The Les Paul Goldtop - the guitar that started Gibson's solid body legacy in 1952. It was the same model which reignited that legacy with stunning reissues back in 1968.
The Gibson Les Paul had been phased out in 1960 in favour of the new, contoured, lightweight Gibson SG, however, the mid 60s saw a resurgence of this older model. Players like Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield and Keith Richards, to name a few, favoured the looks, sound and feel of the original Les Paul design. This sparked consumer demand, and by 1968 Gibson answered that demand with their first ever reissue. As a tribute to Lester and the original Gibson Les Paul design, the 68 reissue featured a Goldtop and P90 pickups. Over the next few years the Les Paul received some changes. The headstock grew bigger, a neck volute - added material at the base of the headstock for structural reinforcement was added, the body received a “pancake” type construction - sandwiching a thin sheet of maple between two pieces of mahogany, and mini hum buckers were installed in replacement of the original P90 pickups. The original P90 rout was retained and a modified p90 cover served as the pickup ring for the mini hum bucker. And so it goes - the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe was born.
This example comes from 1974. Body wise it is quite original, with original finish, frets and most of the hardware. The pickups and wiring hardness have been replaced, however originals mini humbuckers come with the guitar. In 1974 mini humbuckers began receiving a stamped patent number on the pickup base. This guitar has one stamped humbucker and one patent sticker humbucker. The coils are both the same orange enamel wire and clear bobbins. The patent stamp wire appears to have had work done at some stage as evidenced by heat shrink wrap at the lead bass and resolder marks where the base plate is attached to the pickup cover.
The pickup rings are fixed in place with a small amount of glue and would likely need to be separated from the body using a razor blade in order to remove the pickups. The tuners have been replaced as evidenced by the original footprint and screw holes on the back of the headstock. As evidenced in the headstock photos, this has at some stage suffered the oh so common fate of Gibson Les Pauls - a headstock break. The break appears to have been relatively clean and the repair is strong.
All things considered, this guitar is in excellent condition for its age. Most of the original parts are there. The paintwork is excellent with minimal marks, wear or even much yellowing of the finish - a well preserved closet classic.
The pickups on this guitar are Tuxedo Noiseless mini p90s from Australian pickup manufacturer Mr Fabulous Guitars. These have a bright alnico V style sound, not dissimilar to an under wound P90, with rich overtones and silent operation. The wiring harness is from Emerson audio with vintage style bumble bee capacitors. The original wiring hardness is fully functional and will be included in the sale. The neck of this Lester is relatively slim compared to many 1950s Gibson necks. The medium C profile and 43.2mm nut width with are comfortable for most players and certainly preferable if the clubby 50s profile ain’t your thing. The original frets are low and wide with minimal wear. The fret nibs are not as pronounced on this guitar compared to newer reissues, which is typical of this era Les Paul.
This is a super clean classic Les Paul Deluxe that sounds fantastic, looks amazing and plays wonderfully. Pure vintage Gibson in every way.
Brand: Gibson
Model: Les Paul
Country: USA
Year: 1974
Serial: 510XXX
Case: HSC
Body Colour: Natural
Neck Colour: Natural
Finish Type: Nitro
Body Material: Mahogany/Maple
Neck Material: Mahogany
Fretboard Material: Rosewood
Scale Length: 24 3/4
Frets: 22
Neck Radius: 12”
Action (Low E): 1.8mm
Neck Profile: Med C
Nut Width: 43.2mm
12th Fret Width: 52.3mm
1st Fret Depth: 20.2mm
12th Fret Depth: 25.4mm
Pickups: Mr Fabulous Tuxedo Noiseless P90
Resistance: Neck:16.08k, Bridge: 15.82k. Mini Humbuckers: 6.26k neck, 6.01k bridge
Electronics: Emerson
Knobs: Original
Pick Guard: Original
Hardware: Chrome
Weight: 4.41kg
Mods, Repairs: Replaced tuners, replaced pickups, head stock repair, Emerson wiring harness. All original components except tuners are included in sale.
