CH Smith Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Wikipedia's entry for Les Paul guitars includes this line in the LP Deluxe section: "Until the end of the year 1974, 90% of the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe manufactured were Gold Top." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Les_Paul I've never seen this ratio of Gold Top to Sunburst -- can anyone confirm this? Elsewhere on the forum it's reported that 10,482 Deluxes were made in 1973. (I've got a '73 Sunburst) If this ratio is close to correct, then there's about 9,000 Gold Tops and 1,000 Sunbursts in '73. Given the number of Sunbursts around, it's hard to believe this ratio. Any answer much appreciated! CH Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 I'm not sure where that number is coming from. The Gibson Shipment Totals: 1937-1979 book by Larry Meiners lists 4,880 Les Paul Deluxe in Goldtop finish and 4,529 Les Paul Deluxe in Cherry Sunburst shipped in 1973. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH Smith Posted October 18, 2021 Author Share Posted October 18, 2021 Hi Tvguit, thank you very much for the reply. I can't find a copy of that book anywhere, no used copies on eBay or elsewhere. CH Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 18 hours ago, CH Smith said: Hi Tvguit, thank you very much for the reply. I can't find a copy of that book anywhere, no used copies on eBay or elsewhere. CH Smith You're welcome! Yes, it's been out of print for a while and copies are rarely listed for sale online. It isn't 100% reliable but I think helpful for situations like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH Smith Posted October 20, 2021 Author Share Posted October 20, 2021 It's very helpful, thank you! I've scoured the web and found only incomplete numbers for random years and models, Next time you open the guide, I would really appreciate any numbers listed for 1964 SGs and 1970 ES-335s... I haven't been able to track down anything for those models / years. Thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge. CH Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted October 20, 2021 Share Posted October 20, 2021 11 hours ago, CH Smith said: It's very helpful, thank you! I've scoured the web and found only incomplete numbers for random years and models, Next time you open the guide, I would really appreciate any numbers listed for 1964 SGs and 1970 ES-335s... I haven't been able to track down anything for those models / years. Thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge. CH Smith You're welcome! Which SG model and which color ES-335 are you looking for? The book lists 1,375 SG Standards shipped in 1964 and 582 ES-335 Sunburst shipped in 1974. There's also a listing for Cherry and Walnut. I made a quick reference guide for people looking for help dating a Gibson SG: How to date a Gibson SG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH Smith Posted October 20, 2021 Author Share Posted October 20, 2021 18 minutes ago, tvguit said: You're welcome! Which SG model and which color ES-335 are you looking for? The book lists 1,375 SG Standards shipped in 1964 and 582 ES-335 Sunburst shipped in 1974. There's also a listing for Cherry and Walnut. I made a quick reference guide for people looking for help dating a Gibson SG: How to date a Gibson SG. It's very helpful, thank you! I've scoured the web and found only incomplete numbers for random years and models, Next time you open the guide, I would really appreciate any numbers listed for 1964 SGs and 1970 ES-335s... I haven't been able to track down anything for those models / years. Thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge. CH Smith Your site is incredible, a real treasure trove --thank you for posting the URL. Thanks to your page on SGs, I can confirm the SG is a '64. The ES-335 is a sunburst with an orange label serial # 965128, the orange label leads me to believe it dates to early 1970. I have to say I've enjoyed your blog and I've barely started. You da man! Thank you once again--CH Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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