Gibson would make an offer to Epiphone to feature the basses in their catalogue but would later instead purchase the entire company. By all accounts, Epiphone was a successful company producing some of the finest acoustic and archtop guitars, but what caught the attention of then Gibson President Ted McCarty was the Epiphone upright basses. Like Gibson, Epiphone started making mandolins and other stringed instruments before moving into banjos and guitars in 19, respectively. The two companies would coincide for many years, with both brands built out of the same facility.Įpiphone has a very similar origin story, although surprisingly, they are an older company, having started in 1873. This is what comes to mind when most of us think of the Gibson Les Paul, and Gibson has been tirelessly trying to recreate the magic of this guitar ever since, with countless reissues and custom shop models. Unlike Fender, Gibson didn't find overnight success with this new guitar and would therefore tweak the formula until they eventually would land on the LP we all know - and love - today.ġ958 would see the Les Paul feature some very recognizable specifications, such as a dual set of PAF humbuckers, a Tune-o-Matic bridge, stunning flame top, and striking sunburst finish. spray a little more on, buff it out, and good to go.In an attempt to catch up to the runaway success of the Telecaster - then known as the broadcaster - Gibson released the Les Paul Model, their first venture into solid-bodied electric guitars (opens in new tab). If a guy drops a lacquer finished strat at the last step of assembly and chips the finish, no problem. It's also why Leo Fender and the other guys chose lacquer back in the day (not because it sounded good!) It's because it's really easy to work with. That's why many shops love to work on lacquer finished guitars because due to the nature of lacquer, it's really easy to make repairs invisible. That's one of the wonderful things about lacquer finishes over poly. neck re-set, new binding on the top, and over-spray on the top.

I don't normally like molesting vintage guitars but due to its condition this one is getting a pretty thorough restoration.

Well, he got glue on the top, and in the process maybe spilled some kind of solvent on the top too, and caused a couple of really weird spots in the lacquer and a big visible run. It's a rough-shape 1939 Epiphone Triumph that had the binding flaking off, and the previous owner tried to super-glue it back on. I actually have a guitar that's getting a little overspraying right now. There was probably some flaking, severe checking, damage, or what-have-you that was corrected by spraying a little bit of new lacquer over the old and buffing it out. If you ever see vintage guitars for sale in shops with things in the description like 'top oversprayed' or 'back oversprayed,' that's what it means.

Gibson les paul lacquer cracking