Black Beauty

Talk about and show off your El Degas instruments here.
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Commy
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Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:17 am

Black Beauty

Post by Commy »

Here are a few snaps of my Les Paul Custom that my luthier took.

Commy


/Users/davidcomiskey/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2010/09/03/P1000455.JPG/Users/davidcomiskey/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2010/09/03/P1000456.JPG/Users/davidcomiskey/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2010/09/03/P1000457.JPG/Users/davidcomiskey/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2010/11/02/P1000512.jpg
Commy
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Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:17 am

Black Beauty 2

Post by Commy »

That may not have worked as well as I was hoping it would. I set up a Photobucket account the other day, and became a tad frustrated as I was trying to figure out how to use it to facilitate this site. I ain't that bright.

Commy

PS...I'd really like to share my photos with everyone.
Commy
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:17 am

Black Beauty 3

Post by Commy »

Here goes friends.

As stated in my earlier post these were photos that my luthier took of my LP Custom.

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charles
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by charles »

I've merged your posts together into on e topic. Glad to see you got the Photobucket account worked out.

Nice guitar, what all is your luthier doing to it? What is the slice down the centre of the body? Did it separate?
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
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Barry
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by Barry »

That's the strangest separation I've ever seen on a guitar.
It's not uncommon to have more than one piece of wood making up a solid body, but this opening up of the joint line is a bit troublesome and is not at all "normal". It seems to indicate either a shrinkage of the wood (possible but not likely) or, more likely, an absence of adhesive on the seam on the top portion of the thickness resulting in a gap. Because the line is so clean it indicates a manufacturing flaw to me. The paint finish then collapsed into the cavity and shrank as it dried.
Very odd, and an unusual lapse in quality control for an MIJ guitar.
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." --Chuckles the Clown
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charles
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by charles »

No way I'd expect the finish to separate so cleanly - it looks so clean, I wonder if the luthier did it with a saw to fill in and fix a not-so-pretty separation?

I'm sure Commy will know what's what and free us from this curiosity! :lol:
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
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Barry
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by Barry »

I would expect a saw blade to leave a rough edge with some paint chipping, and you'd see cleanly exposed wood. I'm not seeing that in the pix. Also the surface dirt does not appear to have been disturbed at all, indicating to me this is not a fresh cut. Knife cut of some sort maybe? Even then, no surface disturbance. Very strange.
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." --Chuckles the Clown
M U S I C : https://getback.barryeames.com
G U I T A R S : https://legend.barryeames.com/
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Commy
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by Commy »

Hello Friends,

I've named my guitar Lazarus.

The photos are a testament to the condition it was in when I found it at the Goodwill store in London. It was in one piece when I purchased it. I went from the Goodwill store, after spending $120.00, directly to my luthier Robert Taylor. He was highly recommended; perfect gentleman; website follows. He said that the split is as a result of being left in someone's basement or garage, having been neglected for a few decades, subjected to the varieties of SW S Ontario weather patterns.

http://www.gilpinguitars.ca/

I brought the guitar to him at the beginning of September. I asked him to give it a complete overhaul. He emailed on January 3 to inform me that the job had been completed. I haven't seen the final product as of yet, and will be picking Lazarus up at mid month.

In October I dropped an amp off for Robert to clean/service, and I saw the body of my guitar. I was astounded and didn't recognize it. He had filled said crack with a mahogany mixture and had worked on the finish. He wasn't quite happy with the finish and said that it required a little more work. I realized then that I had indeed been referred to the right luthier. It looked like a black Mustang right off the line in Detroit!

When I spoke to him a few days ago he said that the guitar plays and looks great. He said that he needed to tweak the intonation a just a slight bit more, but otherwise it's ready to roll.

Robert's son is a guitarist of note; Robert Taylor Jr. His website follows as well.

http://www.robert-taylor.ca/

I will take proper photos of the resurrected Black Beauty when I secure it after the fifteenth.

Commy
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charles
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by charles »

Sounds like it will be a very happy reunion with Lazarus! Can't wait to see what it looks like.
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
Commy
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Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:17 am

Black Beauty 2

Post by Commy »

Hello,

Can you tell what year my ED Les Paul Custom might have been manufactured based on the photos I posted?

The plate does have Made In Japan imprinted on it. However, there is no other indication as to year, serial number, etc.

Based on what I'm learning from posts on the forum the lettering on the head stock might suggest something.

Any information that might be garnered from the experts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,

Commy
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charles
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Re: Black Beauty

Post by charles »

The logo style on the headstock just tells me it is a Japanese model.

We do not have any definitive way of telling the specific years these were built, so all I can ever answer to that question is an era - yours is from the 70s, likely the early-to-mid 70s.
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
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