Gibson 1980 Les Paul Artist with Factory Moog Circuitry in Antique Sunburst

The Les Paul Artist was a short lived guitar, running from 1979 until 1981 with under 500 made during the three year period. The addition of complex Moog circuitry make for a slightly mad scientist vibe and back in the late 70’s it’s not hard to see why this was simply too much guitar for most people. It’s capable of some magnificent tones and is perhaps one of the best guitars for studio use that we can think off. The vintage circuitry is far from a gimmick, and with a small amount of fiddling we were all wowed by the sounds that were coming out of this thing. It would take an incredibly well considered and complex pedal array to achieve something similar with external effects. 

The three mini-toggle switches are for compression, expansion, and brightness. The tone controls are active, with a notch in the midway ("0") position. With the tone controls at this mid-point, the sound of the Artist is close to a traditional Les Paul tone. The tone controls below this mid position (selections numbered 1-5) or above mid position (also numbered 1-5) actively "cut" or "boost" the tone, respectively. The active circuitry is enabled (and battery drain occurs) when a cord is plugged into the guitar's phone jack. Trial and error is your friend when getting to grips with the Artist; none of the written descriptions made a whole lot of sense to us, but when you actually start flicking the switches and dialling the pots in you really get a sense of what this guitar is capable of.

Circuitry aside, this was a premium model with all the bells and whistles thrown in. You get the brass ‘Sustain Sisters’, a TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece, African ebony fretboard with MoP block markers, a brass bridge, two piece maple top and a beautiful headstock inlay. The one-piece mahogany back features a comfort carve and looks extremely elegant against the 5 piece walnut and maple neck. The antique Sunburst finish is beautifully executed and a lot less garish than the Fireburst alternative. Retail price for this model was $1300 in 1979 vs $1099 for an Artisan and $949 for a Custom.

How it Sounds

The brass Sustain Sisters which house the Nashville bridge were a short-lived invention, but there’s no denying that this is one of the most acoustically loud solid body guitars we’ve ever played. It almost sounds piano like and has an unplugged clarity like no other guitar. Plugged in we would need hours to talk about this thing, but suffice to say that it’s the most fun we’ve had playing a Les Paul for quite some time… and isn’t that really what it’s all about?

Whats Included

Original hardcase 

Condition Grade

See how we grade our guitars

B+

Condition Report 

This Artist is in exceptional overall condition. The Moog electronics all work perfectly with no crackle or hiss. The guitar body has some buckle worming on the back (photographed) but is otherwise almost blemish free. There are one or two minor impressions in the top but all are incredibly small. The neck is mark free and the gold hardwear has medium levels of tarnish. The original frets show little to no wear. Pickups are original and were unique to this model. The only non-original modification are the locking strap buttons.

Specifications

Brand: Gibson 
Model: Les Paul Artist
Year: 1980
Finish Colour: Antique Sunburst
Top Wood: Rock Maple – Two Piece
Back & Sides: Quartersawn Honduran mahogany (one piece)
Neck Wood: Maple/Walnut 5-Piece
Scale Length: 24 ¾” 
Neck Shape: Mid C Profile
Fingerboard Inlays: MoP
Fretboard: Ebony
Tuners: Schaller Gibson Branded
Bass Pickup: Gibson Tarback unique 
Middle Pickup: -
Treble Pickup: Gibson Tarback unique
Pickup Switching: Active Moog Electronics