lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Hi, New to the forum and am looking to get some info on this guitar. It appears to be an early '70s Les Paul custom that someone put two mini toggle switches into. Doesnt appear to have a whole lot of original hardware on it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1552/26273636051_a8f5589e8c_k.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 More pictures: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1552/26273636051_a8f5589e8c_k.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1667/26273636651_2b9506611f_k.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1681/26247466502_38f6f00e86_h.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Luke, Quite a mystery, that guitar. The serial number would indicate that it was made in Gibson's factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1963. The overall hardware condition looks old and corroded, much like 1980's vintage. The pickup covers are new and shiny, and the two microswitches are aftermarket. The truss rod cover that displays 'Les Paul Custom' looks new, but the screws holding it on are old and rusty. The Gibson logo and pearl inlays on the head-stock look hinky to me. I can't tell if that's because they are old, or if they are indicative of a counterfeit guitar. (My gut tells me it's quite possibly a fake, or a cobbled-together Franken-paul.) I don't know. I haven't had enough coffee yet this morning. Anybody else have any thoughts? :mellow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 The owner told me that they purchased a new truss cover, but used the original screws. The owner also replaced the pickups with Bill Lawrence HBR and HBT's. The micro toggles were put in by the person who owned it prior to that person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Also, wouldnt it be '70s since it has the Made in USA stamped on the back of the headstock? I know the serial numbers from those years are a bit all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 This is true, Luke. Early Gibson serial numbers can be a bit of a mess. I used the Guitar Dater Project, by the way, and used their 'vintage discriminators/filters to narrow down the date to 1963 and Kalamazoo. My concern about the headstock 'Gibson' icon and pearl inlays is how rough around the edges they are. I don't know, man. I haven't handled or bought many vintage instruments. (With the exception of my early 1970's Gibson Les Paul Deluxe gold-top, and that was MANY years ago..) I do hope it's genuine, for your sake. Very cool old guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 6 String Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Hi, New to the forum and am looking to get some info on this guitar. It appears to be an early '70s Les Paul custom that someone put two mini toggle switches into. Doesnt appear to have a whole lot of original hardware on it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1552/26273636051_a8f5589e8c_k.jpg From the provided pics looks legit to me, seen lots of headstock logos looking like that on older LPs. Pick up covers are newer and thus I suspect the pick ups replaced. Toggles indicate 4 wire pick ups for split or such, which is a common mod particularly before push/pull pots came along. Only thing standing out to me is the nibs (but hard to see in the pic) but this could have been refretted and losing nibs with a refret isnt uncommon either. Johnny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 I'm pretty sure it's had a refret. I've got some 10-20 year old guitars with more fret wear than this. The pickups were definitely replaced as was most of the hardware on it. Real or not, it sounds great, plays great, and didn't cost me anything (given to me by a family member). I should mention that the serial number and made in USA are stamped on the headstock (not sure if that's clear in the pics) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 From the provided pics looks legit to me, seen lots of headstock logos looking like that on older LPs. Pick up covers are newer and thus I suspect the pick ups replaced. Toggles indicate 4 wire pick ups for split or such, which is a common mod particularly before push/pull pots came along. Only thing standing out to me is the nibs (but hard to see in the pic) but this could have been refretted and losing nibs with a refret isnt uncommon either. Johnny All correct, and expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 I added a couple more pictures of some suspicious spots on this guitar https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1444/25749945093_e9124699fc_h.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/26260309582_4927deeff9_h.jpg I know this supposedly a pancake style body but I'm not sure if there's supposed to be this many pieces on each half. Also there's some paint on the binding... The mystery unfolds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 6 String Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 I added a couple more pictures of some suspicious spots on this guitar https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1444/25749945093_e9124699fc_h.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/26260309582_4927deeff9_h.jpg Been refretted for sure, but I still say 100% legit, I think its a great looker too, hope you enjoy many years of putting your own wear and tear on it. edit: dont think its later than '74, but if you wanted to post opics of the pots (so long as they are original we could probably narrow it done a bit more) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeisawesome Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Pots are not original... Story of this guitar... It belonged to my father in law who was letting me play it. He's more into fixing them. Last night he decided to give it to me as an early birthday present. When he got it originally, it had Seymour Duncan pickups, brass or gold hardware (knobs, tuners, truss rod cover, etc) and non original pots. He's had it for several years and has been slowly trying to find period correct parts to put back on it. He had a pair of '80s era Original Bill Lawrence pickups he put in, as he thought they'd be better than what was in there (they sound amazing btw). So since it's now mine, I'm trying to find out a bit more about it. It plays great, sounds great, and I think looks great too. Since it's a gift, I'll probably never sell it but am just trying to get some more info about it. Thanks everyone for all your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 6 String Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Pots are not original... Story of this guitar... It belonged to my father in law who was letting me play it (he's not much of a player). He's more into fixing them. Last night he decided to give it to me as an early birthday present. When he got it originally, it had Seymour Duncan pickups, brass or gold hardware (knobs, tuners, truss rod cover, etc) and non original pots. He's had it for several years and has been slowly trying to find period correct parts to put back on it. He had a pair of '80s era Original Bill Lawrence pickups he put in, as he thought they'd be better than what was in there (they sound amazing btw). So since it's now mine, I'm trying to find out a bit more about it. It plays great, sounds great, and I think looks great too. Since it's a gift, I'll probably never sell it but am just trying to get some more info about it. Thanks everyone for all your help cool story! with that additional info, you'll probably never be able to date it much more accurately than early 70s enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Hello and welcome to the Forums. The guitar is genuine Gibson. It's not earlier than 1969 and not later than 1975. That is for sure. Best wishes... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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