The Guitar

This is the Les Paul that Les Paul actually wanted.

By the late '60s the man himself had been using low impedance pickups in his own recording rig for years, and he thought the high impedance guitars carrying his name were the wrong tool. Gibson let him build it his way, and the result was the low impedance series: the Personal, the Professional, and later the Recording. The Professional is the middle one and, to a lot of people, the best balance of the three.

What makes it different is not styling, it is the electronics. Two low impedance humbuckers in angled oblong housings with Gibson embossed covers, feeding a control set that has more in common with a studio channel strip than a guitar. You get volume, a Decade control, separate treble and bass controls, a three-way pickup selector, a second three-way for tone selection, and a phase switch. That is a genuinely enormous range of sounds, and the low impedance design gives you a clarity and a frequency response that a standard Les Paul cannot produce. Clean, detailed, and startlingly quiet.

The guitar itself is built properly. Solid mahogany single cutaway with a bound top, slightly larger than a standard Les Paul, a three-piece mahogany set neck with a volute joining the body at the 16th fret, a bound rosewood board with pearloid trapezoid inlays, 22 frets, 24.75" scale, and chrome hardware. Walnut was the finish for this model, and it suits the thing.

These were only built from 1969 to 1973 and they have spent fifty years being the Les Paul nobody talks about, which is exactly why they remain one of the better values in vintage Gibson.

Condition: Honest & Detailed

We'd grade this good. It has been played a great deal and it shows it, all of it documented in the photos.

There are lots of dings and dents throughout the entire guitar, finish wear on the back, and a good size ding to the headstock. The finish on the neck is excellent.

Neck is perfectly straight, and the frets are in very good shape.

Additional photos are always available on request, and we're happy to answer any question before you buy.

Originality & Modifications: Full Disclosure

The original knobs have been replaced and the guitar does not include its original pickguard.

The pickups, the electronics and the control set are what they should be and function as designed.

The Case

The guitar comes with an aftermarket hardshell case.

Who Is This For?

This is for the player who records, or for anyone curious about what Les Paul himself thought a Les Paul should be. The low impedance circuit is not a gimmick, it is a genuinely different and genuinely useful instrument, and it gives you tones a Standard cannot reach. The neck on this one is straight with good frets, which is what matters most on a fifty-plus year old guitar.

Priced to reflect the body wear, the replaced knobs and the missing pickguard, not the rarity of the model.

Additional photos available on request, just send a message.

Specifications

∙ Year: 1972

∙ Model: Gibson Les Paul Professional

∙ Serial Number: 371703

∙ Country of Origin: USA

∙ Finish: Walnut

∙ Body: Solid mahogany, single cutaway, bound top

∙ Neck: Three-piece mahogany, set neck, volute, joins the body at the 16th fret

∙ Neck Profile: Rounded C

∙ Fingerboard: Bound rosewood, pearloid trapezoid inlays

∙ Frets: 22

∙ Nut Width: 1 11/16"

∙ Scale Length: 24.75"

∙ Pickups: Two angled oblong low impedance humbuckers with Gibson embossed covers

∙ Electronics: Volume, Decade, treble and bass controls; three-way pickup selector; three-way tone selector; phase switch

∙ Hardware Finish: Chrome

∙ Production Run: Les Paul Professional built 1969 to 1973

∙ Modifications: Original knobs replaced; original pickguard not included

∙ Required Accessory: An impedance matching transformer (inline cable or outboard box) is needed to play this guitar through a standard amplifier at normal volume

∙ Cosmetic Notes: Lots of dings and dents throughout; finish wear on the back; neck finish excellent; neck perfectly straight; frets in very good shape

∙ Case: Hardshell case included, not factory original

Shipping

Local pickup in Snohomish, Washington is always welcome. All instruments shipped by KanaLei Guitars are shipped using Reverb's Safe Shipping option, so your purchase is protected from the moment it leaves our hands to the moment it arrives at yours.