rosetree Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I figure if somebody can tell me more about my guitar, it would be someone in this forum. A number of years ago I bought my Gibson Les Paul Classic in a local used guitar shop (now closed). It was one of the only LPs they had that I could afford. I haven't played it much but I opened the case the other day and started reading bout this particular model. Some questions. The serial number is 1 3074 There is a space between the 1 and the other four numbers. Does the serial number mean 1991 or 2001? I searched it and it said it could be either but i keep reading that 01 means 2001 and this means 1991. question 2 I see that Les Paul Classics generally come with uncovered pickups. Does this automatically mean the previous owner changed out the pickups or did some come from the factory like this. I could take it to a tech to check out -- and I likely will some day but I thought I'd ask here first. Thanks in advance to anyone who has answers for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 1 3074 would definitely indicate a 1991 and yes; as you have previously noted a 2001 would start with 01. Pickups were always uncovered but some players (myself included) simply put aftermarket covers on for a more traditional appearance. Whether the ones fitted are the originals is impossible to tell from that snap but the originals would have been the very hot 496 / 500 ceramic pairing. Have a look at the solder in the potentiometer cavity. If the wiring to the pots/caps looks untouched then the p'ups might well be the originals which have been covered. If the solder joints look to be post-factory then they might well have been swapped-in/out (the ceramics were not to everyones' tastes). Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosetree Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Excellent reply. Thanks for the information. 1 3074 would definitely indicate a 1991 and yes; as you have previously noted a 2001 would start with 01. Pickups were always uncovered but some players (myself included) simply put aftermarket covers on for a more traditional appearance. Whether the ones fitted are the originals is impossible to tell from that snap but the originals would have been the very hot 496 / 500 ceramic pairing. Have a look at the solder in the potentiometer cavity. If the wiring to the pots/caps looks untouched then the p'ups might well be the originals which have been covered. If the solder joints look to be post-factory then they might well have been swapped-in/out (the ceramics were not to everyones' tastes). Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Happy to help. A little bit of the early history of the '1960 Classic' just in case you have not yet read it anywhere and might be interested... The early '1960 Classic' (1989 - circa 1995) examples are slightly more sought-after than the ones which came after this date. When the 1960 Classic was introduced the Historic Division's (later Custom Shop) 'proper' re-issue instruments were still some years off production (these were finally introduced in 1993). There were some instruments made by Gibson which more closely resembled the original '58 - '60 Sunburst Standards and these are now referred to as 'Pre-Historics' and were almost double the price of the LP Standard of the day. The '1960 Classic' had many features of the Pre-Historics and were priced roughly half-way between the Standard and these Top-of-the-Range offerings. Once the Re-Issues became available, however, it was noted that many players who might be in the market for a Re-Issue were buying the less-expensive 1960 Classic so, starting in around '95, some of the Historically-accurate details were abandoned to put some free-space between the two models in the range. The 1960 Classic was to go through quite a few of these detail changes over the next decade. Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosetree Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 Very cool. Many thanks. Happy to help. A little bit of the early history of the '1960 Classic' just in case you have not yet read it anywhere and might be interested... The early '1960 Classic' (1989 - circa 1995) examples are slightly more sought-after than the ones which came after this date. When the 1960 Classic was introduced the Historic Division's (later Custom Shop) 'proper' re-issue instruments were still some years off production (these were finally introduced in 1993). There were some instruments made by Gibson which more closely resembled the original '58 - '60 Sunburst Standards and these are now referred to as 'Pre-Historics' and were almost double the price of the LP Standard of the day. The '1960 Classic' had many features of the Pre-Historics and were priced roughly half-way between the Standard and these Top-of-the-Range offerings. Once the Re-Issues became available, however, it was noted that many players who might be in the market for a Re-Issue were buying the less-expensive 1960 Classic so, starting in around '95, some of the Historically-accurate details were abandoned to put some free-space between the two models in the range. The 1960 Classic was to go through quite a few of these detail changes over the next decade. Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosetree Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Update --- here's a shot of the pickup. Not a PAF --- One with the patent number. Begging the question, did somebody swap out pickups with vintage ones that predate the guitar or just one set up 90s Gibson pickups with a different set. Still a bit confused about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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