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What do I have here? Unusual 'Les Paul'?


mberichon

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I wanted to post an update for all, as I know these forums are all about information...

 

UPDATE:

I emailed detailed pics to Gibson and they have confirmed it 'appears authentic', which is as far as they will go. they also confirmed that they freqently see the finish peel I have in the headstock around the logo, due o temperature variations and due to the logo lying slightly below the level of the headstock.

 

So it is what it is an I end up with a gem of a 93 Les Paul 1-piece carved mahogany P90 blues axe. Lucky me.

 

I enjoyed this investigation, hope there is useful info in the thread for others to use...:(/

 

I just got off the phone with Gibson and I am feeling pretty good about this guitar.

 

1) From the serial number, they described the guitar exactly and gave me some additional information I didn;t know... shipped in 1993, viceroy color, 1 piece solid carved mahogany body and neck, P90's, nickle hardware. Short run guitar from the Custom shop

 

2) I will be sending them over close up pics of the logo for evaluation. They said that they have seen many guitars where the logo is inlaid just a bit under the op level of the veneer on the peghead, which causes the finish to peel a little bit and give it a bleeding look. Likely what I am seeing here. I am also going to send them pics of the rest of the guitar so they can finish authenticating it. Nice people. the guy I talked to was excited as he hadn;t seen one of these.

 

I am excited again. It's in pristine condition... I'll post another update when I hear back from Gibson

 

First of all, I am new out here, as I have taken the big drink of Gibson Kool-aide. Former strat player (I have great strats). My strats are cased away and out and being played in my studio are: 1987 Wine Les Paul standard 'Wyno', 1988 Es-335 Dot 'Alberta', 1993 ES-135 w/ Fralin P90's 'Terri'. And a new addition...what do I have here?

 

See what we are doing here: www/myspace.com/bluesforacure I am 'Bear' and easy to find in the pics. I am the big fat old guy holding the autographed strat we auctioned off.

 

Anyway...

 

serial number is "3 5nnn"

 

That matches the serial number structure of a reissue model, but '3' is not a reissue year.

 

It is a solid (appears) 1 piece (appears) carved top mahogany body. No cap of any sort, all mahogany. The truss rod cover read 'Limted Edition' on line 1 and "110 of 200" on line 2.

 

Also, it is a burnt reddish color with a brown hue. Cream aged binding on body and neck. Neck is trim and 1-piece (appears) mahogany with a real gorgeous grain rosewood (dark wood) board.

 

Cream covered P90's

 

My big concern is that the ride side of the 'n' in the headstock paint amd/or decal has a major run in the silver/goldish decal color. If you blow up the pic I attached and look at the right side of the 'n', it's pretty prominent.

 

It plays fantastic, sounds even better. Blues machine. But i don;t know what it is and I am concened becasue of the headstock Gibson logo.

 

Any ideas? Thanx for reading this, and thanx in advance for any information you may have. Best Mike 'Bear'

 

More pics...

 

revhigh-albums-spring-09-picture20583-lphs.jpg

revhigh-albums-spring-09-picture20699-mlpfullfront.jpg

revhigh-albums-spring-09-picture20700-mlpclosefront.jpg

revhigh-albums-spring-09-picture20585-lp3.jpg

revhigh-albums-spring-09-picture20701-mlppup.jpg

revhigh-albums-spring-09-picture20587-lp4.jpg

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My best guess is that it was some sort of 'Guitar of the Month' thing that Gibson is fond of doing. They usually number between 150 and 400 hundred units. The only problem with that is, as far as I'm aware, they don't normally have the edition number on the TRC.

 

Another scenario is that it was a special-order run for one of the major dealerships so they could offer a 'Special Edition' model unique to their outlets. This has happened quite a few times over the years.

 

Spec-wise it's the same as a 1956-style Standard (and therefore would normally be a Gold-Top) so that doesn' tie-in with the serial number any way you read it.

 

I'm sure someone will be able to get it right, though....

 

I'm curious to see how this turns out!

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I am real curious to see how this turns out as well. I have not seen this kind of bleeding in a logo before. But, it is a very cool Paul, gorgeous mahogany carved top and the P90's with the mahogany....please give me da blues

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You should check out steveyp's thread "LP Custom - is this agenuine guitar?"

 

That's an example of a limited run model such as I mentioned in my previous post.

 

Check to see if yours was one of the special editions.

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I checked in that thread and didn;t see anything, but it's a long thread and I'll check again.

 

Per that thread: it doesn have: wings on the headstock, Gibson stamped tuners, proper bridge and saddle. Aslo has the bidning on the fretboard covering the sides of the frets. I am going ot open up the back covers and look at the electronics. The covers still have plastic on them. Thanx, I'll keepo looking. I just played it for an hour or so, killer ringing warm tones...

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