I am offering a Gibson Les Paul Custom Heritage Cherry Sunburst from 2013, a handcrafted at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee (USA), luxury version of the Les Paul with a solid mahogany body (including trad. weight relief), arched 2-piece maple top, set-in mahogany neck with long neck tenon and rounded neck profile, bound Richlite fingerboard with fat mother-of-pearl block inlays, two hot Gibson 490R / 498T humbucker pickups, high-quality Grover Rotomatics Keystone gold tuners and Gibson Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece in a brilliant heritage cherry sunburst nitrocellulose high-gloss finish with multi-ply white bindings, elegant gold hardware and black pickguard in mint condition, including brown Gibson CS luxury hardshell case, certificate (C.o.A.) and professional setup with 10-gauge Elixir strings.

In 1954, Gibson added an even more elegant version to the Les Paul Standard, which had been in production since 1952: the Les Paul Custom. Visually much more opulent than the comparatively simple Standard, it quickly earned the nickname “Black Beauty” due to its deep black finish. In the following decades, Gibson repeatedly produced different variations of the Les Paul Custom, including, finally, in 1973, a version in which the Gibson Les Paul Custom appeared in the Cherry Sunburst finish, which had previously been reserved exclusively for the Les Paul Standard.

This 2013 Les Paul Custom in Heritage Cherry Sunburst, originating from the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, reflects the beauty of the early 1970s models and refines them with a few contemporary details. The guitar is historically accurate with a mahogany body and a contoured two-piece maple top, as well as a deep-set mahogany neck with a long neck tenon for particularly efficient sound transmission. Unlike the 1970s original, however, this Custom Shop version has a weight-reduced body, giving it a very good weight of 4.43kg – sure, it's still not a lightweight, but it is certainly more manageable than the vintage originals and still offers the particularly creamy sustain, powerful punch, and great sonority that are typical of the early Custom models.

Plugged into an amp, the two Gibson 490R and 498T humbuckers deliver a powerful sound structure with complex, rich overtones and extremely dynamic sound characteristics. Great growl and clarity at the bridge, a balanced and detailed middle position, and a warm and full neck pickup ensure a lively and versatile sound – whether clean or in a high-gain context.

A sound sample of the model can be found above at the end of the photo gallery.

The rounded neck profile fits nicely in the hand and, together with the 42.9mm wide corian nut and 628mm scale length, results in extremely comfortable and smooth playability.

Technical specifications:

• Origin: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
• Year of manufacture: 2013
• Body: Mahogany with traditional weight relief
• Top: 2-piece arched maple top, solid
• Neck: Mahogany with long neck tenon, set-in
• Neck profile: Rounded
• Fingerboard: Richlite with mother-of-pearl block inlays, bound
• Fingerboard radius: 12"
• Frets: 22 medium
• Nut: 42.9mm, corian
• Headstock: Black face with custom mother-of-pearl logo inlay, 5-ply bound
• Pickups: 1x Gibson 490R humbucker (neck), 1x Gibson 498T humbucker (bridge)
• Electronics: 3-way switch, 2x volume & 2x tone controls
• Machine Tuners: Grover Rotomatics Keystone gold
• Bridge: Gibson Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece
• Hardware: Gold
• Body binding: White/black, 7-ply
• Pickguard: Black, 4-ply
• Finish: Heritage Cherry Sunburst High Gloss, Nitrocellulose
• Scale length: 628mm
• Weight: 4.43kg
• Serial no.: CS301242
• Includes brown Gibson CS luxury hardshell case, certificate, checklist
  
  

This Gibson Les Paul Custom is in mint condition, extremely well maintained, and technically flawless. Visually, if at all, it shows only occasionally fine wear (see pictures). The frets are in top condition.

The instrument has been professionally set up with 10-46 Elixir Optiweb strings, and I (a long-time guitar teacher) will ship it fully insured with DHL for €49.99 within Germany or €119.99 within the EU. Worldwide shipping is possible—individual shipping costs available upon request.

All pictures shown are of the actual instrument for sale.