Ordered myself a new Edwards LP-90LTS

[mr_fender]

My new Edwards LP-90LTS in Vintage HoneyBurst is on its way from Japan and I can't wait.

Anyone know if you can use a Gibson style bell shaped truss rod cover on these guitars? They look to be a bit longer. I hate the one it has stock. I've considered modding the headstock with a decal overlay to make it look more the Gibby part. Stock looks ok, but I'm not real fond of the "Limited model" in the middle. Makes it look cheap and cheesy IMO. I love the script "Les Paul Model" silkscreens that Gibson uses. Just a thought.

Can anyone who has an Edwards Les Paul post some pictures of the headstock with the truss rod cover removed. I wanna see how much work it would take to mod.

Thanks a million.

 

[EunosFD]

First of all congrats on the purchase. I've had my E-LP-105LTS/RE since the beginning of this year and even though the honeymoon phase is over I'm still totally enamored with it. Granted, it's a bit different model than you bought, but construction-wise it should be in the same ballpark.

Now as far as the TRC is concerned...no, a Gibson bell-shaped one will not work. I bought one of them several months ago to see if it would work, but the Edwards truss rod opening above the nut is right up against the nut. So, the bottom screw would have no wood to screw into. Plus the Gibson TRC is longer so the top screw hole won't line up without cutting the bottom of it off. However, I'm still going to eventually try to fit it as it was a cheap piece (maybe $7) so it won't be a big loss.

The "Limited Model" script on the Edwards' headstock is silkscreened on there and not a decal so removing it or covering it up would require more than just a simple decal. Some time back I came across a website where an Edwards owner completely replaced the face of the headstock with a "Gibson" styled one. However since the Edwards guitars have an actual piece of wood overlayed on the front of the headstock like a real Gibson it may not be too terribly difficult for a seasoned luthier. I also recall seeing a big sticker-like overlay on eBay to convert to a "Gibson" headstock, but I don't know how realistic or authentic it would look in person.

I'll try to get a pic of my Edwards' headstock uploaded sometime this weekend if I get the chance so you can get an idea of what to expect. Hope this helped some...

 

[tudor]

Welcome to the forum and Congrats to buy an Edwards ... !!

You'll love it! :lol:

I agree the TRC is sooo ugly but I had to leave it as the Gibson bells don't fit.

I have no picture but I know that there is the hole of the TR exactly where the lower screw has to be ... and the bell cover is a little bit longer than the stock one (if you want to use the upper screw hole).
The only chance is to shorten the lower screw and to glue the rest to the bell cover without tightening it ... not so good, IMHO.

BTW - after a month of playing it doesn't matter anymore ... :wink:

Roger

 

[mr_fender]

Thanks for the replies.

What about using an epiphone style 3-screw bell shaped truss rod cover. I believe the Epi les pauls have a truss rod slot that goes all the way under the nut. It wouldn't be exactly like the Gibsons, but would still look better than the stock ones. Not sure what they were thinking. On a guitar with so many beautiful curves and contours, they put a hard edged triangular shaped truss rod cover. Looks VERY out of place to me.

That aside, I can't wait. I've never played an Edwards LP, but all the sources I've encountered say they are fantastic guitars. I'm mostly a Strat style player and have been wanting a Les Paul for quite some time, but could never pull together the $2000 to buy a Gibson. I was looking at the Epiphone Les Pauls, but out of the dozen or so that I tried in shops, about 85-90% of them had flaws like high or low frets, poorly cut nuts, twisted necks, etc.. They looked nice, but most of them played like crap. Their stock pickups sucked royally too. In contrast, nearly all of the ESP guitars I looked at were perfect. When I found out about the ESP/Edwards Les Pauls, I was hooked. Classy Gibson styling with ESP attention to detail... I ordered one immediately.

Now I'm just watching the clock until my new baby arrives.

 

[tudor]

I agree with you concerning the Epis ... sold my LPC (Black Beauty) to buy the Edwards ... no regrets at all !!!! 8)

Maybe the Elitists are better but I never tried one ...

Muddy, sucking pups and ... dead wood in comparison to my 90 LTS!
No I can feel the vibrations of the guitar on my body and I enjoy it !

I recommend to you the 50's wiring ... amazing upgrade - if you like this woody, hollow sound - very versatile now!

Roger

 

[Anonymous]

I'm the guy who did the replace of the edwards style headstock to a Gibson. IT was a long process and honestly not worth it. I had to shape an anchor piece for the bottom screw truss cover out of epoxy. I did this by letting the epoxy half set while the truss adjust tool was set in place. I then removed the wrench before the epoxy was fully cured and had a perfect mold, so I could still adjust the truss rod while being able to use a Gibson cover.

 

[EunosFD]

Ah yes, now I recognize your forum name from my memory of the website (lost the link when my harddrive crapped out a few months ago). It looked like a lot of work, but the results you got were fantastic. I don't mind the Edwards' stock headstock look so I'll just leave mine as-is, but yours still turned out great and well worth the effort if that's the look one wants.

Anyway, I took a few pics of my Edwards' headstock w/o the truss rod cover and also pics of the Edwards' TRC and a Gibson TRC side-by-side. Click to enlarge: