# How to Make Guitar Vintage for Less > Simple wiring swaps give vintage look and sound without breaking the bank. - Title: How to Make Guitar Vintage for Less · Guitar World | Shortify - Summary: 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… - Keywords: gibson les paul junior, vintage wiring, 50s guitar mods, bumblebee capacitor, truss rod cover, fretboard, p-90 pickup, kluson tuners, Make, Guitar, Vintage, Less - Source: Guitar World — https://guitarworld.com/lessons/guitar-setup/how-to-make-your-guitar-look-and-sound-more-vintage - Published: 2026-10-01T13:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: gibson les paul junior, vintage wiring, 50s guitar mods, bumblebee capacitor, truss rod cover, fretboard, p-90 pickup, kluson tuners ## 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 ## Key takeaway Replacing parts on a Gibson Les Paul Junior with vintage specs costs less than £2,000 and improves tone without refinishing.