This Gibson Les Paul Custom 20th Anniversary edition in White was built in 1974 to commemorate the 1954 launch of the ‘upmarket’ Les Paul Custom. Following the 1952 introduction of the original gold-top Les Paul model, Gibson added two new versions for 1954 – the top-end Custom and entry-level Junior – with the Special appearing in 1955.
Norlin
Here’s another rarity – the Gibson ES-150D, a double cutaway, full depth hollow body electric archtop built as late as 1974 at the unionized Kalamazoo plant during the Norlin years. Drawing inspiration from the venerable ES-150 model – introduced in 1936 with the ‘Charlie Christian’ pickup and built until 1956 – the Gibson ES-150D is unusual.
Introduced in 1955 as an intermediate model, the two-pickup, single cutaway Gibson Les Paul Special’s main difference from the GoldTop Les Paul was the lack of a carved Maple top. This model followed the entry level, single P-90 pickup Les Paul Junior that appeared in 1954. Both models used ‘slab’ Mahogany bodies, Mahogany necks and Rosewood fingerboards – at the time, Brazilian Rosewood.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Here we’re looking at a very nice 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom in Cherry Burst, with almost all its original components and case. The variation from original is the addition of a set of Gold-plated Schaller Straplocks, with the strap attachments mounted on the included leather strap. This guitar dates to February 07 1979 and was built at the historic Parsons Street plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Les Paul Custom was introduced in 1954, along with the flat-top ‘budget’ Les Paul Junior; the Les Paul Special appeared in 1955, and the Standard in 1958.
This instrument has sold
MORE →The highly innovative Gibson ES335TD was an immediate hit when it was introduced in 1958, blending the resonance, attack and decay of an archtop with the sustain and feedback resistance of a solidbody. This feedback resistance was becoming extremely important both to guitarists and guitar designers as amplifiers became ever more powerful and stage volumes rose. These new models – the ES-335, ES-345 and ES-355 – also sported the new, Seth Lover designed Humbucking pickup.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Built from 1971 to 1979, the Gibson Les Paul Recording model sported the features most desired by Les Paul himself, but unfortunately this did not translate into sales success. Still, even this low selling model was copied by Japanese builders during the ‘Lawsuit Era’. Constructed during the Norlin years with strong references to the original Les Paul Custom models, the Gibson Les Paul Recording model featured a Mahogany body with carved Mahogany top – unlike the Gold Top and Standard models, which had Maple caps on a Mahogany slab. At this point, Gibson was using what’s come to be called ‘Pancake’ bodies, with at least two narrower layers of Mahogany.
This instrument has sold
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