1953 Les Paul Gold Top Restore - Full Time Lapse Video
382,227
Published 2020-12-21
I have spent 12 months building and restoring this guitar. What an amazing journey! here if the full time lapse video.
Issues with Guitar:
Broken Headstock
Cracked Body with multiple large dents
Bondo all over the neck
Missing Body Binding
Missing Neck Binding
Gouges in Fretboard
Missing Cover Plates
Tuners Slipping
Electronics not working
Neck Pickup Dead
Body Wood - Mahogany w/ Maple Top
Neck Wood - Mahogany
Fingerboard Wood - Brazilian Rosewood
Scale Length - 24.75"
Nut Width - 1 11/16"
Pickup(s) - Gibson P-90s
Song #1 by Down Maggie - Pink Floyd is calling
Song #2 Glen Playing the Les Paul
Song #3 Custom Song by Justin Johnson
All Comments (21)
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Part 1 Project intro: https://youtu.be/1cQbKGSheJI Part 2 Taking it Apart: https://youtu.be/gigmqyfRGsY Part 3 Fixing the NecK: https://youtu.be/8wxwrr67Ov0 Part 4 Fixing the Body: https://youtu.be/GUKOrzVh2Kg Part 5 Binding the Body: https://youtu.be/GUKOrzVh2Kg Part 6 Repairing the Fretboard: https://youtu.be/OMHQVgW61Ww Part 7 Repairing The Headstock: https://youtu.be/wD-cymV7K-0 Part 8 Assembly: https://youtu.be/EGCwQmvomFI Part 9 Final Finish: https://youtu.be/RQNzXZlogQE
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I’ve read comments about how so much restoration was done, it probably wasn’t worth it or there’s not enough of the original guitar left to justify the work. I total disagree. This was a labour of love and the guitar was brought back to life again to make music. It’s not a broom, or an axe or a ship. It’s a musical instrument and all that matters is that it will make music again
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The older guitars are history and need to be preserved. That was an awesome job. They are truly works of art.
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This restoration cost lot of effort than build new guitar😵 Great job👍
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I have been watching the entire process and bravo ! That thing was absolutely wrecked, especially how smashed in the body was, that was amazing to see fixed.
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Some more “finished” shots would be cool but fantastic work!! Brings a tear to my eye seeing an old Les Paul being brought back from the grave to rock for another 70 years!
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Thank You for giving new life to that very distressed piece of history. Proud of you. Gary Moore would approve! I'm certain..
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Good job. Enjoyed hearing Glen play it. That added a lot.
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I'm in the process of building a Goldtop from a custom kit I purchased from Precision Guitar. Ive watched this video and others in the series a few times. It has been a huge help to me in my process. Thank you for sharing and all your excellent tips.
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Derek, all I can say is you work miracles, brother. Outstanding craftmanship. Thank you so much!
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Amazing job! It's really nice to see that a piece of history like that is back to life!
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That was a tremendous amount of work put into resurrecting this instrument. How can the guitar gods not smile on such loving care?
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Yes you deserve big kudo's for what you did with this & the end result !! Awesome job !!
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Glad you restored this fine old axe; didn't care for the "so fast, you can't tell what's going on" video style very much. I have to say, you're obviously very talented. But not everyone digs videos that make them dizzy if they try to see what's going on. Good fortune follow you, always; I hope you save many, many old smashed guitars - you'll heal a lot of smashed hearts. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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It’s like the ship of Theseus. I’d say that what you’ve created is far more special than what you started with!!
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Amazing craftsmanship! Truly a labor of love. Every time I thought he was done there were like eleven more steps for each part.
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Well done! That piece of history was in good hands! I loved how you salvaged the headstock inlay! Great work Derek!
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Amazing repair and tons of work. Great out come but I can't believe in the collectors world that guitar is worth 500 bucks
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Wow! Unbelievably ambitious!! But excellently done and saved it to fight another day. Outstanding work
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What a transformation. Great job.
