An exceptionally clean 74 Gold Top. Easily the cleanest we've seen in store.

The Gibson Les Paul had been phased out in 1960 in favour of the new, contoured, lightweight Gibson SG, however, the mid 60s saw a resurgence of this older model. Players like Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield and Keith Richards, to name a few, favoured the looks, sound and feel of the Les Paul. This sparked demand, and by 1968 Gibson answered that demand with their first ever reissue. As a tribute to Lester and the original Gibson Les Paul design, the 68 reissue featured a Goldtop and P90 pickups. Over the next few years the Les Paul received some changes. The headstock grew bigger, a neck volute - added material at the base of the headstock for structural reinforcement was added, the body received a “pancake” type construction - sandwiching a thin sheet of maple between two pieces of mahogany, and mini hum buckers were installed in replacement of the original P90 pickups. The original P90 rout was retained and a modified p90 cover served as the pickup ring for the mini hum bucker. And so it goes - the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe was born.

This example comes from 1974. Body wise it is quite original, with original finish, frets and most of the hardware. The pickups and wiring hardness have been replaced, however the original pickups still come with the guitar. The tuners have been replaced as evidenced by the original footprint and screw holes on the back of the headstock. This guitar is in excellent condition. The paintwork is excellent with minimal marks, wear or even much yellowing of the finish. This is a well preserved closet classic.

As evidenced in the headstock photos, this guitar has had the typical Gibson headstock break at some stage in its life. The break appears to have been relatively clean and the repair is strong.

The pickups on this guitar are Tuxedo Noiseless mini p90s from Australian pickup manufacturer Mr Fabulous Guitars. These have a bright alnico V style sound, not dissimilar to an under wound P90, but with rich overtones and silent operation. The wiring harness is from Emerson audio with vintage style bumble bee capacitors. The original wiring hardness is fully functional and will be included in the sale. The neck of this Lester is relatively slim compared to tradidional 1950s Gibson necks. The medium C profile and 43.2mm nut width with are comfortable for most players and certainly preferable if the clubby 50s profile ain’t your thing. The original frets are low and wide with minimal wear. The fret nibs are not as pronounced on this guitar as with many new reissues, but that is typical of this era Les Paul.

This is a super clean classic Les Paul Deluxe that sounds fantastic, looks amazing and plays wonderfully. Pure vintage Gibson in every way.

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Fretboard Jungle is an independent guitar store specializing in vintage, rare and collectable guitars.

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