From Guitar World · · 1m 30s
How to Make Guitar Vintage for Less
Simple wiring swaps give vintage look and sound without breaking the bank.
In brief
Simple wiring swaps give vintage look and sound without breaking the bank. Replacing parts on a Gibson Les Paul Junior with vintage specs costs less than £2,000 and improves tone without refinishing. Originally reported by Guitar World.
Quick answers
- Why Not Vintage Reissue?
- Gibson's VSB VOS Junior costs around £2,000 more than the VBT model.
- What is the key takeaway from How to Make Guitar Vintage for Less?
- Replacing parts on a Gibson Les Paul Junior with vintage specs costs less than £2,000 and improves tone without refinishing.
James' Vintage Goal
James bought a Gibson Les Paul Junior sunburst VTB model for less than £2,000.
“James had been gassing for a '50s-style single-cutaway Les Paul Junior and got a pretty good deal at Gibson's Garage for a sunburst VTB model”
Why Not Vintage Reissue?
Gibson's VSB VOS Junior costs around £2,000 more than the VBT model.
“Gibson's VSB VOS Junior ticks that box very nicely, but it costs around £2,000 more than the VBT”
Strip Down Project
The project strips the guitar without refinishing or finish relicing.
“This project isn't going to demand any advanced luthier skills and there'll be no refinishing or finish relicing”
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Gibson's nitrocellulose lacquer is combustible and produces a camphor smell.
“Gibson claims to use nitrocellulose lacquer and, having stripped it for relic refinishes, I can confirm it is very combustible and it produces a camphor smell when you scrape or sand it”
1950s Wiring Style
1950s Gibson wiring uses tone control center tag grounded to volume control.
“During the 1950s and early 60s, Gibson wired tone controls to the centre tag of volume controls, rather than the input tag”
Bumblebee Capacitor
A paper-in-oil 'Bumblebee' capacitor was installed 1950s style.
“James had sourced a paper-in-oil 'Bumblebee' replica capacitor, so I installed that 1950s style and removed the factory Orange Drop capacitor and brown jumper wire between the volume and tone pots in the process”
Plastic Parts Upgrade
Gold knobs and butyrate P-90 cover were sourced for vintage look.
“In another departure from vintage specs, Gibson equips the Junior VBT with black control knobs, not gold. Similarly, the truss rod cover is a black/white laminated item, rather than one-ply black”
Truss Rod Cover
A one-ply truss rod cover was found for less than £7 on Amazon UK.
“Sourcing a one-ply truss rod cover wasn't straightforward. My go-to suppliers didn't stock them and those I found online were eye-wateringly expensive. Sometimes, however, it pays to cast the net a bit wider and I eventually found one for less than £7 on Amazon UK”
Fretboard Treatment
Rosewood fretboard was darkened with Angelus Dark Brown leather dye.
“To darken the fretboard, I used Angelus Dark Brown leather dye. I applied it with a cotton bud, taking care not to allow the dye to run over the fretboard edges”
Tuner Swap
Three-on-a-plate Kluson replicas were installed with 10mm conversion bushings.
“Although the factory-fitted tuners worked perfectly and looked fairly good, the plan was to replace them with vintage-correct three-on-a-plate Kluson replicas and 10mm conversion bushings”
Tuning Results
The replacement tuners work smoothly with less neck heaviness.
“The replacement tuners work very smoothly and tuning is stable with maybe a tad less neck heaviness”
Pickup Upgrade
The replacement P-90 pickup has sweeter treble and quackier midrange.
“The replacement pickup is more microphonic than Gibson's and has the sweeter treble and quackier midrange you probably want from a pickup wound to vintage specs with lower gauss magnets”
Wiring Improvements
50s wiring makes volume control more usable.
“The 50s wiring has also made the volume control more usable”
Final Result
The guitar now costs less than £2,000 and sounds more vintage.
“Whether you approve of aged parts or not, the guitar's specs have ended up far closer to Gibson's VOS model for considerably less outlay”
What to remember
Replacing parts on a Gibson Les Paul Junior with vintage specs costs less than £2,000 and improves tone without refinishing.
