A very cool Epi LP.....I love it!

Jerry Hayes · June 27th, 2009, 05:55 PM

Here's a shot of probably my favorite Les Paul. I have a couple of Gibson LP's and another Epi but this baby is my go to axe at home and for a gig requireing a LP. I got it in a trade a few years ago for a Mexican Tele which I thought was a pretty good deal.........

When I got it, I took it to my favorite repairman at Guitar Center to get it rewired like my other LP's, namely one volume & one tone control and a phase switch and coil tap with the bottom two pots. When I picked it up the repairman said to me "Hey dude, do you know that your neck pickup is worth more than the whole damn guitar". It turns out that the neck pup on this baby is an original Gibson PAF humbucker! The bridge pup is a Seymore Duncan "Dirty Fingers" bucker which is also cool.

I added a couple of things to it myself like the fine tuning stud tailpiece and the Gibson "tulip" tuners. The action is very low on this guitar and it plays and sounds like a total dream. The finish is a silver metal flake. Here's a shot or two.........JH in Va.

Wally · June 29th, 2009, 04:57 PM

Jerry, you have to give up the pictures with a claim like that. WE have to see that neck pickup. There are going to be some serious 'show me folks' on that one without some really good pictures...close up details, etc.
A vintage PAF is worth more than 6 of those guitars. Also, if the 'repairman' put a switch on that neck to cut a coil AND if that pickup is a real PAF, he did some serious damage to the value of a desirable pickup....because you can't cut a coil on a vintage PAF with destroying the orignal solder joints on the coil connections. THe cover would have had to have been removed to do that in order to get to that junction of those two coils in order to bring out another wire to go to the switch to accomplish the 'cut'. No self-respecting repairmean/tech woud ever open up a real PAF to do this in this day and age.
PIcs, pics, we want pics. PIctures of the pickup....front, back and sides. PIctures of the control cavity and the wiring to the switches. PIcs, pics, pics.

Jerry Hayes · July 1st, 2009, 02:44 PM

the "Dirty Fingers" pickup at the bridge position. The next time I change strings I'll pull out the neck pickup and take some shots of it up close....JH in Va.

Wally · July 1st, 2009, 02:55 PM

THat would be of interest, JErry. IT would be cool to get a real PAF worth some few thousands when buying an EPi L.P.

Jerry Hayes · August 26th, 2009, 03:04 PM

took some pictures of the underside of the pickup. Here they are. What do you think and who would I see to verify that it was a real PAF? Do they make copies of these?.........JH in Va.

Gibson-Talk · August 26th, 2009, 06:21 PM

There are about 2 million of those pickups with that sticker. The sticker doesn't make it a PAF. Really.

And that other sticker -- we'll it just tells you it's not even an old pickup.

Here's some info: http://www.zimbio.com/Vintage+guitar+news+by+www.gregsguitars.net/articles/35/Vintage+Guitars+Info+Gibson+PAF+Patent+Applied

Wally · August 26th, 2009, 07:33 PM

Here's a site that gives some info. I am no expert. A couple of things about your pickup makes me give pause 1)The decal shows no yellowing of the border of the decal. 2)The "L' brackets seem to 'clean'.
As the info in the link below notes, there are many other things that need to be considered....and some of them are under that cover. That "#1 Wound by " sticker is odd.....and not Gibson, I would think. Your pics don't show good straight on shots of areas of interest. Notice how the pics are taken in the linked site. They show details that one has to see to determine things.
The fellows over on the Les Paul forum would know in a heartbeat....I may link this thread to them. STudy the link info...it is of interest.
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/paf.html