Ugh. This fucking The Paul

[waltdogg]

I've been sitting on a '79 Gibson The Paul for a while. I haven't really used it because the previous owner replaced the nut and fucked up the spacing. I have the original nut but the grooves are just annihilated. I tried filling them but I got too many bubbles in the glue. Can anyone suggest a good drop in replacement nut for an older Gibson?

[doommeow]

You should be able to buy something from MF, or from one of the fancy overpriced vintage fetishists. Me, I'd have my tech build one.

[waltdogg]

Thanks. I noticed Tusq, they're cheap so I ordered the regular Gibson one. Also I forgot after plugging this guitar in, the bridge pickup sounds out of phase or something. I think the guitar need to be rewired. It's kind of a mess in the control cavity. Who makes a good premade or makes wiring harnesses to order? I had a seller on Reverb lined up a while back but forgot to order and they're not responding to me now. And if the wiring doesn't fix the bridge pickup's tonal feel I'm just gonna swap it for a 498T, can't go wrong there.

[devnulljp]

If the pickups are out of phase, just flip the magnet in one of them.

[waltdogg]

It might be. The bridge pickup isn't original to the guitar and it sounds a little off when it's selected. So I could flip either pickup?

[tuj]

strip and rewire dawg. Take a good look at those pickups while your in there and measure their impedance with a multimeter. Good way to check if the pickups are in the ballpark of the right era or replaced along the way. Which you might want to do anyway. Then trace the wiring and see if the pickups are in phase or not.

Or sell that heavy fucker. They rock when they are working and setup right, but they are heavy and weird and I could never get used to a Gibson. Ever. Not the SG, not the ES, nothing. I know...I'm the weird one.

[waltdogg]

I ordered a new wiring harness this morning, it's a mess inside this guitar. There's not even enough wire in there to fix it so I'm starting from scratch.

I already know the pickups are period correct. The neck pickup is the original T-Top and has never been changed and the bridge pickup is a Gibson T-Top (as it should be) that is not original to the guitar but was made within two weeks of the guitar based on a date stamp in the control cavity and the date stamp on the back of the pickup.

I'll put the pickups to a meter when I pull the old wiring out. I don't remember if I ever put the bridge pickup to a meter before I installed it though.

I've been sitting on it coz a friend left it with me, I can't sell it. As for Gibsons, I only like Les Pauls. The Pauls look cool but have a kinda weird feel to 'em. I really like this one though compared to other ones I've played despite all it's issues.

[kosta]

I have a '79 The Paul with old DiMarzio Super Distortions in it. Thing is a beast. Great guitar. Good luck with your fixes!

[waltdogg]

Thanks! How funny, this guitar had a DiMarzio Super II in the bridge when we got this guitar. Didn't sound too bad, but my buddy switched it to a humbucker sized P-90 before I put the T-Top back in it.

[waltdogg]

Got that TUSQ nut. Looks good. Gonna need to file/sand it down a bit though. Could anyone suggest if it's better to measure and file the sides of the nut match the width of the neck and install it or to install the nut, center it, then tape off the edges of the neck and headstock and file it down then?

[kosta]

Me personally, I would do a coarse file first to get it close, then install it, then do any remaining, finer filing.

[waltdogg]

Gotcha. Sounds like a better idea anyways.

So I wired this guitar up. With either or both pickups selected they still sound like single coils/out of phase. So I could just flip a pickup and they'll go back in phase?

[waltdogg]

Nevermind. Did the old cellphone speaker into the pickup trick. The bridge pickup has a bum coil. The neck pickup sounds out of phase on it's own though. Thanks for the advice, the TUSQ nut didn't need too much shaping to fit.

[Psyre]

I have a The Paul II. I love the guitar, although it doesn't get played as much as my Jag. I like how thin they are, but they are still definitely a LP, enjoyably lighter. I've never played an original though. What are your thoughts on playability this far?

Mine was an ugly-to-me plain looking wine red, but I refinished it gold-top. I also have humbucker sized p90's.

[waltdogg]

I have a Les Paul Special from 2002 (which is pretty similar to your The Paul II) and in comparison they feel/play almost exactly the same. They're setup the same, so the only real differences are the extra weight of the The Paul, the carve on the top of the body which is easier on your forearm and the heel of the neck is on the shallow side so it's a little harder to reach past the 12th fret.