Sweet Plain Jane

I picked up this guitar awhile back and tossed into my guitar rack. She was supposed to be my “test” guitar for new and different pickups. She was on Craigslist and the owner didn’t want a lot so I reached out and we made a deal. Upon arriving, the guy tells me about the pickups (previous set than the cream DiMarzios pictured) and I ask about the history of it. He said he bought it stripped as she looks now. He played in a gig band and had some years on him. He said the guitar was played heavily  (by looking at it I could tell). We made a deal, shook hands and I was on my way.

Flash forward to now. I started to thin my collection down to just a few guitars and realized Jane was my last Les Paul in this configuration. I do still have Lola (elsewhere in this blog) who is a Les Paul Special. This means Lola is a flat top, where Jane has a bit of an arch in the top.

I’ve always liked the way she felt, so I decided to do a bit of surgery. You see, I have a few other guitars but besides Lola, no P90 guitars. As was documented on this blog previously, I had done a conversion from P90’s to Humbuckers on a different guitar, but I wanted to get a set of P90’s I’ve been holding onto for awhile, in a guitar. Since I wasn’t really a fan of the DiMarzios, well.... here’s my chance.

 One thing I loved about this guitar is the feel. Old road worn guitars have a feel that can’t really be duplicated. Jane being made in1997 has that same feel. I think it has to do a lot with the finish being removed, then left to age at her own pace.

As evidenced by the neck, there is some significant wear. 

Another thing I really enjoy about this guitar, is the feel. I think part of this is because the guitar is robust, solid and unapologetic. She's earned her place and here soon, she will show it. The person who stripped the finish off did a great job. I sincerely enjoy the cavities that still have the Red Wine finish in them. I also love the amount of character. The nut is wider than the fretboard, there are dings, the fretboard is slightly rolled over from playing, the frets are worn but still have plenty of life and she has been used for what she was built for. 

I will have to route just a bit, but mostly because of the wood I'll be adding to make the P90's fit right. 

I also plan on routing more like a traditional P90 cavity. 

(not my pic, just adding as a reference).

Some people ask how I name my guitars. Well Sweet Plain Jane here was a combination of things. Firstly, the plain appointments. Gibson Les Paul Studio guitars are made without any binding or additional appointments. They are made to be played, no more no less. Also since the finish was stripped, that helped. But mostly, as I was leaving the Jack in the Box parking lot I met the previous owner at, a song from the Cowboy Junkies came on. And wouldn't you know... the song was "Sweet Jane."