Anyway, about a year passed and the owner came in saying he was thinking about selling it. I offered him a swap on the spot, and we had a deal.
Here she is:
It's certainly had a life. Headstock break, replacement ceramic SD p90s, rerouted for 'buckers, then refilled badly. Then of course it was missing it's pickguard, had some heavy Grover tuners and some fairly ugly speed knobs. And a replacement bridge and tailpiece. Oh, and a fairly rough refin. However, it does have its original cavity covers, so I'm on to a winner!
Since I've had it, I've replaced the tailpiece with an old Gibson one that I took off my 335, the Hot p90s have been replaced with Antiquities, and the rest of the harness replaced as well.
I also got hold of some period correct knobs, and did some relicing on them to make them a bit more aged. I've also replaced the Grovers with some double ring Kluson style Gotohs, which are really quite lovely.
Initially, I was planning on leaving the finish as is, but I think I may look into a better refin down the line so I can tidy up the horrible slice near the bridge pickup.
It's a killer guitar, and it quickly became my number 1, despite being almost as heavy as my '83 Custom.
