Gibson L6S Midnight Special — 1975 — Burgundy Sparkle

The L6S was Gibson's most ambitious attempt at a modern solidbody electric in the early 1970s — designed by Bill Lawrence with a brief to create the widest possible tonal range from a straightforward instrument. The full-fat L6S Custom, with its one-piece maple body and six-position rotary switching, drew high-profile endorsers including Carlos Santana, Al Di Meola, and Keith Richards. The Midnight Special was the bolt-on sibling: a more affordable variant introduced in 1974 with an alder body and simplified controls, never listed in Gibson's official catalogue or price lists.

The Paul Stanley connection is well documented. Gibson signed KISS as a sponsored act in late 1974 through Casablanca Records, providing Paul with Midnight Specials in exchange for prominent use on stage and in print. Stanley played them consistently through 1975, making the model one of the more visually recognisable guitars of that era's hard rock scene.

The standard Midnight Special came in Natural Maple, Wine Red, and Ebony. The sparkle custom colour variants are a different matter entirely — research indicates Gibson shipped approximately 30 custom colour sparkle models in 1975, with only a handful more over the remaining years of production. Burgundy Sparkle is among the most elusive of those finishes. This example shows characteristic sun fade on the front — more exposure than the back received over the decades — which only reinforces the originality of the finish. The guitar appears otherwise original throughout, with the exception of a replacement set of Gibson Deluxe tuners.

Specifications

• Serial: 964601
• Body: Alder, Burgundy Sparkle finish
• Neck: Maple, bolt-on, 3-piece
• Fingerboard: Maple
• Frets: 24
• Scale length: 24.75"
• Pickups: 2x Bill Lawrence "Tarback" humbuckers
• Controls: Master volume, mid-range roll-off, treble roll-off
• Switching: 3-position selector
• Bridge: Schaller "Harmonica" bridge, string-through body
• Tuners: Gibson Deluxe (replaced)
• Year: 1975
• Made in USA