00

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:47 pm
by Sloan
Wow, that's a really good deal.

How are the frets and shit?
I've been wanting to get stuff to do fretwork because I find that most of my problems with playability in cheap axes is the frets, they're not smooth and shit.

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:50 pm
by Sloan
i want to make marc bolan and mick ronson tribute les paulz.

also,
could you give information on setting the neck?
do you have to set your own pitch and shit? i would easily fuck that up.

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:19 pm
by robert(original)
did it come pre-bound? i can't tell by the pic alone.
that looks pretty rocking, and for a great price, i have seen some saga stuff that was really really great for the price.
obviously 313 is a great price for a kit guitar at completetion.
is the fretboard binding gibby style with hidden ends?

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:29 pm
by mickie08
body and neck are bound already

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:59 pm
by matocaster
Yup they come pre-bound. Gibson paints their guitars with the binding already installed like this kit, they have "Scrapers" that scrape the paint off the binding, one thing I learned when I took the Gibson tour in Nashville. You do have to set the pitch and thats really easy to do, just install your bridge and run a string over it and up to the nut, then just shim until it looks right. If your a little off on the pitch no biggie you can adjust your bridge height to compensate. The frets are great! I didn't have to do any work on them.

Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:03 am
by chisa
looks excellent! clips?

Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:45 am
by paul_
Great job, it looks fantastic. I've been dying to try one of those or the SG.

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:46 am
by matocaster
Yeah I was thinking of getting the SG kit as well just for fun, I was thinking of going one of two ways white with gold hardware and 3 humbuckers (like Gibson did a bit back in the day) or cherry stain with P-90's

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:16 pm
by Bacchus
White with three P-90's.

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:29 pm
by hotrodperlmutter
BacchusPaul wrote:White with three P-90's.
that's sounds fuckin brill. do love 3 pickup sg's.

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:25 pm
by matocaster
ooohhhh very nice! Thats a fantastic idea!

Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 4:51 am
by Pullover
yes! White SG with 3 p-90s! ...and gold hardware.