RDcollector Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Hey everyone, New to the board. Just picked this les paul s.m from 1980 up on trade for 2009 gibson Firebird in natural. I was wondering if anyone had any more information and potential value for this guitar. It is stamped SECOND on back. I don't see any imperfections and I love this guitar. It is heavy as hell. Let me know if anyone knows. Seems like a rare piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Congrats & Welcome to the Forum.. What you have there is a Solid Mahogany.. Rare? Not many made.. A really nice guitar with a lot of Custom features.. Here's a link to an old thread with some of the info you seek.. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/89326-rare-1980-gibson-les-paul-sm/ The Guitar is only worth what someone is willing to pay but with the overpriced guitars Gibson has now days, Your Guitar has Ebony Fretboard, Real Pearl Inlays, Brass Nut, Coil Tap Switch, Volute, 3 piece neck, Belly Cut rear, It also has 35 years of wear on it, But does look to be in great shape from the pictures you shared.. If you read the thread I posted you'll see these came in silverburst and wine red of which this isn't either? That might be why it's a SECOND & received the black paint job factory?? Who Knows?? You Could Call Gibson 1-800-4Gibson & ask, Have the Serial # handy when you call if you get through.. Enjoy that Guitar, Give it some fresh strings & play the daylights out of it & let us know how it sounds & is working out for you!! Gary/Hk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock&RollJoe Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Hey everyone, New to the board. Just picked this les paul s.m from 1980 up on trade for 2009 gibson Firebird in natural. I was wondering if anyone had any more information and potential value for this guitar. It is stamped SECOND on back. I don't see any imperfections and I love this guitar. It is heavy as hell. Let me know if anyone knows. Seems like a rare piece. Very cool! The S.M. is very rare. I have a 1979 S.M. It has taken me years to find info on it. My best research tells me that S.M. was the first run of what became the K.M. model. Here is a ling to where I have posted everything I know about mine. http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/msg/5090014791.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horand Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Congrats to your S.M. - itsa beauty! These are pretty rare. I have never played one, but I usually keep my eyes open to find one. I have seen them in wine red, silverburst and black finish. All I have seen was made in the old Kalamazzo factory. so I guess they didnt made these at the Nashville plant. I dont think this model has anything to do with the K.M. model. My guess is that it was some kind of "prototype-model" for what later on became the Les Paul Studio. If I remember it right, this model had series VII pickups. Solid mahogany body & three piece maple neck. Ebony fingerboard with dot inlays. Beautiful guitar! I would be surprised if the Gibson information staff could give any useful info on this model. I even doubt they know it exist. Their staff is always nice and helpful but doesnt have very much knowledge of older models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archetype Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 The OP's guitar reminds me of a somewhat similar LP I saw approximately 1979-1980 at a Gibson dealer's shop. It was a Les Paul Custom II and only from a quick glance 10 feet away did it look like a "Custom." The body and neck were gloss black, carved top, don't know what the top wood was, multi-layer black-white Custom binding only on the top edge of the body, back had a belly cut relief, multi-piece neck with volute, fingerboard was open-pored and looked like rosewood that had been "ebonized" with black dye, dot inlay, I don't recall any neck binding (despite the Custom designation), Custom headstock inlay. It may have had two covered humbuckers (OR open Dirty Fingers humbuckers: all the other short run models on the wall had Dirty Fingers), a coil tap mini-switch, black speed knobs and switch tip, and no pickguard. Feature-wise it was a bit of high end, a lot of mid-level, and some surprisingly low end in the same guitar, so I don't know what Gibson was aiming for. The dealer said it was from a run of 200 from the "Custom Shop," which at that time may have been luthiers supervising short runs on the production line. Other, similar short runs hanging on the wall that day were a Les Paul KZ, a Melody Maker-bodied KZ II, a badly-made Firebird of koa-looking bleached mahogany, and an SG Exclusive that I bought despite not liking SGs much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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