The Les Paul™ Custom was first introduced in 1953 as an upscale version of the Les Paul model. The model was requested by Les Paul himself, who wanted a black version of the Les Paul guitar that “looked like a tuxedo.” In 1961, the single cutaway Les Paul Custom was discontinued in favor of a new double-cutaway model that would later become known as the SG™ Custom, and the original single cutaway model was reintroduced in 1968. During the 1970s, production of the Les Paul Custom transitioned from Kalamazoo to Nashville, and the Les Paul Custom received various changes that further refined the model, including a multi-piece maple top that replaced the original all-mahogany-body construction along with a new maple neck.
Today, these 70s-era Les Paul Customs are some of the fastest-appreciating guitars on the vintage market. Now, after 20 years of offering the Les Paul Custom only through Gibson Custom, Gibson is proud to release the Les Paul Custom 70s. It features classic 1970s specs, including a mahogany body with a three-piece maple top. The body is bound with 5-ply top binding and 3-ply back binding. The maple neck has a 70s profile and a volute and is topped with a bound ebony fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and mother-of-pearl block inlays. The bound headstock is also adorned with mother-of-pearl in the form of the famous Custom Split Diamond mother-of-pearl headstock inlay, which originated with the Gibson Super 400 and has become synonymous with the Les Paul Custom.
The Les Paul Custom 70s features gold hardware, including an aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge, an aluminum Stop Bar tailpiece, and smooth-turning Grover® Rotomatic® with Keystone button tuners for reliable tuning stability. Even the smallest details have been recreated, including Posi-Lok™ strap locks, a 5-ply pickguard, and 70s-era-approved Witch Hat control knobs. The electronics are also era-appropriate, with a pair of Calibrated T-Type humbuckers™ with individual volume and tone controls that are hand-wired to Orange Drop® capacitors. The Les Paul Custom 70s is available in four gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, including Ebony, Tobacco Burst, Wine Red, and even a version with a beautiful Buttercream Top, and each comes packed in a hardshell case for protection when it’s in storage and traveling. The wait is over–The Les Paul Custom has returned to the Gibson USA lineup and is ready to rock your world!
All instruments from Music Makers are professionally evaluated and set-up in our historic Galesburg, IL. storefront prior to shipping.
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