BACK FROM THE DEAD
A badly disfigured 1970 Gibson SG Melody Maker repaired, refinished an appropriately aged.
Both cutaways had been cut off and reshaped by the original owner in the seventies. The original finish has been stripped off the body, neck and headstock. All it had to accurately identify it and its age, was the serial number.
Lightweight Mahogany cutaways were attached and shaped and bevelled back to the correct appearance. The headstock’s peg holes were plugged and redrilled to the correct size and a thin veneer glued on.
The guitar was finished to a period correct colour and coated with an appropriated tint to match the ambered lacquer of a Gibson Melody Maker from the age period. From multiple images of other Melody Makers, the age and patina were matched to a believable appearance. The logo is also period correct.
The single coil pickup had also been damaged, we wound it to 7.3k to match the output of other SG Melody Makers from that year. The only hardware that was not original were the Gibson deluxe button tuners.
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A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
A badly treated Fender Thinline Tele body, lovingly restored back to original.
At some point in this 1969 Thinline’s life, the back of the body was angle grinded open and the chamber was stuffed with scraps of wood.
1969 Thinlines were chambered from the bottom and since this one had been opened and pasted back with unsightly epoxy, we decided to route it off and fabricate a whole new Ash bottom to replace it. This also gave us an opportunity to clean out the off cuts of random wood that was used to fill up the chamber.
Once completed, the bottom was shaped and rounded over. The original string ferrule slots were not drilled inline so this was a good opportunity to have them redrilled.
It was refinished to a period correct tint to match the ambered natural finish of a 50 year old Fender Thinline. Both pickups were dead and were expertly rewound by Hayward Guitars.
I’ve entrusted Charl with a few sensitive projects, all executed with extreme precision, but most importantly “care”. The most recent restoration was a sentimental piece that my father and I asked Charl to refinish, a 1969 Thinline Telecaster. Shortly after arriving at Charl, it became obvious that more than just a refinish was needed. His expertise exceeded my wildest expectations!