Paul: a number of years ago I picked up a Casino second and after a time added a bigsby tailpiece. It is a fine player and I have always loved the look. I wonder why.
But the reason I got a great deal was do to the kindness of on Bob Belloff and the flaw at the headstock. Funny it have never bothered me much and I don't see it while I am playing.
I have enclosed photos whick I hope will tell the story. The Epiphone appears to be printed on a rectangular piece of tape. There has not been much change over the course of time, with the possible exception that the black finish is becoming whiter, almost a gold tone in places.
I submit that this is not savagable really, but thought it might allow for some interesting discussion. So, should I quit while I am ahead?
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
Nice Peter! I'm thinking of adding a B-7 to my Casino.
I know it's not part of the topic, but did you notice any change in the sustain when you added it? I've heard that the extra lump of metal stuck to the thing can really help with this.
Robert: I did indeed notice a change in the sustain for the better. I have also experimented with metal versus nylon saddles, with more sustain with the metal noted. Finally, I plan to use graphtech saddles with the tune-o-matic which I expect will increase the sustain a tad more.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
this is a bit of a generality, but based on my experiments with various types of Strat bridges, I would concur that the more mass there is in a bridge then more sustain is usually in evidence.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
Here's how to get this puppy looking nearly as good as new.
Beautiful guitar, incidentally, and I'm envious!
First, clean the entire headstock surface with some naphtha (lighter fluid). Any chips or missing veneer should be replaced with a bit of wood of a similar thickness, and small nicks can be filled with a dot of gap-filler super glue which is allowed to harden and then sanded flush with # 400 and then #800 wet or dry sandpaper. Mask over the lettering that you wish to save, though...
You will need a semi-transparent piece of self-adhesive material. I use Scotch Magic Tape, in a width sufficient to cover the lettering without any horizontal seams or overlaps. This tape must be burnished down onto the lettered area, so no air bubbles are trapped underneath. I will usually stick and unstick the piece of tape onto a t-shirt to reduce the stickiness a bit before applying it.
Now, using a new and very sharp #11 X-Acto blade in a #1 handle (the generic "X-Acto" to everybody), cut along the outline of the lettering. Peel up the tape from the headstock ,leaving the lettering masked.
Now, take an artist's brush and some waterproof black india ink like Higgin', and paint the headstock surface. You can paint over the taped logo, too. Allow to dry and paint a second coat. Try to avoid serious brushmarks.
Now peel up the Magic Tape from the lettered area. It may be necessary to use a very sharp tweezers or the actual X-Acto knife blade itself to pick at a corner to get the ball rolling.
When the tape is off the letters, mask off the headstock--just the black area. Spray some light coats of StewMac or ReRanch clear gloss lacquer over the front of the headstock. Apply about 6 or 8 coats, allowing these to flash off before applying the next.
Let the whole thing dry for three or four days. If there's dust in the clear, you can flatten the whole headstock with #2000 wet or dry, and then buff with Scratch-X and apply wax with a CSCC.
Sounds complicated but it is fairly easy. I've got some photos of a Gretsch I did, and I'll see if I can dig 'em up.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
Thanks so much for this detailed reponse Paul. Be guided by the fates that you have left you a message in your post. You should carry on and buy a 4002. I, however, will need to work on my bravery.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
Here are the photos of the Gretsch headstock in process.
In this first photo, you can see where the tape has been laid over the logo and cut. It was then peeled away everywhere but over the MOP logo, and the headstock was painted black.
You will note that the tape area was also painted over. Because India Ink has virtually no thickness (unlike paint!), brushmarks will not show. This one I did a few months ago and I used an airbrush to apply the ink, but a brush is just as good!
The biggest hurdle you face, Peter, is effectively filling the chip in the veneer in your headstock. The rest is fairly easy if you're patient.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
Here's one trick you can use to keep the edges of the logo particularly sharp. After you apply the frisket material and cut away the excess, spray the head with a fine mist of matte lacquer- artist's fixative in a spray can works nicely. Now go ahead with your color brushing procedure.
The light clear coat seals the edges of the frisket, provides a nice smooth base coat for the ink, and when the frisket is removed after final clearcoating, sanding and polishing of the head will remove/smooth any of the clear bleed through.
The operative word here is "thin" coat, and the artist's fixative is the best material to minimize bleeding. Standard nitro sprayed in this way often peels up with the tape or frisket material.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
