Burny / Fernandes Japan ca. 1985 Les Paul Custom Cream / White RLC-60 / LC-70RR Solidbody Electric

Gorgeous circa 1985 Burny / Fernandes Japan Les Paul Custom style guitar. This is the epitome of a famed 'lawsuit' copy, with a seriously accurate representation of the Gibson Les Paul Custom as it was when this high-quality Japanese guitar was made.  

First: the guitar. Burny, so it has the Gibson-style open book headstock, fret-edge binding, and other high end attention to detail that has me sold on them. This appears to be all original, 
except maybe the knobs and pickup selector switch plate [though I think those are too -- see below].

It's an awesome fatass Cadillac of a LPaul; perfectly creamed out white finish, thick 50s style neck, maple top, mahogany body, rosewood fretboard. The pickups depending on model would be the OG MIJ VH4 or U1000 PAF clone pickups, rest assured they sound thick and creamy, just like this guitar. It's a full, solid LP at about 10.5-11 lbs.

One quick note is that the guitar has been restored to original configuration -- in the pictures, it shows Schaller straplocks and an aluminum tailpiece, but these have been restored to the original strap buttons and tailpiece [those look about the same as they are just the original vintage gold hardware pieces]. 

Asking $800 plus shipping. Local NYC buyers can pickup in Manhattan. 

To make a long story short, I had owned an 83 Gibson LPC, looked exactly like this, with a great fat neck and Shaw pickups. It sounded so round and sweet, but I had to sell it to keep afloat. I bought this many years ago, and though they have their subtleties, this Burny  replaced that Gibson in my mind. When people say a guitar has 'mojo,' this is what they mean.

The body hasn't gained much wear since I've owned it, but as the original seller notes below, it does have its fair share of cosmetic flaws. No cracks, breaks, or repairs. It's a player's guitar, but a really solid one with plenty of life left. I've had it professionally set up in the past and have been able to adjust it myself without issue, it's structurally sound and actually, it's a tank. Please look at the pictures to make note of the several blemishes, but also note this is a legit vintage Les Paul. It plays and sounds like butter. That said, you should set the guitar up to your preference upon receipt. 

The guitar looks to be all original as mentioned by the USA eBay seller I purchased it from in mid-2011. That guy purchased it used from a Japanese seller and imported it to the States. 

Here's the original description from his eBay listing:

"This description was provided to me by the Japanese seller when I bought it, nothing has changed. You can buy this one and save the expensive overseas shipping.

The color of this guitar was more "white" some years ago and has turned darker that makes it look more "vintage". The neck has a very round feel, not slim. Features "fret-edge" binding that normally can be found in high-end Japanese copies (Tokai LS-320 is one good example). The tone can be so sweet or just plain bites when you shift to the bridge pickups. Frets are in good condition, neck straight and comfortable to play. Body is kind of beat up but works and plays good.
* Long Neck Tenon
*Maple top/ Mahogany back
*Fretboard: Rosewood
*PAF Version pickups
*Weight 5 kilos
*Body has some dings and scratches but nothing to effect tone or playing
*Comes with a very nice thick padded gig bag (shown in pictures)
*Made in Japan for the Japanese market"

Some other notes I made are below. I have been collecting these for awhile and this is one from the vaults, so just some detail...

As a lawsuit-era Burny, it has no serial number, but some clues tell the rough vintage:
- Split diamond headstock inlay, just like a Gibson Custom. These were only on the earlier examples and were changed around 1987 or so due to Gibson scrutiny. Only seen on models until 87, 88 or so.
- Potentially an LC-70RR, or the Randy Rhoads Les Paul Custom tribute model. When the above headstock inlay was being used, the only white Les Paul models were supposedly these RR models.
- Could be Terada, Matsumoko, or Dyna-Gakki made.  
- Otherwise an early example of a white RLC-60 [LP Custom] model but before they had to remove the Gibson-correct split-diamond inlay. Again, in this earlier stage, all the white LP Custom models were RR models, but this particular guitar has the same knobs and switchplate as the RLC-60. Greco also made Randy Rhoads tribute model white LPC models at this time. 
- It is not a refinish, which can be seen in the pics, which puts it in the RR model range.