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Identify This Les Paul


wrighty3693

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Help identifying this is greatly needed people. A friend of mine recently purchased this from her Grandads friend all he knows is that somewhere in the model spec it is a 1960's model. But my friends father seems to believe it's vintage. Any such help identifying it would be nice.

 

Wrighty 2012

HollyLesPaulBody.jpg

HollyLesPaulHeadstock.jpg

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Help identifying this is greatly needed people. A friend of mine recently purchased this from her Grandads friend all he knows is that somewhere in the model spec it is a 1960's model. But my friends father seems to believe it's vintage. Any such help identifying it would be nice.

 

 

Serial # would answer the question.

 

1960s isn't vintage???

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To me it does look rather old thanks to the finish being aged as you can clearly see. But the main thing is if it's worth a fair ammount of money then i'd rather my friend know this. As opposed to some misbehaving idiot stealing it. The serial number appears to be 5 digits possibly 6.

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To me it does look rather old thanks to the finish being aged as you can clearly see. But the main thing is if it's worth a fair ammount of money then i'd rather my friend know this. As opposed to some misbehaving idiot stealing it. The serial number appears to be 5 digits possibly 6.

 

You're missing the point. If you post a serial # we can look it up for you and answer the question. Or if you don't want to post it' date=' then do a google search for Gibson serial #s and look it up yourself. But you're not providing enough info to answer your question.

 

You really don't have a lot of options, it could be a 58 - 60 in which case it would be mega bucks. But it should be Cherry Sunburst or Cherry (very rare). Doesn't mean it wasn't refinished. But the tuners should be single ring, not double. But they could have been changed.

 

In 1961, SGs replaced the Les Paul, so the next Standards were available in 1968, but they were Gold Tops with P-90s. This could be a 1974 series, but I'm not certain they were available with a factory installed Bigsby. Also, a '74 should have Standard on the TRC. You can tell a 1970s because it will have a volute on the back of the headstock and a 3 piece neck like this:

 

[img']http://home.earthlink.net/~jkmcleer/Guitars/volute.jpg[/img]

 

Now let's get back to the 58 - 60 model. Look at the serial #, if it's engraved it's a later reissue. If it's ink, determine if it's 5 or 6 digits. If it's 8 1234 it's 1958. If it's 9 1234 it's 1959. If it's 601234 it's 1960. Got the pattern??? Now if it's ink and fit's that pattern, carefully pack it up and take it to an expert. And I don't mean a pimply faced teenager at your local guitar store, I mean someone who specializes in vintage guitars. The best you can find, even if you have to travel hours to get there and cost you some scratch. Now before you get too excited, there are a lot of LPs out there that have been modified to look like the 59s, that's why you need a real expert. Good luck

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That explains a lot. Thanks Fantana.

 

Wrighty 2012 - You didn't trust us??? The only way I would consider buying it is if the seller agrees to an escrow sale, funds only to be release after an expert chosen by you authenticates the guitar & appraise it. I have some doubts, but it might be an early 1960. It's hard to tell from a picture, but the serial # looks pressed into the wood, not inked. But it looks like the first number is a 0. Also, they did start using double ring Klusons in 1960. Plus they did switch to reflector cap knobs in 1960 as well.

 

1960lpaul%20009.jpg

 

The seller even alludes to the fact that some are not all original 1950s parts, that alone should set off some bells & whistles. He even calls it a 1956 CONVERSION. If it were a 1956 as he speculates, wouldn't it have P-90s??? Have a gold top??? Serial # begin with a 6???

 

What I do like about it is that often the sunburst would fade (around mid 1960 they change to a different red that resisted fading), and you can see cherry under the pickup rings.

 

1960lpaul%20014.jpg

 

I'm not expert enough to say one way or the other, and even if I were, I wouldn't do it from photos. You need someone to examine it before paying that much money.

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