The History of the Reissue and variants

[LWAG]

Are they the same? They're not the same (can't be) (must be different woods due to original woods going extinct making an R9 different than a 1959).

My one is a 2005 Gibson Les Paul '57 with a 1957 serial number and has R7 stamped into the pots cavity.

I bought mine because I grew up a Guns N' Roses fan and loved guitar and I knew before I knew who Gibson were, that Slash's pickups were why his guitar sounded so great. I was a lad starting in secondary school thinking about those pickups before I even knew who made them!

For all I knew as a boy, Slash's pickups could have came from the factory; and no guitar did I/do I want more than Slash's missing 1987 Gibson Les Paul '57 with a serial number that's 70854; I wonder if that's an 1987 serial number and it's guitar number 54? but, that's not a 1957 number is it? My 2005 is 75233 but came in the same finish which is rarer but cool IMO (much cooler);

 

Questions I'm personally asking are

 

Slash's missing 1987 '57 reissue with the serial 70854 that is my favourite distracting me through day dreaming guitar on this earth and my own Holy Grail if ever there was - that's an 1987 serial number, right?

 

I see newer reissues with an anniversary logo behind the selector switch with the letter R in their serial number - this question is, when did Gibson start doing that?

 

A follow up question to that is two questions... but ah heck, it may even turn into a story;

My Gibson R7 has as I've already said, has R7 stamped into the pots cavity - When did Gibson start doing this? & Would a reissue made in the 1980's under the then new Gibson ownership, was Slash's 1987 one of the first, and maybe the void of any R7 stamp? When did R# stamps start? and when did R in the serial number start? - was my 2005 lucky to be chosen to have a 1957 serial or did the R come later?

 

There's other questions I have too, like wood and stuff.

Like what wood's what exactly and what wood went extinct and when?

Also, is a 1960 like a 1959 just newer by months, or, is a 1960 something with a thinner neck profile than a 1959?

[pippy]

The story of the quest for the re-issue is long and complex - far too long to exhaust it here. It's hardly an exaggeration to say books have been written on the subject. Gibson themselves made a few efforts such as the KM and the Heritage Standard 80 and Heritage Standard 82 models. Various dealerships commissioned Gibson to make LPs closer to the '59 from circa 1982 including Jimmy Wallace, Guitar Trader, Leo's etc. and Gibson finally announced their own 'closest yet' reissue in 1983. Things were slightly vague until the Historic Division was set up in 1993.

 

From the following link there are two well-researched articles concerning these early attempts. Click on the 'Articles' subheading in the list over on the left hand side;

 

https://www.lespaulf...es/frameset.htm

 

For further reading I'd recommend Tony Bacon's book on the Les Paul.

 

As far as I know the stamped R7 (8, 9, 0) started with the HD reissues in '93 but don't quote me...

 

The R prefix on the rear of the peg head was used to identify 'regular' historics from the more expensive 'True Historics' starting in 2016.

 

In 1959 Gibson slimmed-down the neck profile of the Les Paul and it was further slimmed-down in 1960. Similarly, an R0 has a slimmer neck profile than an R9.

 

Pip.

[rct]

In the 90's it was just stupid. People weighing them on postal scales, then since it was becoming possible, posting pictures and videos of their weigh in's so people would believe how lightweight their R8 R9 R0 blah blah blah. A very common question back then in the usenet guitar places was "What's the Sweet Spot for a new R9?" 7.8lbs was the number most swore by. lolz

 

Gibson didn't help. Every year got more and more accurate, every year was a closer knockoff than last year. Every year anyone who ponied up a lot of money for last years had to get a little ticked off because oh my, this years R7s are much more 7 than last years R7s.

 

Then they spread the re-issues out, NOS, Historics, Custom Shop, all that. Within categories of re-issue were strata of ever "more accurate" re-issues.

 

By the late 2000s, I guess after the money burn that happened, it was all just noise about guitars north of 5 thousand dollars.

 

For me, it was a late 90's R8, Black Top, super light guitar, Sam Ash Exclusive. Supposed to be in one of the famous books about Les Pauls they mentioned this ultra rare Black Top back then. MAN I should have bought all of them that guitar was that good.

 

rct

[jdgm]

For me, it was a late 90's R8, Black Top, super light guitar, Sam Ash Exclusive. Supposed to be in one of the famous books about Les Pauls they mentioned this ultra rare Black Top back then. MAN I should have bought all of them that guitar was that good.

rct

 

...And you'd have just sold 'em all too! BAAHAHA! [lol]

 

Ohhh.....

 

Good posts, sounds like there are plenty of accurate-enough RIs out there.

Have a nice (supposedly '56 spec) LP Custom, would like an RI in my life.

[Rabs]

Are they the same? They're not the same (can't be) (must be different woods due to original woods going extinct making an R9 different than a 1959).

My one is a 2005 Gibson Les Paul '57 with a 1957 serial number and has R7 stamped into the pots cavity.

I bought mine because I grew up a Guns N' Roses fan and loved guitar and I knew before I knew who Gibson were, that Slash's pickups were why his guitar sounded so great. I was a lad starting in secondary school thinking about those pickups before I even knew who made them!

For all I knew as a boy, Slash's pickups could have came from the factory; and no guitar did I/do I want more than Slash's missing 1987 Gibson Les Paul '57 with a serial number that's 70854; I wonder if that's an 1987 serial number and it's guitar number 54? but, that's not a 1957 number is it? My 2005 is 75233 but came in the same finish which is rarer but cool IMO (much cooler);

 

Questions I'm personally asking are

 

Slash's missing 1987 '57 reissue with the serial 70854 that is my favourite distracting me through day dreaming guitar on this earth and my own Holy Grail if ever there was - that's an 1987 serial number, right?

 

Im not really an expert on Slash's guitars...

 

He has one missing? Are you talking about his AFD guitar?

[Big Bill]

In the 90's it was just stupid. People weighing them on postal scales, then since it was becoming possible, posting pictures and videos of their weigh in's so people would believe how lightweight their R8 R9 R0 blah blah blah. A very common question back then in the usenet guitar places was "What's the Sweet Spot for a new R9?" 7.8lbs was the number most swore by. lolz

 

Gibson didn't help. Every year got more and more accurate, every year was a closer knockoff than last year. Every year anyone who ponied up a lot of money for last years had to get a little ticked off because oh my, this years R7s are much more 7 than last years R7s.

 

Then they spread the re-issues out, NOS, Historics, Custom Shop, all that. Within categories of re-issue were strata of ever "more accurate" re-issues.

 

By the late 2000s, I guess after the money burn that happened, it was all just noise about guitars north of 5 thousand dollars.

 

For me, it was a late 90's R8, Black Top, super light guitar, Sam Ash Exclusive. Supposed to be in one of the famous books about Les Pauls they mentioned this ultra rare Black Top back then. MAN I should have bought all of them that guitar was that good.

 

rct

 

This is why I could never jump on the reissue bandwagon, if you didn't it get right the first time... They have done this with their pups too. The 57 classics are true replicas until the Burstbucker, then the Burstbucker II... Yada yada yada. With that being said. I do LOVE the 57 classics. I have them in my ES-339 and I put them in my LP Standard. I don't know how close to the real 57s PAFs they are, but I love their tone.

[LWAG]

Im not really an expert on Slash's guitars...

 

He has one missing? Are you talking about his AFD guitar?

No;

That AFD guitar's actually a copy/replica built by Kris Derrig and not Gibson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Derrig

 

It's this 1987 '57 Reissue that's missing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSZzZeNOrs4

[Rabs]

No;

That AFD guitar's actually a copy/replica built by Kris Derrig and not Gibson.

 

It's this 1987 '57 Reissue that's missing.

Ahh right.. I knew about the Derrig... I didn't know that other guitar went missing though...