# Refinishing my ESP Mirage



## Kamin (Mar 17, 2011)

So I have a late 80s or early 90s ESP Mirage Custom. It was my first 'good' guitar which I bought six years ago. Here's some specs

-25.5"
-Neckthrough
-Floyd Rose (licensed, non-recessed)
-Ebony fretboard
-Hum-Hum

The fretboard is cracked and the hardware is old and crappy. What I want to do is convert the guitar to a fixed bridge (Hannes) and put a new fretboard on it and do a bit of additional contour carving. Replacing the fretboard and carving is kind of straight forward, but the fixed bridge conversion is not.

I figure I am going to have to rout and fill the cavities (this is where I would like some guidance) with new wood pieces and then rout the guitar for the Hannes. Is this possible? I'll update with some pics when I get home.


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 17, 2011)

Kamin said:


> I figure I am going to have to rout and fill the cavities (this is where I would like some guidance) with new wood pieces and then rout the guitar for the Hannes. Is this possible? I'll update with some pics when I get home.


 
What I would do, is measure everything that will be filled, and use those measures to make templates (maybe a TINY bit smaller than the cavities). Cut pieces of wood, route them following the templates. Level.

I dont know if you have one, but I'm almoast certain you will need a drill press to install the Hannes bridge .


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## Kamin (Mar 17, 2011)

Thanks for the response! That's basically what I was thinking, though I wasn't sure if I should do any routing on the guitar itself to make it easier. I am going to have to give it a good inspection.

One thing I did think of is that the neck is angled and I don't know how this might effect the bridge installation. My thinking is that if the floyd was fine then the Hannes should be fine if the heights are the same.

I wanted the guitar to have a natural finish, but the only way that this would be possible would be if I added a veneer or top to the guitar, since I will be adding wood and it would probably look like crap as a result.

This will be interesting for sure...


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## Kamin (Mar 18, 2011)

So I got started today with removing the fretboard. I used an iron, some paint scrapers, a piece of MDF and a hammer and it went fairly fast. Here are some shots of the guitar before:












First thing I did was remove the binding. Just sitting the iron on the frets loosened the binding from the neck. I was able to just stick a paint scraper in between the binding and the neck and peel it all off.






Then, starting at the bottom of the board (24th fret), I let the iron sit on the frets for a few minutes and then started to wedge the scraper in between the board and the neck. As I moved the iron up the fretboard I lightly hammered the scraper further in. Looking back I probably should have kept using the scraper. Eventually, I thought I should use this piece of MDF instead. I continued to move the iron up and lightly hammered the block along.






I went a bit too fast and the board splintered at the first fret. No big deal. I let the iron sit for a few minutes on the remaining piece of ebony and then lightly hammered in a scraper from the side and the last piece came off. Here is the result:






Why is the truss rod channel not visible? I guess there must be a wood overlay in between the channel and the board. Anyone have any ideas? Should I not worry about it?

Next step is going to be getting all of the paint off of the guitar.


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## musikizlife (Mar 19, 2011)

I love watching refinishes unfold
what body wood is that? I'd venture to say basswood but since its a custom i'm not sure.
Good luck with this, i will be staying tuned for this one


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## Kamin (Mar 19, 2011)

Thanks for your interest! I actually am not sure what the woods are. It seems a lot of these guitars had different combos and once they change hands the information gets lost. I think it is probably a basswood body as you said with a maple neck. Seems to be a common combination on 80s shredding guitars which this one was spec'd to be with the Floyd and all.

Other notes:
I am going to retain the offset square inlay style on the new board, but only in shape. I am still working out the material choices as far as that goes.


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## CrushingAnvil (Mar 19, 2011)

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO THAT GUITAR!?


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## b7string (Mar 19, 2011)

CrushingAnvil said:


> WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO THAT GUITAR!?



Read first post? 

What colour are you going to refinish it as? I've always wondered how to take off a fretboard, looks pretty straight-forward. Good job too


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## Kamin (Mar 19, 2011)

CrushingAnvil said:


> WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO THAT GUITAR!?



The ebony board was cracked all the way from the 24th fret to the 5th, so leaving it on there wasn't really an option. Though, part of me was asking myself the same question while I was doing it.

As far as color goes, I am still debating all of that. I do have something exotic in mind, but we'll see.


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## technomancer (Mar 19, 2011)

Looks like a cool project, good luck with it 

I have heard that the routing / install for the Hannes is a bit of a pain in the ass


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## Kamin (Mar 19, 2011)

technomancer said:


> Looks like a cool project, good luck with it
> 
> I have heard that the routing / install for the Hannes is a bit of a pain in the ass



It really seems to be. 

A part of me is saying not to try and switch to a fixed bridge, but I just don't enjoy the hassel of the floyd anymore. I figure, if I am going to the trouble of filling and routing the guitar I might as well go with the Hannes. We'll see how I feel about that decision later on down the road.


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## CrushingAnvil (Mar 19, 2011)

Kamin said:


> The ebony board was cracked all the way from the 24th fret to the 5th, so leaving it on there wasn't really an option. Though, part of me was asking myself the same question while I was doing it.
> 
> As far as color goes, I am still debating all of that. I do have something exotic in mind, but we'll see.



 It's cool man I was just pulling people's legs in general.

That's a big crack. That would begin causing huge problems AFAIK.


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## Kamin (Mar 19, 2011)

CrushingAnvil said:


> It's cool man I was just pulling people's legs in general.
> 
> That's a big crack. That would begin causing huge problems AFAIK.



I don't know if it was the reason, but I felt like I was losing sustain. Who knows


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## caparison_x (Mar 20, 2011)

When I saw the fretboard peeling off in that photo I actually said out loud "ouch"

haha

Good luck though! I think a new maple birds eye board would look like sex on that guitar


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## GuitaristOfHell (Mar 20, 2011)

I hope this goes well. The finished product should be kickass!


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## velocity (Mar 20, 2011)

CrushingAnvil said:


> WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO THAT GUITAR!?



dude i totally agree.... rare guitar+ hand tools...


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## Kamin (Mar 20, 2011)

velocity said:


> dude i totally agree.... rare guitar+ hand tools...



Is there a way to get a fretboard off without hand tools? 

Also, the guitar is not really rare. These pop up on eBay all of the time and sell for anywhere between $500-$800 from what I have seen. 



caparison_x said:


> Good luck though! I think a new maple birds eye board would look like sex on that guitar



 That's one of the options I'm considering.


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## Ketzer (Mar 20, 2011)

What, are we talking about Mirage Customs? Here's my '89.


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## SirMyghin (Mar 20, 2011)

velocity said:


> dude i totally agree.... rare guitar+ hand tools...



Hand tools are a much better choice if you know what you are doing. If you screw up with power tools it is usually more in the lines of GG, but with hand tools it is a small thing you see immediately and stop to fix.


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## Dead Undead (Mar 20, 2011)

Kamin said:


> Why is the truss rod channel not visible? I guess there must be a wood overlay in between the channel and the board. Anyone have any ideas? Should I not worry about it?



Maybe they pulled a Fender and put it in through the back? Though I don't see why they would since they glued on an ebony fretboard.

Will follow this though, looks like a good project.


P.S.
Paint it Glow-in-the-Dark.


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## Kamin (Mar 20, 2011)

Ketzer said:


> What, are we talking about Mirage Customs? Here's my '89.



Wow. That Mirage is gorgeous. 
I'm surprised to see a reverse headstock on an '89. Has that one been refinished?


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## Kamin (Mar 20, 2011)

Dead Undead said:


> Maybe they pulled a Fender and put it in through the back? Though I don't see why they would since they glued on an ebony fretboard.
> 
> Will follow this though, looks like a good project.
> 
> ...



You know, I was looking closer and it seems like there are two pieces of wood overlayed on the trussrod channel. I don't really understand what the purpose is, but I don't think I am going to mess with it at all so I'm not going to do any exploratory work.


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## SirMyghin (Mar 20, 2011)

The neck might be something similar to a G&L bi-cut if it is 2 pieces on the back too. The would cut the neck down the center effectively, route the channel, then glue it together as a 1 piece I think, with the top being the fretboard. Maybe they attached the fretboard, can't remember. Nowadays they saw off the 'fretboard' if maple, route the channel, and ise the same piece for the board. Provides a nice near seemless look.


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## Kamin (Mar 20, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> The neck might be something similar to a G&L bi-cut if it is 2 pieces on the back too. The would cut the neck down the center effectively, route the channel, then glue it together as a 1 piece I think, with the top being the fretboard. Maybe they attached the fretboard, can't remember. Nowadays they saw off the 'fretboard' if maple, route the channel, and ise the same piece for the board. Provides a nice near seemless look.



Interesting. Hopefully when I get the paint off I'll have a better idea of what they did.


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## Ketzer (Mar 20, 2011)

Kamin said:


> Wow. That Mirage is gorgeous.
> I'm surprised to see a reverse headstock on an '89. Has that one been refinished?



Nope. Best I can tell, this one was a prototype. I know that Jackson Sued ESP in '89 for the jackson headstock, and that by '91, All the Import ESPs had the pointy reversed like mine. However, mine's a NAMM guitar, and the logo alignment matches up with the jackson headstock, so I'd wager it was one of the first Mirages with the reverse ESP headstock.


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## Kamin (Mar 21, 2011)

Ketzer said:


> Nope. Best I can tell, this one was a prototype. I know that Jackson Sued ESP in '89 for the jackson headstock, and that by '91, All the Import ESPs had the pointy reversed like mine. However, mine's a NAMM guitar, and the logo alignment matches up with the jackson headstock, so I'd wager it was one of the first Mirages with the reverse ESP headstock.



Interesting. I guess that dates mine to be at least an 88, maybe older. I would call yours rare, mine...not so much.


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## Ketzer (Mar 21, 2011)

nope, yours could conceviably be as late as a '90, ESP didn't stop using the Jackson headstock officially until around then.


...That said, every other Mirage Custom I've seen (and I know of at least 2 guys other than you who have them) with the Jackson headstock are HSS. If only ESP kept actual records about this kinda stuff. Hell, the Serial on mine is printed on top of the paint on the headstock, it would come off were I to polish it, I think. Not going to risk it, either way.


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## Ketzer (Mar 21, 2011)

also, you're in Philadelphia? Where at? I'm in Wynnewood, right on the other side of US 1 from Overbrook, near US 30.


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## MrMcSick (Mar 21, 2011)

That is weird that it has 2 hums. My buddies old Rainbow Crackle Custom had the hum and 2 singles. The deluxes only had a hum and a single but they were also bolt on and not neck through.

Instead of trying to put a non trm on it why not just do the mods to put an official flyod and just get a tremlo-no.


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## Ketzer (Mar 21, 2011)

RAINBOW crackle? I would kill 6 men to have a guitar with that finish.


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## Kamin (Mar 21, 2011)

Ketzer said:


> nope, yours could conceviably be as late as a '90, ESP didn't stop using the Jackson headstock officially until around then.
> 
> 
> ...That said, every other Mirage Custom I've seen (and I know of at least 2 guys other than you who have them) with the Jackson headstock are HSS. If only ESP kept actual records about this kinda stuff. Hell, the Serial on mine is printed on top of the paint on the headstock, it would come off were I to polish it, I think. Not going to risk it, either way.



Oh OK. Mine has no serial number anywhere. The closest thing to ID it has a a number stamped on the end of the original fretboard. I also haven't seen very many with 2 hums.

I'm in Harleysville, up the northeast extension.



MrMcSick said:


> Instead of trying to put a non trm on it why not just do the mods to put an official flyod and just get a tremlo-no.



I really want to get away from the Floyd and the pain in the ass it is. I don't use it enough to justify the trouble (though changing it over to fixed is trouble in itself). I have a seven with an OFR and it is just a headache for me. I also am GASing for a guitar with a Hannes so this should sate that need.


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## malin (Mar 21, 2011)

Well I have an old ESP Mirage Custom and I'm gald you guys have more info on it  She's a keeper


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## malin (Mar 21, 2011)




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## caparison_x (Mar 21, 2011)

Its a shame the ESP serials dont mean anything. I've read alot of stuff online and it seems the serials are arbitrary to the factory where they were made but have little or no records that correspond to them.

Does any one know if theres an online database or something to look up ESP serials and what they actually mean?


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## Ketzer (Mar 21, 2011)

Yeah, Malin, yours looks like what mine was the proto for, with the misaligned logo and the 80's 4-sided truss rod cover, not to mention your floyd looks recessed, where the 80's ones weren't.


Looking at yours more, I get the feeling that "The Mirage Custom" was dropped entirely and the "Mirage Custom" you have is an M-II Custom spec, but with the Mirage Name retained, because it's got a 3-way toggle instead of a blade. 


Really, though, this is all just very educated guesswork, as it's damn near impossible to get concrete data on early 90's/Late 80's ESPs.


And caparison_x, I've been barking up that tree since I got my first ESP, it's hopeless. The serials mean something now, because ESP keeps records of newer stuff, but before about '92-'93 (and perhaps later) is a clusterfuck of the highest order.


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## Kamin (Mar 21, 2011)

Good call on the recessed trem. Mine was non-recessed and obviously was an earlier model.


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## Kamin (Sep 17, 2011)

It's been a while since there have been any updates, but I finally completed a quick mock-up of what I'll be aiming for.






Black binding on birdseye maple fretboard and and headstock veneer.

The inlays are going to pay homage to the original with a bit of a twist and will be outlined with black epoxy so that they stand out a bit more. I should be getting the maple in the mail in a few days and the work will commence. Oh, and I'll be using the EVO gold fretwire to blend with the maple a bit.


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## Kamin (Sep 18, 2011)

And here is another possible mockup, this time with regular frets, different inlay material, and a different inlay. I don't know which one I prefer.






Any ideas?


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## BlackMastodon (Sep 18, 2011)

2nd inlay is better imo.


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## Kamin (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm leaning towards the second one as well.

I also decided against the Hannes as I would like to decrease the chances of screwing up. So now I'll be using a Hipshot fixed bridge.

I'll have a nice piece of walnut to do all of the filling of the current cavities other than the control cavity.


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## the fuhrer (Sep 18, 2011)

I like the first inlay. Second one looks like 2 dolphins doing 69.


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## Kamin (Sep 18, 2011)

the fuhrer said:


> I like the first inlay. Second one looks like 2 dolphins doing 69.



Back to the drawing board


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## Kamin (Sep 18, 2011)

Ok. There is also this one. Same basic outline as the first one but this one is segmented and would alternate between donkey shell and green abalone.


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## aWoodenShip (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm feeling this inlay right hurr ^


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## Mukersman (Sep 18, 2011)

Kamin said:


> Back to the drawing board


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## Kamin (Sep 19, 2011)

aWoodenShip said:


> I'm feeling this inlay right hurr ^



Thanks! Thankfully this one doesn't look like a marine biology lesson.


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## gunch (Sep 19, 2011)

you scrapped the Hannes idea? Or does your mockup program not have them..


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## Kamin (Sep 19, 2011)

Yeah I scrapped it. I think with the amount of work involved along with the risk of screwing it up it's not worth it.


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## Kamin (Sep 26, 2011)

So I got a nice package from Bell Forest Products :

2 Hard Maple Fretboards
2 Birdseye Maple Fretboards











I got extra large Birdseye boards to avoid screwing somthing up. I plan on using the hard maple boards to practice fretting and the like.

I also got the walnut that I will be using to fill the tremolo cavity. It's way larger than necessary so now I'll have to find some use for it.






And so that I got free shipping, I also got some wood to make a purple-heart and maple end-grain cutting board :


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 27, 2011)

Do what you want with your own possessions but imo you're bastardising the shit out of that thing


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## Kamin (Sep 27, 2011)

What's wrong with a bastard?


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