Paul D. Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Esteemed fellow Les Paul enthusiasts, I need a little bit of help. The main question I have is this (with more details below): are the 2007 Guitar of the Week silverburst Les Paul Classic Customs the same guitar as the Guitar Center exclusive silverbursts from the same year? I have a beautiful silverburst Les Paul and I'm not sure which it is (or if there's even a difference.) As you can see by the pics, it has the following features: Serial number GC047, which obviously indicates a Guitar Center exclusive line (but see my original question above) "Edge-burst" silver/black finish (as opposed to the 70s/80s "teardrop" silverburst Les Pauls) Body, neck, AND headstock binding in white, which I understand is uncommon "Les Paul" in silver on the truss rod cover "holly" headstock inlay Black/black Gibson OHSC (with no satin flap cover; dunno if this was removed by the previous owner or if it just came that way. My '03 LP DC goldtop has a black/black case with the satin flap.) Now here are the caveats: a previous owner swapped out the "top hat" knobs for Gibson "speed" knobs (which I prefer, but he included the originals when I bought it) and added a black Gibson pickguard (which I NEVER would have done. ) I do not know for sure which pickups it has (57 Classic? Burstbucker?), but I could easily unscrew them to find out if anybody would like me to. Sounds amazing regardless. The prev.owner also had the electronics upgraded with vintage 200 volt paper-in-oil (PIO) capacitors .022µF, but that doesn't have much bearing on what model the guitar is; I only included it to be as detailed as possible. What say you, learned members? What have I got? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hello Paul, and welcome to the Forums! I am quite sure You already know what is. It`s a Classic Custom SB. The pickups are `57 Classic/`57 Classic Plus combination. Best wishes... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D. Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hello Paul, and welcome to the Forums! I am quite sure You already know what is. It`s a Classic Custom SB. The pickups are `57 Classic/`57 Classic Plus combination. Best wishes... Bence Thanks for the reply and the welcome, Bence! Unfortunately, I remain unsure. In my googling, I found several guitars like this: 2007 Gibson Les Paul Standard Silverburst Limited Edition (Guitar Center Exclusive Limited Run) The serial number matches mine ("GC###"), and the knobs are the same ones that originally came with mine. (The Classic Custom "Guitar of the Week" came stock with speed knobs.) But the ones I've seen sold on Reverb and elsewhere have Burstbuckers, not '57 Classics. Perhaps the only way I'm really going to get to the bottom of this is by taking a closer look at my pickups... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 . Welcome. Email the serial number and description (a pic or two if you like - 2mb limit) to service@gibson.com and they can tell you if you got a GOTW or something else. I noticed that the GC has a TRC engraved 'Les Paul' while the GOTW has a plain black on white TRC. Also, the GC serial number pretty much tells you it's a GC exclusive. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I agree, you already know what it is. I remember these, so I am also quite sure as well. There really isn't much more to know about them than you already do. GC "exclusive", which doesn't mean much except there were ordered and sold for GC, and very close to the same guitar as the GOTW from the same time roughly. I think the best way to know what pickups are in it, is to measure them and compare that to the available pups from the time. That might be more sure than knowing what they were SUPPOSED to have, because if I remember correctly, around that time a spec could change, and GC would often order this or that spec without even being able to keep up with the info themselves. Regardless, that IS one cool guitar, and there ain't no getting around that. So, in a way, you don't really need any special edition badge or info for it to set it apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I had one of the originals ('77 bought new). Mine came standard with a black 3-ply pickguard. I believe it was standard equipment on all Customs of that era. The holly on the headstock is not an inlay. It's the face of the headstock. The split diamond and Gibson logos were inlaid in the holly. TRC said "Les Paul Custom" in white. Body, neck & headstock were bound in white. Pickups were whatever it came with (I have no idea anymore, but they certainly weren't anything like '57 Classics or Burstbuckers). Whether you got a 2007 G.O.T.W. or one of the GC "Exclusives," it looks like Gibson did an admirable job of getting the details right. With one GLARING exception...that perimeter burst . As you noted, being the norm for the '70s, the one I had was a traditional teardrop shaped burst. Looked really classy. Sadly, that's about all the good I can say about that particular instrument. It was a shining example of everything that was wrong with the Norlin-era guitars. Being a kid (16 at the time), and wanting my first Les Paul, I broke one of the cardinal rules...quality BEFORE looks. Gorgeous guitar, but unfortunately it turned out to be a pig wearing lipstick. Sold it less that 6 months later. Oddly enough, I hadn't seen the guitar I sold again until last August (a friend of a friend knew someone who knew someone) and I got a chance to play it again for about 30 minutes. I still have no regrets over selling it, but over the past 37 years, all of the silver has oxidized and has more of a pale gold look now. Quite striking and to my eye, looks better than when I bought it new. But playability still not what I'd want in a Les Paul. But that's an issue with Norlin's practices, not the finish. Still don't like perimeter bursts, but yours looks to be a very nice example of a "modern-era" Les Paul. If it feels right to you, I'd stop sweating the details and just play the Hell out of it! All the Best, 'Frets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D. Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 I appreciate everyone's insight. Not to sound ungrateful here, but if I "knew" what I had I wouldn't be asking. There does seem to be a difference between the Guitar Center exclusives of the time period and the Guitar of the Week, not the least of which is that the GC exclusive is a "Standard" while the GotW is a "Classic Custom." Although the pickups retail for roughly the same amount aftermarket, there is a difference in sound and manufacturing process between Burstbuckers and 57 Classics. My (admittedly limited) research tells me that the 57 Classics are the more "sought after," for what that's worth, though the two pickups are supposedly VERY similar in tone and output. Also, from what I can tell, the silverburst Standard and the silverburst Classic Custom GotW had different MSRPs ($2499, I think, and $3999 respectively; certainly a notable difference), sold for different prices at retail, and have a different resale value. In some instances the resale prices differ by almost $1000. That ain't chump change. God forbid I would ever have to sell it, I'd like to be able to be 100% sure (and therefore 100% honest) about what I tell potential buyers. But even without plans to sell anytime soon, I guess I'm "one of those guys" who wants to know exactly what's under the hood, whether tires have the right PSI, and if the upholstery is period-correct. As BigKahune suggested I've emailed Gibson Service. I'll post here if they respond. I agree that the GC serial number is a dead giveaway that it's a Guitar Center exclusive run. But the question remains: are the GC exclusives and the GotW the same guitar? The more I look around, I'm thinking no. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D. Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Oddly enough, I hadn't seen the guitar I sold again until last August (a friend of a friend knew someone who knew someone) and I got a chance to play it again for about 30 minutes. I still have no regrets over selling it, but over the past 37 years, all of the silver has oxidized and has more of a pale gold look now. Quite striking and to my eye, looks better than when I bought it new. Yeah, I've seen some of the original silverbursts that have faded to a weird pale green. Some fading or discoloration is to be expected for 40-year-old finishes I suppose. Sucks that you had such a bad experience. I think we've all had those. I'm often curious about what happened to some of the guitars I parted with because I didn't like how they played or sounded. I wonder if the next owner (or the next-next owner) got what they wanted out of it. "One man's trash..." and all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Sucks that you had such a bad experience. I think we've all had those. Well, it did put me off Gibson for another 8 years, but once I got ahold of one of their first semi-accurate Reissues (IIRC, it was actually called "The Reissue." Not patterned after any specific year, but loosely modeled after a '59. Came with a personalized hernia truss ). But in the end, it's all good. "The Reissue" began my Gibson fixation that continues to this day...well, except for the 2015 models! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I appreciate everyone's insight. Not to sound ungrateful here, but if I "knew" what I had I wouldn't be asking. There does seem to be a difference between the Guitar Center exclusives of the time period and the Guitar of the Week, not the least of which is that the GC exclusive is a "Standard" while the GotW is a "Classic Custom." Although the pickups retail for roughly the same amount aftermarket, there is a difference in sound and manufacturing process between Burstbuckers and 57 Classics. My (admittedly limited) research tells me that the 57 Classics are the more "sought after," for what that's worth, though the two pickups are supposedly VERY similar in tone and output. Also, from what I can tell, the silverburst Standard and the silverburst Classic Custom GotW had different MSRPs ($2499, I think, and $3999 respectively; certainly a notable difference), sold for different prices at retail, and have a different resale value. In some instances the resale prices differ by almost $1000. That ain't chump change. God forbid I would ever have to sell it, I'd like to be able to be 100% sure (and therefore 100% honest) about what I tell potential buyers. But even without plans to sell anytime soon, I guess I'm "one of those guys" who wants to know exactly what's under the hood, whether tires have the right PSI, and if the upholstery is period-correct. As BigKahune suggested I've emailed Gibson Service. I'll post here if they respond. I agree that the GC serial number is a dead giveaway that it's a Guitar Center exclusive run. But the question remains: are the GC exclusives and the GotW the same guitar? The more I look around, I'm thinking no. Thanks everyone! I see. The "Classic Custom" term was used briefly by Gibson and it basically meant it was a cross between a "Custom" and a "Standard" (or, "Classic"). It has the mutiple binding of a Custom, but lacks the back binding, and uses the trap neck inlays of a Standard. Also, obviously the headstock has a crown inlay instead of the split diamond. A "Classic", also a term briefly used by Gibson, seems to basically mean the headstock has binding and a crown inlay, a feature used on a lot of Gibson models of the past, but not on a Les Paul. Other than that, the Classic is basically a Les Paul Standard. So that's one difference, and that's likely to effect the price. Also, I can't answer this question, but another that will effect the price (at least as of now) is the body regarding weight relief. At hat time, Gibson was using two methods: Chambering and swiss-cheese holes. The swiss-cheese holes basically brought the weight down to the "normal" weight of a full solid LP, from the 10-13 pound tanks of the 70's to the 8-10 pound range, more like the original weight. Still, solid is more desirable if the weight isn't too much, but the swiss-cheese seems to be more what poeple want than the much lighter chambering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D. Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 I finally heard back from Gibson Customer Service. They've settled it: The pictures and serial number are consistent with a 2007 Gibson USA Les Paul Limited 60’s neck Guitar Center Exclusive model in Silverburst finish. Here are the specs- Back –Mahogany Top –Maple (bound) Neck – 1 piece mahogany(60’s Slim Taper profile) Peghead pitch – 17 degrees Neck angle – 5 Degrees Fingerboard – 22-fret Ebony (bound) Fretwire - 0.090” wide and 0.055” tall nickel/silver alloy Fingerboard radius – 12” Inlays – pearloid trapezoid Scale length – 24 ¾” Nut width – 1 11/16” Bridge – Tune-o-matic (Nashville style) Tailpiece – Stop bar Hardware – Nickel Tuners – Metal Button Kluson Controls – 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way toggle switch Pickups –Burstbucker Pro set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 . Good you got an answer. Very nice LP. Enjoy. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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