I have an old 1976 Ibanez Les Paul Copy. I bought this guitar recently off an on-line auction. It is well knocked about, and the photo does not really tell the tale.
The body is in quite good shape, a few dents here and there but the hardware has seen better days. Both pickups have seriously worn, they have discolored and have signs of rust etc. The main switch is broken and it looks like a total hardware replacement is the way to go.
All of the screws have seriously corroded, and the saddle appears to be bubbling under the chrome. All the knobs are pretty well shot, the socket for the lead is stuffed and the controls are noisy.
Therefore this seems like a good project, to get stuck in and tidy it all up. The reason it should be worthwhile is because the neck and action is absolutely superb. In fact out of all the guitars I own this seems to be the very best.
For those who don’t know this particular les Paul Copy was called the lawyer model. The reason being it was released by Ibanez and they were promptly sued as it was a Les Paul rip off to the tee.
It was on the market for a short period of time and of course discontinued. They have therefore become a little in demand, although not fetching super high prices many people are chasing them.
My goal is to completely strip this little beauty and restore it to the best condition I can. The argument is whether to repaint or not. The appearance is actually better than I originally thought. In fact maybe the few scratches and dings add to it in some way. The case is well worn too, it has a broken catch and I may try and repair that as well later on.
There are opportunities to change the pickups for a different type which would achieve a different sound, but I have chosen to stick with the closest I can so as to recreate the Les Paul Sound.
Keep your eye on this blog as I will report the progress as I go.
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