NGD - A very Special Special

designerseye88

So some of you may have seen this one on ebay, It's safe to say it certianly falls into a players grade guitar but what we have here is a 1960 LP special conversion. After a few days of checking it out i decided to pull the trigger and bid. To my surprise i was the lucky winner and took delivery of her a few days ago. 
What makes this one rather special is that the guitar is a 1960 LP special body with an earlier 50's junior neck and headstock. The headstock has had some work but their are no crack or breaks and binding added by a well known luthier to make it a LP special. As you can see it's not in the best of shape, numerous holes where people have experimented with pickguards and some large routs for humbuckers but all in all she sounds great and has bags of Mojo. She came with all the hardware and electrics ready to play (non original). It's not in great shape cosmetically but structurally it appears sound and really does sound good. I'm hoping to put together a bit of a thread as i plan on getting her restored back to her original look. Up close you can see a bit of the original TV yellow in the grain. All in all it was a bit of a gamble but i though it would be a fun project as I've always wanted something with p90's that's versatile and i can gig with so when i saw this one i thought it could be a nice little project. 
In terms of play-ability it sounds a really good guitar and the neck feels really nice and chunky (still not sure what year the neck is from but feels really comfortable). I've been in contact with our very own @miserneil who has done some great work on here and who will be helping with the restoration. I'm thinking off changing the p90'S to a set of Mojo (an orignal set of p90's will be added in the future), changing the bridge, new nut and then a refinish in TV yellow. I have been toying withe the idea of just keeping a set of humbuckers in there. Maybe a set of WIZZ PAF's, but open to thoughts. 


https://imgur.com/a/TwTd1tR

  

skippy76

Nice one mate, you’ve got to love a DC special!

A set of Wizz Pafs in there would be a winner until you can get some originals in (might be worth dropping @jumping@shadows  a note)

designerseye88

skippy76 said:

Nice one mate, you’ve got to love a DC special!

A set of Wizz Pafs in there would be a winner until you can get some originals in (might be worth dropping @jumping@shadows  a note)

Thanks mate!


Yeah im thinking about the set of Wizz paf's, As now it already has holes for humbuckers its a good opportunity to do something different with it. Most people would be horrified to alter their LP special in that way, but with the holes there it makes sense to create something a little unique. 

springhead

Rob, @Ozzyrocks, has a '61 humbuckered DC Special.  @jumping@shadows tidied up a few issues with it but it's stayed as humbuckers, and very nice it is too!

designerseye88

springhead said:

Rob, @Ozzyrocks, has a '61 humbuckered DC Special.  @juming@shadows tidied up a few issues with it but it's stayed as humbuckers, and very nice it is too!

Oh wow that sounds fantastic, Would love to see pics! 

McToot

springhead said:

Rob, @Ozzyrocks, has a '61 humbuckered DC Special.  @juming@shadows tidied up a few issues with it but it's stayed as humbuckers, and very nice it is too!

I think you probably mean @jumping@shadows ;

springhead

I did!  Missed the 'P', now fixed, thanks.

clarkefan

Serial number missing? That would tell you the year of the neck.

designerseye88

clarkefan said:

Serial number missing? That would tell you the year of the neck.

Yeah long gone unfortunately, I could maybe take some measurements, It certainly feels on thicker side which is what i like. I know 58's were thick but not sure about early 50's necks. 

springhead

58's are a little bit bigger than 59's but not massively so. I've played a 55 that was pretty chunky. A 56 that was a little bit smaller. Generally the earlier ones are bigger but there are plenty of exceptions to that.  

designerseye88

springhead said:

58's are a little bit bigger than 59's but not massively so. I've played a 55 that was pretty chunky. A 56 that was a little bit smaller. Generally the earlier ones are bigger but there are plenty of exceptions to that.  

Yeah I don't think I'll ever truly know but to me it feels really nice. it was definitely from a single cut so pre early 58'. It's a great guitar though, The only thing im not so keen on is the pickups, they are bareknuckle p90 blue notes (looking to sell them if anyone is interested). They don't seem to deal with distortion very well, but when clean they sound great. so I'll either go for some Mojo's or Wizz PAF's.

guitars4you

will be nice to see how the project goes etc and look forward to further updates - And before @richardhomer joins in, don't forget the sticker over the serial number !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

designerseye88

guitars4you said:

will be nice to see how the project goes etc and look forward to further updates - And before @richardhomer joins in, don't forget the sticker over the serial number !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha Ill try to recreate a nice gouged out serial number and then try to find a little sticker to top it off! 

richardhomer

designerseye88 said:

guitars4you said:

will be nice to see how the project goes etc and look forward to further updates - And before @richardhomer joins in, don't forget the sticker over the serial number !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha Ill try to recreate a nice gouged out serial number and then try to find a little sticker to top it off! 

No - that’s not how it’s done.

You put the sticker on first, then neatly scrape away just the section obscuring the number. Of course you need to press hard enough to make sure the number is removed as well....

Garthy

Sorry, what's "players grade"? I've never heard the term until on here recently. Thanks.

hotpickups

designerseye88 said:

springhead said:

58's are a little bit bigger than 59's but not massively so. I've played a 55 that was pretty chunky. A 56 that was a little bit smaller. Generally the earlier ones are bigger but there are plenty of exceptions to that.  

Yeah I don't think I'll ever truly know but to me it feels really nice. it was definitely from a single cut so pre early 58'. It's a great guitar though, The only thing im not so keen on is the pickups, they are bareknuckle p90 blue notes (looking to sell them if anyone is interested). They don't seem to deal with distortion very well, but when clean they sound great. so I'll either go for some Mojo's or Wizz PAF's.

Just checked out those wizz pickups. Blimey are they made out of gold

designerseye88

hotpickups said:

designerseye88 said:

springhead said:

58's are a little bit bigger than 59's but not massively so. I've played a 55 that was pretty chunky. A 56 that was a little bit smaller. Generally the earlier ones are bigger but there are plenty of exceptions to that.  

Yeah I don't think I'll ever truly know but to me it feels really nice. it was definitely from a single cut so pre early 58'. It's a great guitar though, The only thing im not so keen on is the pickups, they are bareknuckle p90 blue notes (looking to sell them if anyone is interested). They don't seem to deal with distortion very well, but when clean they sound great. so I'll either go for some Mojo's or Wizz PAF's.

Just checked out those wizz pickups. Blimey are they made out of gold

I know what you mean, they're no the cheapest. I can only afford them if i see the current ones i've got. But i've heard they sound fantastic, i know @jumping@shadows highly recommends them for most of his conversions. 
The way i see it though is they hold their value pretty well and if you need to sell them on you'd probably get almost what you paid for them. 

designerseye88

Garthy said:

Sorry, what's "players grade"? I've never heard the term until on here recently. Thanks.

Hey, Well from what i gather and have learnt "players grade' refers to a guitar which has had modifications or changes to it. That could be a number of things, a refinish, changed electrics, heavy wear, neck reset, headstock repair etc. It's called that because its often professional or semi pro players who buy these types of guitars as they can have a great guitar which sounds like it should but at a reduced cost . I'm sure others on here could give a better description but it's basically the opposite of a collectors grade. 

kjdowd

. designerseye88 said:

Garthy said:

Sorry, what's "players grade"? I've never heard the term until on here recently. Thanks.

Hey, Well from what i gather and have learnt "players grade' refers to a guitar which has had modifications or changes to it. That could be a number of things, a refinish, changed electrics, heavy wear, neck reset, headstock repair etc. It's called that because its often professional or semi pro players who buy these types of guitars as they can have a great guitar which sounds like it should but at a reduced cost . I'm sure others on here could give a better description but it's basically the opposite of a collectors grade. 

Exactly that. A guitar that has no playability issues but may have had upgrades/mods/replacement parts/refinish etc that may well even enhance playability but would present an issue to a collector seeking an all original example

kjdowd

designerseye88 said:

hotpickups said:

designerseye88 said:

springhead said:

58's are a little bit bigger than 59's but not massively so. I've played a 55 that was pretty chunky. A 56 that was a little bit smaller. Generally the earlier ones are bigger but there are plenty of exceptions to that.  

Yeah I don't think I'll ever truly know but to me it feels really nice. it was definitely from a single cut so pre early 58'. It's a great guitar though, The only thing im not so keen on is the pickups, they are bareknuckle p90 blue notes (looking to sell them if anyone is interested). They don't seem to deal with distortion very well, but when clean they sound great. so I'll either go for some Mojo's or Wizz PAF's.

Just checked out those wizz pickups. Blimey are they made out of gold

I know what you mean, they're no the cheapest. I can only afford them if i see the current ones i've got. But i've heard they sound fantastic, i know @jumping@shadows highly recommends them for most of his conversions. 
The way i see it though is they hold their value pretty well and if you need to sell them on you'd probably get almost what you paid for them. 

I picked up some second hand and got a decent deal. Excellent PAFs. Highly recommended.