Rain Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 (edited) My guitars rarely see the light of day, but every time I take my white Les Paul out of the studio and downstairs in the daylight, I am in for a surprise. This morning I realized that the lacquer had started to crack on the back as well as around the knobs on the front. It'll be 9 years next month, and it's been kept in a smoke free environment. You expect Stratocasters and Telecasters to get all beat up and worn, it makes them look cool - and my old Strat has seen a lot of abuse. But Les Pauls and Gibsons in general are a different thing, what with the set neck and all. So I’ve always taken great care of this one. Seems to me that it's aging rather quickly. But that's ok I guess. Gives it character. Edited March 28 by Rain 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 LOL! This was Walter Trout's '73 Strat on the table in front of me for a string change. Here's the fun part: It was originally an ARTIC WHITE!!! 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 (edited) 1 hour ago, craigb said: LOL! This was Walter Trout's '73 Strat on the table in front of me for a string change. Here's the fun part: It was originally an ARTIC WHITE!!! 🤣 And I thought I had done a number on my Strat... Of course it's black, but still... Spilled beer and wine on the electronics countless times, played it out in the rain, threw it around on the stage, stepped on it with my boots, smash it against a tombstone, and it was kept in a small room where I used to chain-smoke for almost 2 decades. I did sand the upper part a little to make it more even because there were deep dents there and it wasn't comfortable. I've also sanded the back of the neck a bit last year and adjusted the truss rod for the first time. Other than that and cleaning up the pots and switch using deoxit a couple of years ago, no work was done on it since I bought it in 1996. It has the mandatory cigarette burn on the headstock and the fretboard finish is chipped in several places but not that bad. It's hard to believe that it is now older than the very first Strat I ever played when I was 12 was back then - a black 1957 with a white pickguard which became my holy grail and one of the reasons I eventually bought this one. 1957 seemed like ancient history to me at the time (1984).. Edited March 28 by Rain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Rayner Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Cracked like that after just 9 years and hardly any use? Anything around the neck joint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 (edited) Neck joint is fine. And it has been played a lot. But almost exclusively in the studio. I should not omit to mention that my skin does something to guitars. I burn through cheap bridges and pick up covers on Epiphone in no time. Here's an example, a Epiphone LP Traditional. You can see that it's not just the finish of the screw - the metal is actually eaten away. Here's my Gibson SGJ after 3 months. After 5 months. And after 5 years. Edited March 28 by Rain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Rayner Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Giving shredding a whole new dimension! Nice work mate! I'd love to hear what can do that to an SG in 3 months.. Any chance of a link? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Yesterday I became a plectrum disappearerer...... Still can't find the bloody thing and there really aren't very many places to look. I think the guitar is trying to tell me something and if so I'd have to say....fair point, well made. There's clearly something wrong with the hands of all guitarists. I seem to have normal hands, but my fingers simply will not go where the chord book says they should. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Rayner Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Quote ... my fingers simply will not go where the chord book says they should. Ha! You ain't the only one with that problem mate! Not great quality, but stick with it: Ralph McTell on trial 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwal³ Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 On 3/28/2024 at 7:59 AM, Rain said: Why so many superman dvds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 A friend of mine has always had issues with a high level of acid in his hands that does a lot of damage on his guitars. Not sure what to do there except maybe a change in diet? Don't know... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 (edited) On 3/28/2024 at 8:28 PM, Matt Rayner said: Giving shredding a whole new dimension! Nice work mate! I'd love to hear what can do that to an SG in 3 months.. Any chance of a link? Don't let the damage fool you, I'm not much of a guitar player, despite spending so much time on it and ruining the paint on so many guitars. But love to learn. This dates from few years ago when I was trying to learn one of the solos that made me want to play electric guitar when I was a kid. Captured by the laptop mic so the quality is horrendous (but the goal was only to track my progress). I kind of cringe at some of the sloppiness in there now but it's the only "shredding" type of video I have... Edited March 31 by Rain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 On 3/29/2024 at 6:17 AM, pwal³ said: Why so many superman dvds? They're actually cheap reprints of the golden age era comics. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Rayner Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 🤓Nice going! Never mind cracks or worn paint. I'm surprised your guitars haven't burst into flames. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettelus Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 On 3/29/2024 at 12:46 PM, craigb said: A friend of mine has always had issues with a high level of acid in his hands that does a lot of damage on his guitars. Not sure what to do there except maybe a change in diet? Don't know... I had a friend the same way, he would touch strings and you could almost watch them rust. Something simple like a thin sock with baking soda in it might be enough to neutralize your hands by rolling it around in your palms, but you want the fabric thick enough so it doesn't create a dust cloud on you. The pH is around 9, and it is not abrasive enough to do more than polish something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSteven Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 (edited) On 3/27/2024 at 9:49 PM, Rain said: My guitars rarely see the light of day, but every time I take my white Les Paul out of the studio and downstairs in the daylight, I am in for a surprise. This morning I realized that the lacquer had started to crack on the back as well as around the knobs on the front. It'll be 9 years next month, and it's been kept in a smoke free environment. You expect Stratocasters and Telecasters to get all beat up and worn, it makes them look cool - and my old Strat has seen a lot of abuse. But Les Pauls and Gibsons in general are a different thing, what with the set neck and all. So I’ve always taken great care of this one. Seems to me that it's aging rather quickly. But that's ok I guess. Gives it character. How temperature stable is your environment? Checking (cracking as shown) mostly happens when a guitar is exposed to temperature changes as the finish and wood expand/contract at different rates. E.G. In winter take a guitar case from trunk/garage/basement and pull out the guitar indoors without giving it a chance temperature equalize and you might witness the magic happening like a timelapse movie of a spring thaw hitting a frozen lake. Edited March 31 by TheSteven 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Gregy Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 The guitar plyer in my old band had the same problem. Almost all of the gold had worn off of his Black Beauty LP As for the strings, he sprayed WD-40 on them which seemed to extend their lives. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 (edited) On 3/31/2024 at 10:11 AM, TheSteven said: How temperature stable is your environment? Checking (cracking as shown) mostly happens when a guitar is exposed to temperature changes as the finish and wood expand/contract at different rates. E.G. In winter take a guitar case from trunk/garage/basement and pull out the guitar indoors without giving it a chance temperature equalize and you might witness the magic happening like a timelapse movie of a spring thaw hitting a frozen lake. I was going to say fairly stable, but I realized that it is far from true. Although that's over long periods of time. Last summer, I spent 2 weeks without AC, and the temperature at over 100 in the house. (I really do not recommend that to anyone). And in the winter, I rarely turn on the heat unless I have guests, so it's regularly in the lower to mid 60's. (I don't really recommend that either, but I grew up in Canada so my definition of cold is a little skewed. As long as the pipes don't freeze, we're good...). But the guitar never leaves the studio, unless I'm playing it in another room or downstairs, so no sudden changes... Edited April 3 by Rain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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