NGD: It's my birthday and I'll buy if I want to [Pink Les Paul Muse]

[Larry Mal]

One thing about Les Pauls is that they have in the past been very well shielded guitars, especially in the 70s- you know, the "bad years". But that incarnation of Gibson took shielding very seriously on the Les Pauls, at least.

The pickup switches used to be encapsulated in things like this.

The controls would be mounted to a metal plate, which you probably don't have, yours are probably mounted to the wood. But they used to put these over the controls which would again encapsulate the knobs and pots from interference.

I would not think that would work on your guitar necessarily. Maybe- but the Gibson Studio models like I have, for instance, are a little thinner than the Standards so this plate wouldn't fit. No idea about your Epiphone.

Here's one of the older control plates.

They still make them new, though. Don't pay vintage prices for a plate and knobs or anything.

They also used to have the output jack encapsulated in metal as well.

As you can see, though, the concept was that all the electronics would be encapsulated in metal and the shielded wiring would connect it all. I don't know if any of this would help you with your new guitar, but I thought I would mention it in case something inspired you.

[Larry Mal]

Also, Mike, I chased these down a couple years ago, never actually used them:



Not sure if I will. I'm sure I don't need to tell you the concept here since I think it's a Gretsch thing to start with, but I'll say it anyway, but it's designed to prevent eddy currents from establishing and thus preserve some of the high end. I never used these and don't even know if they would fit, no idea if they would actually make any kind of noticeable difference.

I also don't know where I got them, but if you are wildly enthusiastic about them or something I could try and remember.

[Embenny]

As you can see, though, the concept was that all the electronics would be encapsulated in metal and the shielded wiring would connect it all. I don't know if any of this would help you with your new guitar, but I thought I would mention it in case something inspired you.

Damnit, I typed out a whole response and then accidentally hit "back" on my phone and wiped it all out.

I appreciate the links, Larry. The Muse is a full 0.3" thinner than a standard Gibson, so the tubs are out. But what I plan to do is just put copper tape everywhere in the cavities, including the insides of the control plates. And I'll check I'd the wire run from switch to pots is shielded - if not, I'll replace that with shielded wire since I can't shield the tunnel itself. That should pretty much cover everything that needs covering. I have no idea what Les Paul output jack routs look like, but I'll see what I can do there, as well, since I just realized those aren't in any control cavities.

But it's interesting to me that the Les Paul has diverged so much from what Les Paul actually wanted out of a guitar. He wanted something bright and quiet. As his influence over the model faded, they became muddier and noisier guitars to the point that the early 2000s ones turned me off of them entirely for two decades. But this one sounds right at home playing actual Les Paul licks, though Les was generally a flatpicker so the closest I usually get to that would be more Chet Atkins.

Those pickup covers are an interesting idea. Not sure I even need them for this guitar, with it being so pleasingly bright already. That's something I'd probably try if I was still struggling with muddiness.

I'm really excited to try the partial coil split resistors. I've never had a humbucker I was genuinely interested in splitting before, but I like these pickups, and the push-pulls are literally already installed. All I have to do is tie a resistor to ground from the terminal of the switch being used for the coil split instead of it going straight to ground.

I found this awesome video where the guy uses a rotary switch to flip between different values between 2.2k and 10k on a hot (13k) humbucker.

I'm thinking of going for a high value like the 10k, since I don't need to shunt too much signal to ground to brighten these up. They're plenty bright already, and the coil split tone is comically thin. The bonus is that the less signal you shunt to ground, the more hum cancelation you retain from the second coil.

My usual go-to move on humbuckers is to raise the screw poles really high and lower the pickup in order to bias the tone toward one coil and brighten it up. I'll still probably do that on the neck pickup, but the bridge pickup is already about as bright as it needs to be. With a relatively subtle partial coil split, it should get the guitar more into my "typical" territory and make for another useful tone without a ton of extra noise.

It's still blowing my mind that my favourite PAF tones I've ever gotten are coming from a guitar that cost me less money than a set of high end pickups. If someone had guaranteed me that a $500 pair of pickups would nail this exact tone in my Flying V, I'd have spent that money and been happy that I finally had a "Gibson tone" I was truly happy with (other than the "Firebird tone", but that's an entirely different category).

For fun, I googled "Les Paul Muse" + the name of various other forums. I was treated to some hilarious posts on MyLesPaul where the guys there said things like, "I bought this for my daughter to hang on her wall, because she likes pink," and, "It's really more of a toy than a guitar, but it's lightweight and pretty so my daughter likes it."

Motherfuckers, I've had over $15k worth of USA Gibsons pass through here over the last few years, and this little sparkly pink thing sounds as good or better in its stock configuration than any of them, played better than half of them out of the box, and despite getting it marked down for "demo" levels of finish damage, still has fewer finish flaws than some of them did.

I'm not angry about it, I knew exactly what those types of people would probably be saying about them.

I still love my Flying Vs, and the red 2020 Les Paul Classic I briefly had two summers ago was as fine an electric guitar as any I've played (just way too heavy to be of practical use to me), but this Epiphone is in no way a lesser instrument.

In fact, it's a bit of a relief to have a poly finish again. I can leave it hanging on my stand without worrying about stand rash, and I can put it away with a Couch strap still on it without worrying about finish reactions. I use a quick-release strap for all my nitro Gibsons and Fenders to avoid damaging them in their cases, but it's a mild annoyance, especially when I'm trying to A/B multiple guitars and I run out of straps (I only have two quick-release ones).

I also don't need to worry about the sparkly top checking and falling apart. To quote Trogly, "sparkle finishes always do that," when Gibson factory finishes are concerned, at least. For some reason I don't see other nitro sparkle jobs self-imploding so quickly.

I also like that the bullet-proof poly means that I don't need a pickguard. I don't have anything against Les Paul pickguards, but when you have a fun finish like this, it feels like a bit of a shame to cover it up. I'd definitely put on a pickguard if this was a nitro USA Gibson, but I somewhat doubt I'll put any marks on this top without one.

Looking at the latest pictures, I like the clear knobs. If the push/pull works better after having tightened the pot nuts, I'd probably stick with what you have. I'd like to see this with a Les Paul triangle pickguard in the same color as the humbucker rings, I always liked the "Les Paul Standard" look of those.

It is unfortunate about that floor stand rub on the binding but not much you can really do about it. Can you actually feel it or is it just cosmetic?

Yeah, the clear knobs are growing on me. I never really had any feelings one way or another about them until they pulled straight off the guitar, to be honest. In all the photos and video reviews I looked at, they never stood out to me in any way.

But if I was paying money for new knobs, they just wouldn't have been the same type since I wanted a set screw anyway, and wouldn't have picked them as my #1 preference.

I still might try chrome or black Tele knobs or Marshall amp knobs or something for fun at some point, but it's become a very distant and low priority now that I can use the push-pulls again.

But if they work themselves loose over time and start popping off again, I'll definitely need a definitive solution and will replace them.

As for the binding flaw, I virtually never wrap my thumb around the top up at the 7th fret, so I don't feel it. But if you rub it with your finger, it can be felt since the edges of the chipped finish catch a bit (which is why they picked up some dirt/sawdust or whatever, and look dark).

I might try using some ultra fine polishing paper on the area to see if I can smooth the transition from binding to finish there, and get rid of those little edges. But honestly, it's something I can live with on a guitar this good for this price. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. These Muses can be heavier, duller sounding, and have much less attractive fretboards. The green one in the store was all 3! So if there were 4 more pink ones in stock nearby, maybe I'd have tried to find a perfect one.

But the only way to get another pink one to lay hands on would be to order it in to the store from their online stock, and I'm not going to go to all that trouble for what would amount to a second roll at the dice. If I found one that sounded and played the same, weighed the same, had no binding flaw, but had a dull grayish fretboard...I'd still prefer this one. It would really take a "perfect in every way" example to top this, and I just don't think that's a realistic thing to expect to find here in Canada. Maybe in NYC or something where you could find 50 Muses in stock within a subway ride.

It doesn't need to be perfect to be a great guitar, especially since I got close to an extra 15% off the pretty aggressively discounted price. I regularly see people posting used Muses locally for what I paid new, and those probably have worse bumps and bruises.

[Larry Mal]

... since I can't shield the tunnel itself.

You can, actually, and I've started using this:

It's gotten expensive, though.

But yeah, if you go to MG Chemicals page you'll see some data about the effective powers of the various shielding paints, seems like the silver is much better than that cheap carbon based paint you see around. And you can get a paintbrush into the tunnels in the body and make sure you have connectivity there, and you should be good to go.

[Embenny]

... since I can't shield the tunnel itself.

You can, actually, and I've started using this:

It's gotten expensive, though.

But yeah, if you go to MG Chemicals page you'll see some data about the effective powers of the various shielding paints, seems like the silver is much better than that cheap carbon based paint you see around. And you can get a paintbrush into the tunnels in the body and make sure you have connectivity there, and you should be good to go.

Yikes, that is pricey.

I do actually have some conductive paint - might even be the good stuff - but the one time I used it, the fumes were so bad that I never tried again. Leaving it to dry in the garage made the garage reek, and leaving it to dry outside feels like tempting fate for some little critter to get it on their paws (or crap on it).

We have a lot of backyard critters here. I can't even take photos of my guitars without them interfering. Check out this photo bomb of a Flying V I was posting for sale locally (I guess I'm finally admitting to owning this one, now that I've decided to let it go).



I guess that particular one doesn't count as a photo bomb - you can see I failed to even get the full guitar in the frame because I had noticed him after the previous photo.

But my point is that just by going outside, the chipmunks, squirrels and blue jays start convening to check out what's going on and whether it involves peanuts.

Is there any advantage to painting the tunnel vs using shielded wires? I figure shielding is shielding, so if the only thing in the tunnel is the wiring from switch to pots, and I swap to shielded wire, I figure that would be adequate. And wouldn't involve fumes...beyond the solder ones, that is.

In other news, this Friday is the annual "attic" (dead stock) sale at my local music chain, L&M, and the location nearest me is listing seven Les Paul Muses and about as many SG Muses, all marked down even more than when I got mine (but not quite as much as mine was after the "demo" discount). For some reason, they seem to have consolidated all the stock on Muses in the entire region into one store, and it's my local one.

Mildly aggravating, since I had to drive two hours just to try a pink one, and now there's a pink one and six others in various colours right here.

I need to not do something stupid by picking up one of the SGs, or a Les Paul in another colour. Don't want to ruin how special this one feels by stealing its thunder. And I truly do not need any extra guitars right now.

But man, it would have been nice if they had done this like two weeks earlier. There was only a single Muse in an interesting colour between all 3 locations in my city at the time, and it was green. This sale even has one of the Radio Blue ones, which seems to vary quite a bit from batch to batch, but typically looks like either a super saturated Lake Placid Blue, or partway between Lake Placid and Pelham.







Sweetwater even did a limited run of LP Moderns in Radio Blue, which shows how it looks with black pickups rings (and a guard):



I don't think I'll go try them out. Too high a risk of doing something stupid. And while the Muses will hardly draw any attention, the nature of the annual sale means the store will probably be buzzing way too much to be able to casually sit and evaluate guitars. Bit too much of a "Black Friday sale" vibe - people line up before store opening to grab the best deals, like the used Dr. Z Route 66 head they marked down to $999 CAD, or the used Classic Series strat that's marked down to $500 CAD. Those are both absurd deals.

[Maggieo]

OMG FLYING V CHIPMUNK!!!!!

[Embenny]

OMG FLYING V CHIPMUNK!!!!!

Yep, that was Raymond. It was my mistake going out during Golden Hour. With the days getting shorter, that's now within 30 minutes of the time I've trained him as being "peanut o'clock." So, within 3 minutes of setting the guitar down, he came running up, first to the guitar, and then to me. Had to close the case and go back inside to get him his peanuts. Didn't want to undo all the work I've been putting in.

I'll have to get back to the "backyard friends" thread soon. I got out of the habit of updating it when OSG had that server slowdown for a few weeks, and forgot to start back up again. But, spoiler alert: as of yesterday, we are up to five chipmunks taking peanuts from my hand.

Word spreads quickly.

[andy_tchp]

Ah jeez these just had their prices significantly slashed at a local retailer, and it was my birthday this week too…

[MattK]

Is there any advantage to painting the tunnel vs using shielded wires? I figure shielding is shielding, so if the only thing in the tunnel is the wiring from switch to pots, and I swap to shielded wire, I figure that would be adequate. And wouldn't involve fumes...beyond the solder ones, that is.

No - it's a Faraday cage in both cases, it's just a smaller space for a shielded wire. Even better, the shielding on a good quality cable will always be better than a film of paint, since it's solid metal wires vs a metal colloid with the particles touching when dried.

[andy_tchp]

Took a punt on one of these, price was even less than you paid Mike…

[Embenny]

Took a punt on one of these, price was even less than you paid Mike…

Which colour? Do you have it in-hand yet or was it mail order? If it was in-store, did you get to compare a few examples?

And thats fantastic if you paid even less. I'll try not to be jealous

[JSett]

And thats fantastic if you paid even less. I'll try not to be jealous

Let him have the win...it's rare for anyone in Australia to pay less than anyone else in the world for something

[andy_tchp]

Accurate ^

Only $20CAD or so less based on the xe.com conversion rates.

It is pink, and will be collected in store once it arrives (they have a 2 week return policy and the shop is about 1km from my office). Should know pretty quickly if it’s OK, literally no bricks and mortar shops have them in stock to try out (and the sale price I got is just over half what some stores still have them listed as (presumably full list price).

[Embenny]

Let him have the win...it's rare for anyone in Australia to pay less than anyone else in the world for something

Good point!

Accurate ^

Only $20CAD or so less based on the xe.com conversion rates.

It is pink, and will be collected in store once it arrives (they have a 2 week return policy and the shop is about 1km from my office). Should know pretty quickly if it’s OK, literally no bricks and mortar shops have them in stock to try out (and the sale price I got is just over half what some stores still have them listed as (presumably full list price).

That's a fantastic price, especially if the usual AUD price is double that.

I really hope you get a good one. Out of the couple at the store, one was clearly superior to the other, but that's often the case even with expensive guitars. The worse-playing one could probably have been set up just the same (it's not like mine was perfectly set up, either, and I immediately started tweaking it when I got home), and maybe the tonal differences could have been mitigated with some pickup height adjustments.

I still haven't even touched the pickup heights on mine, but I'll likely do my trick of doubling the current distance from the strings to the neck pickup and then raising the screw poles to the former height, which cuts down the output of the slug coil by 60% and gives a bit of split-coil clarity back. The bridge pickup is just about perfect without any fussing, but I'll likely experiment with it anyway just to see if anything interesting pops out of it.

I'm also excited to add some partial-split resistors to make the coil splits far more subtle tonally and noise-wise. These pickups average 7.4k in the neck and 7.8k in the bridge (haven't measured mine specifically yet, though), which makes them my favourite stock PAFs to ever come in a Gibson style guitar, but also the most ill-suited to a full on coil split.

Other than trying to get a really trashy overdrive tone, they're really not of much use to me as-is. But 10 cents worth of resistors should change all that. Only going to bother with the mod when I have a couple hours to do a proper shielding job, though.

I've been playing it a ton and honestly never imagined I'd like a Les Paul so much. I still don't have the action dialed in perfectly yet. The bridge is kind of annoying and difficult to adjust compared to my Flying Vs, even with the strings slackened completely, whereas my Gibsons are easy to lower by hand even with full string tension, so I can't use my typical process. I'd set the relief, set the action a little high, then slowly inch it down while playing, and once I hit a bit of string buzz, slacken the strings and raise it back up just a touch.

With the Epi "Loc-Tone" or whatever they call it, the thumb wheel knurling is quite blunt and slippery, and the bridge has much more friction in the thimble, so even with the strings loose, I couldn't tighten/lower it by hand. Needed the extra torque of a screwdriver on the slotted top of the post.

Now, that's probably actually a good thing (the easy of adjusting the Gibson bridge is probably from the loose engagement between the two parts, which isn't an ideal thing for a bridge to have), but it certainly makes the initial setup on the Epiphone a bit more finicky. I find myself too busy playing it with a "good enough" setup to be motivated to spend another 5 trips to the bench to detune and make fine adjustments.

[andy_tchp]

Will see how I go, fingers crossed. This will 'only' be for recording (no humbucker 6 strings around since I sold a bunch of stuff off years ago).

The lighter weight will be appreciated too. Jaguars are heavy and my G&L ASAT is a boat anchor.