Guitar Hero, Part II
Ukraine luthier Tanya Shpachuk's restoration of a Gibson Les Paul nearly destroyed in a Russian drone attack on Kyiv is complete. "We all want rebuilding—and we are capable of doing it."
Take a look at the glorious result of Tanya Shpachuk’s painstaking restoration of a Les Paul ravaged in a drone strike. As she sums up the endeavor…
And finally, this story comes to an end. So far, this has been the most challenging project I’ve ever worked on — both technically and emotionally. I saw many comments suggesting to leave the damage visible as a reminder, because it looks “badass.” But my focus from the very beginning was restoration. The message here is simple: we all want rebuilding — and we are capable of doing it.
As a small reminder of what this guitar went through, we left only a bit of soot on the pickups.
It’s efforts like Tanya’s that serve to remind that humanity and the arts always endure, not the temporal forces eager to tear them down.
Similarly to how Peter Frampton’s Les Paul Custom had been damaged after that botched take-off from Caracas, I thought initially that the finish you saw, after the bombing, looked kind of cool!
But after thinking about that, I wondered if, left alone, the finish wouldn’t have started to flake off, and become a real bother.
Factor in a motive to ERASE what the enemy had done?
I GET YOU!
A Sunburst finish is always challenging. I salute you, young lady!