Very rare 1970 Gibson Les Paul Custom in Alpine White, naturally aged to the “Nicotine Yellow”. This is a vintage “player’s guitar” with chips, cracks, blemishes, and buckle rash, all of which does not affect its playability or its incredible tone. I have had it since 1980, and I knew the original owner that purchased it new in 1970. He removed the pickup covers and had the brass nut installed.

It has the original frets. They are low and flat as per “the Fretless Wonder” era. I have never had any fret work done to it. It does have fret wear and some grooves in the typical areas. It has really low action and plays very nicely.

Included are the original pickup covers, original bridge with posts, and original hardshell case.

What is not original are the tuners (it now has Grovers), strap buttons, and pickups. It currently has DiMarzio Steve Morse signature pickups that were installed sometime around 1990.

What I’m not sure of are the pots and wiring as I did not do my own electronics work in my younger days. I believe the 3-way switch is original, as I do not recall ever replacing it.

It did have a neck repair. Shortly after I got it in 1980, it was knocked over while sitting in a stand. It cracked up by the headstock (volute) on the back of the neck. The crack was not bad or deep, but it did crack the paint and make it sharp and jagged. It was repaired by a certified Gibson repair shop. You can now notice the repainted area as it did not age exactly the same as the body. It was unnoticeable at the time of the repair. The extra paint did make the serial number hard to read. Weight: 9 lbs 9.5 oz. I can supply the SN# upon request.

A 1970 Gibson Les Paul Custom in Alpine White is considered very rare. The Alpine White finish on Les Paul Customs was not as widely produced in the early 70’s. While earlier Les Pauls were occasionally ordered in white, 1974 marked the year it was added to the standard catalog.

1970 was an extremely low production year for the Gibson Les Paul Custom. Over 53,000 LP Customs were shipped between 1970 and 1979, for example, over 7,500 in 1974, and over 10,850 in 1978, but Gibson only shipped 2,612 Les Paul Custom guitars in the year 1970 and only a very small percentage of those would have been in Alpine White.

Due to the limited production and high demand, finding a 1970 Gibson Les Paul Custom in Alpine White can be challenging, and they often command a premium price when they do appear for sale.

I've had a couple of luthiers and techs here in the L.A. area give me their take, and I'm setting my price a bit below that, because I want this to be affordable to not only collectors, but perhaps someone who wants a really rare piece and might actually play it.