1954 Epiphone Blackstone may need a new truss rod
 

Hi Folks,

I recently acquired a vintage 1954 Epiphone Blackstone archtop guitar in need of repairs. I purchased the instrument with the neck separated from the body. There was no damage, the neck glue joint simply came loose and the dovetail joint slid apart cleanly.

In a plastic bag containing the rosewood bridge was a short steel rod, about 5 inches long, threaded at one end, the other end is a 3/16 inch hex socket tube welded to the end of the steel rod. This short steel rod looks like it is part of the truss rod, neck adjustment system. I am holding out all hope, that this is some fancy, over-engineered two-piece truss rod system and that the rod didn’t just snap off at the anchor nut :eek:

The steel rod looks like it threads into the channel/hole under the fretboard extension. However, the fit is very tight and the steel rod will not slip in smoothly, or thread all the way into this channel/hole. Does anyone know how a 1950’s Epiphone truss rod is supposed to work?

What looks like the main truss rod adjusting nut is very much like a Gibson. There is a brass hex nut located under a small plastic cover plate on the headstock. I tried tightening this adjusting nut to correct the up-bow in the neck and after I tightened the nut as tight as I dared, I gave up and backed it off, since there was no reaction, and the neck did not straighten as it should have to this adjustment.

I am fairly experienced at guitar repair, however, this is the first vintage Epiphone Archtop I now own and before I dig in, and remove the fretboard, I thought it best to get a second or third opinion on this repair project.

I'd be very curious to see some other pics, for several reasons:

• I'm the former owner of a '46 Epi Blackstone, and according to every authority with which I'm familiar they were discontinued in 1949 - while it's possible a 1950-51 example may yet surface, a '54 is well outside the parameters; if in fact there were any leftover bodies after the circa-1953 Philadelphia move they would have been repurposed, most likely as Zeniths (which boasted dot fingerboard inlays, as opposed to the parallelograms on the Blackstone, but used identical carved-top/laminated-back body construction)...
• The presence of both a hex-socket adjustment at the body end and the Gibson-style nut at the headstock suggests to me an unsuccessful (and poor) attempt at repair - as evidenced by your vain efforts to perform adjustments, the amateurish carving of the trussrod opening, and the imprint of a three-screw trussrod cover; prior to the early-50's all Epi archtops used the aforementioned hex-socket "thrust rod" (which was patented in the mid-30's, in response to Gibson's then-proprietary headstock-adjusted trussrod, and adjusted at the body end), with '50s models using a white single-screw cover design somewhat smaller than the imprint in the photo...
• The headstock inlay in fact suggests a 1950's Zenith - the Blackstone used a "stickpin" design, with a distinct point at the bottom rather than the "cloud" inlay visible in the photo...
• A pic of the label, showing the model/serial number/place of manufacture would be helpful in terms of establishing date - TMK all postwar Blackstones have a blue/white New York label and serial numbers below 61,000...

I have here in my shop, a ‘47 Blackstone, with the same inlay(not the stickpin).

Epiphone ‘thrust’ rods, as the company called them, do not always work well, even when intact. I often, when doing fretwork on one, simply treat it as a non-adjustable neck, like a pre-85 Martin.

Here are a few photos of the guitar before I started to to take it apart. The reason I thought it was a 1954 was mainly because of the truss rod adjustment nut at the headstock, so, now I'm not sure. :confused: The previous owner was quite talented at DYI repairs and upgrades. The floating pickup arrangement, mounted to the homemade pickguard, was well done by someone who knew their way around tools and fabrication of small delicate parts; and I really appreciated the care that was taken to duplicate the original pickguard profile (which I have already used to fabricated a copy profiling jig, so that I can make a new pickguard from a more period correct material). So...do you think the fretboard has already been off in order to install an aftermarket truss rod? If it was, it was really done well. No scarring, do dings or dents; the finish is almost perfect at the board/neck joint. (note: the truss rod, brass hex nut is a modern, Gibson style, it is cone shaped with 5/16" wrench size, with not much tarnish or signs of age).

Not surprising in the least as instruments in the immediate postwar period were often assembled from existing stocks and, if a Zenith overlay was available, it might well have been fitted to a Blackstone - heck, Gretsch did things like this as a matter of course back in their Brooklyn days...

In order:

• According to Epiphone: The House of Stathopoulo the serial number on your instrument dates it to the end of 1949 - one of the very last Blackstones produced by the original New York factory, and I dare say some lucky player had a very Merry Christmas that year...
• If those pickups are screwed into the top I'd seriously question exactly how talented this guy was/is (not to mention the carving of the trussrod pocket on the headstock - I had junior-high shop classmates who could do a better job) - IME many techs who are top-flight when it comes to flattop acoustics and/or electrics (of all types) don't know diddly when to comes to acoustic archtops, and misguided attempts like this one are arguably the third-biggest tone-thief in the archtop world (next to a poorly-contoured bridge base and improper neck geometry); just on a visual inspection I'd remove that electric pickguard (I think you'll notice a big difference in tone when you do), have your tech fill the screw holes, and go with the reissue DeArmond 1000 "Redhead" suspended pickup that would have been retrofitted by period guitarists (available directly from Guild, as is the correct wiring harness)...
• The original pickguard was somewhat smaller and subtly different in contour, smoother and more fluid; here's an example of a period-correct repro guard for a postwar Blackstone that you can use as a starting point:
  
  https://www.archtop.com/PageMill_Res.../bstone_gd.jpg
  
  
• It's a real shame this guy did a butcher job on the headstock (the rest of the guitar is in really nice shape) - StewMac makes replacement truss rods, several of which have a body-end hex-nut adjustment and should, in the hands of a knowledgeable tech, be easily adaptable to your guitar:
  
  https://www.stewmac.com/SiteSearch/?...re%3atrussrods
  
  
• Again, a good tech could also fill the trussrod cutout, remount the original headstock inlay in a new veneer, and refinish it to match the rest of your guitar; since this guy already took care of the originality question :mad:, I'd personally go for recapturing the classic New York Epi vibe - you'll have yourself a late Big Band-era veteran that'll look right on stage and serve you (and your descendants) well for generations to come... :guitar:

I've had/played three '47 Blackstones, and they've all been superb sounding instruments. I'm guessing your '49 will be too, once you've made the repairs. Replacing a trussrod is a significant repair, given the fingerboard removal. BTW, I have a Facebook page, David Richard Luthier, where I post photos, descriptions, and videos of instruments i've repaired, including many vintage Epiphones.
There is a website, 'The Unofficial NY Epiphone Registry', which is extemely informative, and an excellent compliment to the book cited by Steve Rosa, 'The House of Stathopoulo'.

If you bought it as a project then you already have some skiils. Get a little portable iron, heat up the fretboard, take it off, remove the dismal original rod. Add a new modern rod. Re-assemble the neck/fretboard. Game over.

Well,yes: heat up the fingerboard for removal, being careful not to ignite the highly flammable celluloid binding- best to remove it first. Remove the fingerboard and the broken rod, then fill the old channel with new wood, and re-rout for a modern replacement(which likely won’t fit the original channel). Reattach fingerboard and binding. It will probably be easier to do all that, with the neck removed from the body(it might well need a neck reset anyway).

My take on this is it's a quite modified guitar, the obvious being the pickups mounted into what looks like an original carved top acoustic instrument, which of course a Blackstone was (hopefully they are floating as you suggest because the photo's look suspiciously inset into the top). 1949 is acknowledged as the end of that line, so that is fine, and it would have had the push type truss rod adjusted from below the fretboard extension, which if it works is fine (mine does) and if it doesn't it becomes non-adjustable (and still kinda works). The short rod you have is the remains of the now-removed original truss rod. The Gibson style rod you have now was a retro-fit. On an instrument like that, originality is now a moot point, so if the neck is bowed to need a truss rod you can take the fretboard off and install one, you or someone else depending on skills. The damage is already done, now you can simply make it good. Good luck!

As an aside, on my Zephyr the neck joint failed and the fretboard extension got perilously close to the top, such that the truss rod adjuster just about touched the top, you might find a little scar there about an inch from the end of the fretboard under the extension.

http://wiedler.ch/nyepireg/models.html#ArchtopAc The headstock logo looks correct for post 1947 Blackstocks, per this anyway. In fact aside from the obvious the whole guitar looks quite correct, good find in my opinion!

Yes, this is my plan, now that I have some feedback from everyone here, I'm more confident that this is the right approach. The neck was actually already loose when I got the guitar. It looks like the glue used in the dovetail joint failed. All I did was lift it out of the neck block!!! That's when I discovered the old truss rod channel/hole under the fingerboard extension. At that point I began to question the actual vintage and date of manufacture, since I assumed the truss rod cover on the headstock was original. So, I've got a few other projects on my schedule, including a wonderful 1930's Gretsch F-50 that also has a loose neck joint, that need my attention. Once I complete a few of these repairs I will dig in and remove the fretboard. I will take photos along the way and post for all too see.

I got started on the fretboard removal over the weekend. It rained all day Saturday, so it was a good day to dig in and find out what was under the fretboard. No need to worry about any celluloid bindings burning, the bindings are new, (since it is now obvious that the fretboard had been removed by the previous owner), and the modern bindings peeled off real easy. Well, after about two hours of gentle heat, hot water, some new palette knives, an electric hot plate and a lot of coaxing, the fretboard has been removed. Not too much damage, some minor slivers of rosewood stuck to the maple neck, but overall, not bad. Now the bad news. Steve DeRosa was right, the previous owner "butchered" (his/her) attempt at replacing the original Epiphone truss rod. And, MC5C was spot-on in his analysis of what that short steel rod was.

Apparently, the previous owner, replaced the original truss rod, and used a traditional Gibson style rod, which was installed totally wrong! The original rod slot was not routed and deepened in a gentle, long and deep curve, which is required for the rod to function properly. Not only this, but the rod was glued in the full length :(. I needed to heat the rod with my soldering iron in order to release it from the groove. Also, a poor attempt at gluing a thin filler strip over the top, of the now rusted steel rod, then needed to be carved out with an Exact-O knife.

I am now shopping for a new truss rod on Stew-Mac. I'll use one of the 14-1/2" Hot Rod types, and keep the "butchered" headstock the way it is.

Some photos are attached. I can post more photos of the whole process if anyone is interested.

The Hot Rod is an excellent idea - follows the concept of the original "thrust rod" with modern performance - but as your project unfolds you might want to reconsider repairing the headstock, whether with a new overlay or a patch-&-match in the trussrod notch...

Beaitiful project ArchtopLover! The fretboard removal looks really clean. With a new truss-rod and light restoration work here and there, this beauty is sure to be singing again soon. Thanks for sharing, and please keep us posted!

You could install the Hotrod truss rod with the adjuster at the headstock, use the cut-out provided by the previous owner, or you could fill and patch that cutout and install the Hotrod with the adjuster inside the heel of the neck, and use the original adjuster extension piece under the fretboard extension to adjust it. You only want to adjust the bit between nut and heel, you don't want a longer truss rod than that. It depends on how close to original you want it to look, I would think.

OK, I placed an order for a standard Hot Rod 14-1/2" and also one of the slim profile types from Stew-Mac. I'll choose the rod that seems to work best, (not sure yet, since I've never used a modern double acting rod before). However, MC5C has the right idea. So, I am strongly considering placing the point-of-adjustment in the original position, at the fretboard extension end, and repairing/patching/hiding the access gouge in the headstock (replacing the overlay/veneer is, I believe a little more than necessary). But, nevertheless, as MC5C noted, I will need to fabricate an extension and modify the 14-1/2 Hot Rod so that the active rod nut can be accessed. Using the original, broken-off piece as the extension is a really, really good idea. I have done lots of TIG welding, so for me, it would very easy to weld the old section to the new Hot Rod nut. Any difficulty would be in the alignment, so that the extension turns without wobbling, or it will bind in the slot.

I have authored and attached a public Google Document showing all of the photographs and the steps I have taken so far in the project. I will update this repair project document/archive and upload as I progress :)


https://docs.google.com/document/d/e...lQdgeW3wia/pub

Epiphone Blackstone project continues...
 

I had a chance this weekend to continue the repairs on my 1949 (not a 1954, as I had thought), Blackstone. After my Stew-Mac order was delayed by a few days, I placed a back-up order with LMI and bought two of their very expensive, but USA made, low profile truss rods (the adjuster nuts are 1/4" O.D., which is nice and compact). One of the rods, is a simple single-way and the other is a two-way adjustable type. These arrived via FedEx Saturday morning! So, after some real strong considerations about which rod to use and which way to locate the adjuster nut, I decided on keeping the adjuster mechanism nut at the modified headstock position and to use the two-way rod. I began by scraping the old glue off the neck/fretboard joint and then lightly sanding the surface. The old truss rod groove was then milled out to accept a maple filler strip. Once the new maple filler strip was cut to fit the cleaned out groove, it was fitted and clamped tight and then set aside for the glue to cure. After the glue dried, the filler strip was precision routed to LMI specifications and the headstock notch was modified to accept a 9/64" hex key wrench. Finally, an access hole for the adjuster nut was bored-out and the new truss rod was test fitted. Here are a few pics -

Thanks for letting me post on your forum. Let me know what you think.

Since you went that route, you might want to go with a late New York-style, single-screw white/black/white truss-rod cover to match; here's an original example from a '53 Triumph:

https://www.archtop.com/PageMill_Res...53tr513_hd.jpg

- and since it looks like you'll need to go oversize, Kiesel (nee Carvin) carries something that should be close enough for your application:

https://images.reverb.com/image/uplo...gtccuoq0xw.jpg

https://www.kieselguitars.com/products/TC1W

Great work archtop lover! You really took the time to do the job the right way, especially after it had been butchered. Luthier's Merc does have great stuff, I use their truss rods in all my builds. Their shipping is pricy but fast. Can't wait to see your guitar all back together.

Wow! That's some great work ArchtopLover. The maple filler fits perfectly! Which adhesive did you use to secure the filler? Carry on! Carry on!

The Project is moving forward.
 

After some delays I have made some great progress on this beautiful 1949 Epiphone Blackstone. Now that the truss rod slot has been refurbished and the truss rod installed, the top of the neck needed to be carefully inspected to see how much warpage was causing the upbow I was seeing before the project began. Using a straight edge ruler I measured a 0.040" "depression at the center of the neck. Thankfully, the upbow was nicely centered between the heel and the nut, so I am confident that any adjustment of the truss rod will place the point of maximum force exactly where it will have the most effect. After some thought about this project I decided to flatten the neck before the fretboard was reinstalled, this way, the truss rod would not need to be overstressed trying to correct such a large up-bow. At first I thought I would just sand the whole neck flat, then I caught myself and realized this would have been foolish, since I would be removing 0.020" at each end, compromising the neck at each end and losing some of the fretboard extension, since at the extension end, once the neck is flattened and the wood is removed, the neck gets shortened by about an 1/8".

So, the best solution was to do the real work and craft a maple shim, feather edged at both ends, with a center thickness of exactly 0.040". This wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, just time consuming at the machine tools, however, the results were well worth the effort. Once glued down using the back side of a 16" aluminum radius sanding beam, the top of the neck is now perfectly flat. :D

The photo is not so great, but you can see the flat sawn maple used and the four holes I had to punch in the shim, so that I didn't cover up my alignment indexing pin holes.

The fretboard gets some TLC
 

The next step in this project was to prepare the fretboard by routing out some damage done by the previous botched repair job by fitting and glueing in a maple filler strip. Once this was done I lightly sanded the bottom of the fretboard and then radius sanded the top nice and flat. A few of the fingernail gouges, at the first three positions, were too deep and I left these alone.

Next, the fretboard slots were cleaned out, and the slot tops lightly chamfered. Then, a full fret job was performed on the Indian rosewood board, using medium-wide, medium-high wire (a personal preference on my part). This was the first fret job I have done on a fretboard which had been removed and lying flat on a work table. Using a 9.5" radiused brass fretting caul, mounted to my drill press chuck, I was able to press-in all of the frets in less than 15 minutes. This modern process was such a joy to work to the end; I sort of wanted another fretboard handy to just keep going :).

With the frets installed, the fret ends were nipped, filed and beveled. Now that the fretboard was fretted and prepared, I was ready to reglue the fretboard to the now perfectly flat neck.

Glueing up the fretboard
 

Using a set of four 1/16" wire alignment pins, glued into 1/2" wood dowels, I used LMI yellow glue to secure the fretboard to the neck, this way any future repairs will only need heat to loosen the joint. By inserting the pins into the 1/16" holes I drilled at the second and 13th fret, I was able to glue and clamp the fretboard along the full length with no slippage. Neat and clean.

Treat the frets right
 

Now that the fretboard has been reinstalled, and securely glued to the top of the neck, the frets were leveled, crowned and polished. This was also the best time to file and smooth the fret ends, before the binding was glued back on, this way I was not causing any damage to the delicate plastic binding during this process.

Next, the binding was glued on and scrapped flush to the sides and top of the fretboard. And finally, side dots were inserted using the traditional, 1940's era, Epiphone arrangement of using only one dot to mark the 12th position.

Wow, ArchtopLover! That is some great work. You're definitely taking me to school, as I will be following in your footsteps with my Nardan project in the next two weeks. Fortunately, no truss rod issues for me, though! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to see the finished instrument!

Working on the Dovetail Joint
 

Thanks Arumako for your comments. I am watching your progress on your Nardan No. 65 MIJ archtop and I look forward to seeing this lovely archtop sing again.

I am now working on the dovetail joint. I have chipped and scrapped all of the old hyde glue out of the joint and have begun the trial-and-error process of fitting the neck to the body. Once the joint was cleaned, and after the first slip-fit check, I noticed that the original factory fit was not very good. Because the fit is so loose, I had to glue a set of thin maple shims to the neck dovetail, in order to make up for age shrinkage or just a poor fit from the factory, nevertheless, the neck reset process is underway. :)

Also, shout-out and thanks to Steve DeRosa for his suggestion on the Kiesel Guitars truss rod cover plate. I placed an order this morning for a new TC1W style, white, 3-ply, plastic, Carvin style cover plate. :D

Interested to see that you applied the binding after fretting and dressing the ends of the frets, since the more popular way is to bind the fretboard first, install the frets over the binding and then dress. I found that interesting because that's clearly how the frets on my '46 Epi Zephyr were done. The binding is definitely proud of the ends of the frets, no overlap.

This is coming along nicely!

I believe most manufacturers installed the frets, to the edge of the fingerboard, then applied the binding. Some, like Epiphone, left no nibs on the binding, some, like Gibson, did leave nibs. On Epiphone necks, the binding is usually nicely rounded to meet the fingerboard edge, making for a very comfortable feel. That's not possible on a Gibson neck, with the nibs. I no longer fret over the binding, after realizing how much I preferred the feel of a vintage Epi neck.

Completing this Project
 

Over the past few weeks I have continued to make excellent progress and I have completed the repair of this wonderful vintage 1949 Epiphone Blackstone archtop.

Setting the Neck

Once the yellow glue had dried and the dovetail shims were trimmed, scrapped and carefully sanded, then carbon paper checked for an even fit, it was time to glue up, clamp and set the neck. For this application I have been using Stew-Mac fish glue for the past few years now. I am very happy with the performance of this adhesive. It has a nice long set-up time and this adhesive responds very well to steam-heat type of neck removal techniques once it has cured. It also wipes clean with a damp cloth.

The fish glue was applied to the dovetail joint contact surfaces only and not to any part of the neck heel or body of the guitar. One long quick bar-clamp was used to pull the neck heel into the body, and two smaller quick bar clamps were used to squeeze the dovetail into the joint. A neck-to-body alignment straight edge was taped to the side of the neck (along the binding edge) and to the body. This way I was 100% sure the neck was dead-straight to the center of the body while the glue set. I didn't take any photos of this step. :(

Attachment 48472

Attachment 48473

Attachment 48474

Cleaning and Polishing the Top

Once the neck joint glue was cured overnight, it was time to clean and polish the top. This vintage Epi has a beautiful sunburst lacquer finish and my objective here, was to just clean it up and bring out the clarity and stunning grain pattern of the carved Adirondack Red Spruce top. I strongly believe that a vintage guitars original finish should be respected and all of the scratches,dings and dents be left alone (for the most part, bare wood being the exception). In other words I never overspray or apply heavy touch up. In this way I keep as much of the vintage aged character as possible. Only where there is significant bare wood showing, will I apply a light coat of finish.

To clean and polish the top I have found that a light, wet-sanding of the finish produces the most satisfying results. By keeping the 3M sanding pads wet (tap water and a drop of dish soap), and using a swirling motion by hand, using no power tools, removes the dirt, grime, dull and faded surface, without causing any damage. Note that I have placed cotton rags into both F holes to catch any drips.

Attachment 48475

Attachment 48476

Attachment 48477

Profiling the Bridge Foot

Probably the most important detail involved in setting up an archtop acoustic guitar is making sure the string bridge foot is accurately and precisely profiled to match the curved shape of the sound board. In this case it was obvious the original bridge foot was only roughly profiled, and never got the sort of time and attention that really makes all the difference in volume, tone and sustain in these vintage archtops.

To begin, I located and marked the baseline position of string intonation using two pieces of masking tape placed at the farthest edge of the lower bout and then pencil marked the tape.

Attachment 48486

Next, the bridge was disassembled and the bridge foot was mounted to my archtop bridge foot profiling alignment tool. Once this was done, the vertical alignment was set by adjusting the height of the roller-bearing contact bar to the soundboard top.

Attachment 48487

Attachment 48488

Once the vertical alignment was set, I marked the bottom of the bridge foot with white pencil so that I can monitor and control the progress of wood being removed.

Attachment 47747

Now that the foot has been prepared for profiling, I selected a coarse 80-grit sandpaper for the fist few passes. Using low-tack frog tape, the sandpaper was attached to the top, centered at the position of string intonation. The centerline of the body was marked at the top and the bottom positions of the sandpaper, as a visual indicator to make sure I have not veered off to one side or the other while sanding.

Attachment 47748
Attachment 47750

Keeping the sanding strokes as short as possible, ideally no longer than the width of the bridge foot, the exact profile of the top was matched to the bottom of the foot in short order. Although not shown, this process was repeated two more times, once more with 150 grit and then finally with 220 grit sandpaper.

Attachment 47751
Attachment 47752
Attachment 47753

Repairing Headstock Truss Rod Slot Damage

Next, the headstock needed some detailing. In the process of installing the new truss rod, wood was removed under the nut position while milling the truss rod slot. I installed the bone nut temporarily and then filled the damaged area behind the nut with a glue/ebony dust paste. Once this patch had cured, the defects were chiseled, filed and sanded roughly level. Note that I used a piece of teflon fret dam material behind the nut so that the patch would not stain the bone nut.

Attachment 47754
Attachment 47755
Attachment 47756

After the major damage had been covered up with the wood-dust/glue paste filler, I used a combination of CA glue and black stain to fill, scrape, stain and then polish the area just behind the nut, keeping some scratches and minor defects in place so that the repair looks "vintage". ;)

Attachment 47757
Attachment 47758
Attachment 47759
Attachment 47760

Mounting the Trapeze Tailpiece

Now that the headstock truss rod slot damage was repaired I turned my attention to the bottom end of the guitar. Using a precision 2 degree tapered reamer I carefully reamed the end-pin hole and fitted a new bone endpin. I then reattached the repaired and modified original tailpiece to the tailblock. Although the tailpiece was repaired by the previous owner, I considered this repair a workable and acceptable alternative to a cheapo new Chinese made replacement. The hand-made brass tail hook is nicely made, with an aged dark patina that is not at all distracting from the vintage beauty of this instrument; so, for now, it stays put.

Attachment 47761
Attachment 47762

String Up and Set Up

I chose a set of D'Addario PB mediums, 12-53's, strung up and set the intonation using a Korg electronic tuner. As can be seen in the photos the neck angle is slightly over-set. I am measuring about 1-3/16" for a bridge saddle height above the soundboard.

Attachment 47763
Attachment 47764
Attachment 47765

Fabricating and Attaching the New Pickguard

Using the old replacement pickguard that came with the guitar as a profile template, I crafted a new, traditional style pickguard using the 0.090" brown tortoise material available from Stew-Mac. This stuff is very expensive, but it is a very good match to the pattern and look of 1930's single ply pickguards. I did not take any photos of the fabrication process. This could be a project for a repair thread maybe at a later time. Once the pickguard was finished I used 0000 steel wool and dulled the gloss finish. It looks more like a vintage aged part this way, rather than a shiny distraction.

Attachment 47769
Attachment 47770
Attachment 47771

She Sings Again!!!

As I believe I have noted earlier, this is the first vintage Epiphone archtop I have owned. I have read a number of comments on this forum that have spoken about how extraordinary these instruments are and how spectacular they sound. Of course, until you actually play an instrument, it is always difficult to fully grasp another musicians ear for tone, projection, perceived loudness, etc. However, in a short few short words, this noise machine is everything I have read about and more. It is hard to explain how different it sounds from my room full of Gibsons. This Epi is loud, brassy, clear, with projection that is more like a punch in the face than the warm plush mellow sound my L-50s produce.

Enjoy the final photos. I'm still waiting for the new Carvin style truss rod cover plate from Kiesel Custom Guitars, but for now I'm making noise and loving the feel of the wonderful soft D shape neck and the ability to dial in perfect string action with a new 2-way truss rod. :D

Attachment 47774
Attachment 47775

great work, that guitar has a new lease on life!