'Scales Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Sadly I'm not the owner, but simply sharing for those who like the old and/or interesting stuff... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1953-Gibson-Les-Paul-Custom-/221697094780?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item339e2d347c same seller has a 1953 Fender Esquire for sale too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Hhhmmmm! May be a little bit too rare for my wallet and peace of mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 That is sweet... As much as id never pay that sort of cash for a guitar.. the P90s really sell it for me :) If I were to ever win the lottery or something and really had the cash spare, that's the sort of guitar id go for, or an original goldtop with P90s.. hmmmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Not bad. The knobs aren't original. The Fretboard's been changed out at some stage. And I'd say it's had a bigsby on it as well. The neck pup's a T-Top, don't see too many of them these days. Got to love that original wear on the back of the neck, it's been played hard. And from Manny's in NYC to Caloundra in SE Queensland, wow, it's done some touring too. $28KAUS is about $21KUS, no small change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy60 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 personally, my dream guitar is a mint (if one exists) 1960 les paul standard. i'd play it once and then put it in a closet and under a glass case to just leer at everyday. if i only had six-figures to burn.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Not bad. The knobs aren't original. The Fretboard's been changed out at some stage. And I'd say it's had a bigsby on it as well. The neck pup's a T-Top, don't see too many of them these days. Got to love that original wear on the back of the neck, it's been played hard. And from Manny's in NYC to Caloundra in SE Queensland, wow, it's done some touring too. $28KAUS is about $21KUS, no small change. By T-Top I think you mean the Alnico "Staple" pickup. T-Tops were a type of Gibson humbucker that had a "T" shaped tooling mark on the top of the bobbin. -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Yeah, that's what it looks like from the photo. Could be wrong, it's not the best photo's. They were hot Alnico V's weren't they? Something like that anyway. Or was that the other one that it used to get paired up with? Could be that. And I totaly agree with Chewie, a mint '60 Standard would be the ultimate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I agree on the fretboard change. The neck binding is too white and why no serial number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Nice! But, why pay such a money for an instrument, that won't be comfortable to play? With all that wear and checking on the back of the neck... I can't see any proof of the fretboard change, though. The white binding can be the result of scraping - that is often done together with the fret job -, or re-radiusing of the fretboard. Knobs are not original for sure. I'd rather buy a reissue. This one is for a display case. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 By T-Top I think you mean the Alnico "Staple" pickup. T-Tops were a type of Gibson humbucker that had a "T" shaped tooling mark on the top of the bobbin. -Ryan Yeah, that's what it looks like from the photo. Could be wrong, it's not the best photo's. They were hot Alnico V's weren't they? Something like that anyway. Or was that the other one that it used to get paired up with? Could be that. And I totaly agree with Chewie, a mint '60 Standard would be the ultimate. Yes AlNiCo-5 "Staple" pickup. Rather rare... I've been fawning about these for a bit now. I didn't realize they went back to '53. I knew they were '54-'56... All Mahogany body; no Maple, Ebony fretboard and an AlNiCo-2 P90 at the bridge on the originals... See my David Hidalgo thread for a better look... He's been playing one in recent years, but I'll assume it's a reissue and not an original... The've been reissued as 1954 and 1955 cusom historics, I'm not sure about 1956 versions but I think I've seen it reissued as a 1956 custom too... I'm not certain about all the periods they reissued them, but I do know about the late 1990's for sure... Possible once or twice since Y2K now, but it is available currently as a 1955 custom historic thru Gibson: 1955 Les Paul Custom Exclusives Also note that Sweetwater has an exclusive limited edition custom shop reissue of 25 guitars of these right now in 2015... Also see my David Hidalgo thread linked above. But for a cool $6,840.00 USD even the reissue is a bit steep for me, although I bet it's spectacular! The only thing I can't tell is if it's made as the originals; as a "Fretless Wonder." I suspect the original linked in this thread's original post must be, but the current Sweetwater limited edition exclusive appears to have contemporary normal frets, which is to my liking... I'll keep my eyes peeled for a late 1990's historic reissue. They're much more reasonably priced from the few I've seem come across on eBay... T-Tops were the PAF humbuckers after they got onto auto-winding machines (and likely after the patent was granted if my memory serves correct) when they were wound by time and not by the number of winds so there was still a unique flavor to them that could be a little different (much less than the hand-winding done previously) from pickup to pickup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Now These I have seen and played in person. Fantastic guitar. Far more interesting to me than any burst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Now These I have seen and played in person. Fantastic guitar. Far more interesting to me than any burst. Same here I reckon. Mind you, if i was to buy a burst reissue an R0 plain top would probably be the one so I agree on the desireablility of the 1960 model too. Didn't know about the staple pickups so that's interesting stuff too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Now These I have seen and played in person. Fantastic guitar. Far more interesting to me than any burst. These have piqued my curiosty very much for a little while now! I'm trying to work my way toward one of them. Rick Derringer was also playing one of the original Fretless Wonders in the early 1970's w/Johnny Winter... Was the one you played a Fretless Wonder? I hear folks say they're tough to play and don't take to bending well, but the guys I've seen play them don't seem to have any trouble... Rick Derringer didn't have an issue... I still suspect David Hidalgo's might be a reissue and have more contemporary/normal frets. He certainly didn't have any such issues... I really wanna get my hands on one and try one out for myself! They give me GAS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 ... Was the one you played a Fretless Wonder? I hear folks say they're tough to play and don't take to bending well, but the guys I've seen play them don't seem to have any trouble... ... Hello Jimi! Those are fantastic! Very comfortable. No issue with bends or such. The only thing that requires some attention in the beginning, that it really feels fretless. So, it's easy to miss a note. You have to watch Your fretting hand, until You get used to it. (That's why I don't even put strings on it :)) Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Here's the one I saw on eBay recently... 1997 Gibson Les Paul Custom 1954 Reissue VOS 54RI Ebony Black Far more reasonable @ $3,595 Buy It Now price... This one even appears to have an Ebony fretboard... If only I was in a position to make an offer... I really want one of these dearly... If my Line-6 rig had sold I might've even tried for it... But alas, it's just not in the cards at this moment... Hopefully there'll be more in such a reasonable price range... Some day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 couple of points on the 1953 guitar (again - I am not the seller - and if I owned it I wouldn't sell anyway ) MP - I'd reckon those knobs to be original - they are the black version of the gold speed knob used 53-55 on black guitars. They'd have moved to the ones like on Jimi Mac's pic in 55. Bigsby's were optional so maybe it started with one? lashurst - early ones of these never had serial numbers - they started inking them on in late '54. ...I didn't know all that, I just looked it all up out of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hello Jimi! Those are fantastic! Very comfortable. No issue with bends or such. The only thing that requires some attention in the beginning, that it really feels fretless. So, it's easy to miss a note. You have to watch Your fretting hand, until You get used to it. (That's why I don't even put strings on it :)) Cheers... Bence No Les Paul Fretless Wonders here, but three of my four SGs are made this way. My 1978 Standard's fretboard looks very much like that of your Les Paul Recording, block inlay sizes included. My 2013 Frank Zappa "Roxy" SGs have dot inlays, a rather slim binding and respectively tiny nibs. To be honest, I would prefer less binding width on all others of my bound Gibsons, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 As has been said by some that guitar appears to be 100% original. Correct about the inking although I HAVE seen a stamped '53 Custom on Gruhn's website. The only thing which doesn't square is the '60s style (I believe) case. At a shade over £14k it's also very VERY reasonably priced all things considered. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Interestingly enough one of the big draws on Reverb.com right now is Rick Nielsen; of Cheap Trick, has his own Reverb.com shop and he's selling numerous guitars and gear from his massive collection... One of the items he's currently selling is a set of original pickups off a '55 Les Paul Custom. (that has not appeared in any sale yet and makes me curious; maybe it was destroyed or something) This is a set of an original AlNiCo-2 P90 and an AlNiCo-5 "Staple" pickups off of exactly one of these guitars we're discussing in this thread... Although his current asking price of $1,900 + $20 shipping seems a touch steep to me... :blink: It makes the $141.59 price tag on a current/contemporary Gibson P90 and the $225 price tag on a Seymour Duncan specialized "Staple" replacement/reissue pickup seem not so outrageous... I will make a note that the current/contemporary Gibson P90 is of an AlNiCo-5 variety and not the original vintage spec AlNiCo-2... For AlNiCo-2 P90's you have to go aftermarket these days, and Gibson doesn't even seem to offer "Staple" pickups in their line even though they put them in reissues of the '53-'56 Custom and similar Custom Shop historic reissues and exclusives... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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