I've rarely played this stunning guitar and the 1996 '57 reissue is as I understand, much sought after as Gibson didn't make many of these in the mid 90s and the ones they did were excellent. Here is the full accurate spec from Gibson based on it SN and photos.

"Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty 1957 reissue, in ebony, with gold hardware, from 1996, made at the custom shop.

In that year we did not issue any certificates yet, so that is correct then

The specs below are from 1998 (from 1996 we don’t have), but they should be the same normally.

1998 Specs:

-solid mahogany body and carved mahogany top

- white-black binding on top and bottom of the body

-mahogany neck

-ebony fingerboard

-deluxe pearl inlays

-gold-plated hardware

-ebony finish

-Double combination ABR-1 bridge and stopbar tailpiece

-Two ’57 classic PAF reissue humbucking pickups

-Each pickup has separate tone and volume controls

-Three position toggle switch activates either or both pickups

-Tone can be preset to any desired quality

-No dead noted,, just clear sustaining tone in all positions

-No buildup of synthetic tone or feedback

-Gibson’s adjustable truss rod neck construction

-22 fret fingerboard

-Body size: length 17 ¼ “; width 12 ¾”; scale length 24 ¾ “

-Case for above instrument-163 Faultless

The guitar was professionally set up for the lowest action possible by Dave Dearnaley who is now an esteemed luthier and you are welcome to try the guitar out.

This sale will be cash on collection only.