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.
Volute
Appearing in 1960 next to the top of the line J-200, the Gibson Hummingbird was Gibson’s first square-shoulder – Martin style – dreadnought guitar.
This instrument has sold
MORE →The Gibson SG Standard appeared, named as such, in 1963 though it had been available for two years as the radically redesigned Les Paul Standard. It has remained in production since then, with a number of variations- some subtle, others less so.Here we’re looking at a nice Gibson SG Standard built during 1977, likely at the Nashville Tennessee plant. This was during the Norlin era, and the back of the head features a ‘Volute’ typical of that time, added to help increase head strength.
This instrument has sold
MORE →The Gibson ES-335TD was an immediate hit at its 1958 introduction as a thinline, two pickup, double cutaway archtop electric. It addressed many of the needs professional guitarists had dealing with ever-increasing stage volumes while retaining the classic archtop tone profile. Over the years, the specs have changed somewhat, but the model has remained in constant production and has been seen and heard on countless stages and studios.
This instrument has sold
MORE →