Reluctantly listing. Only serious offers please. This is a totally original 1973/74 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard that was a special order by a famous enough guitarist at the time to be endorsed by Gibson. The pickups are the original T-Tops from late 60's or early 70's. It comes with the original hard-shell case as well as a new Gibson Les Paul brown case that I actually use to transport. The guitar has very low action and plays perfectly. No fret buzz. The truss rod is in good shape and has been set up and maintained by a talented luthier in Long Island NY.

Please contact me for more details. Prefer purchase for pickup only (no shipping) as I feel playing this guitar is important before purchase. If shipping is needed, I can play the guitar for you over Zoom or upload videos of my playing to demonstrate. Attached is a BB King video of very similar tone, notice the single coil sound...

It was shipped to the Southern United States and spent it's life mostly in Florida. As of late it was used in a recording studio in the Florida Keys and was owned by a major collector who would supply equipment for recordings. This guitar was originally played by one of the bigger bands of the Southern US, possibly Allman Brothers, Little Richie, or another big act at that time in the area. The only non-original parts are the strap buttons which are Schaller.

Until I started playing real bursts, this had been the best Les Paul I personally had ever played which is why I bought it, not to mention it is the first year sunburst Les Paul’s were made after the holy grail years of 1858-1960. Historically this is the next year. The tone of this guitar is very, very unique; it can be very single coil sounding. With the right amp settings it can sound like a vintage Stratocaster in the neck position, in the bridge pickup a Telecaster. It does not play like a burst, it is totally its own thing. It really has the exact sound of later Freddie King when he was playing this same era and pickups. It Plays Great and Like Butter. It has those VIBES Unreal or MOJO that you hear about. and YES… THAT Bell Tone I’ve only heard in vintage Fender’s and Gibson’s. Frankly, I’ll never by a new electric guitar again! Beneath the chimey, crisp treble, there’s a solid punch to these T-Top pickups. The bridge pickup is aggressive, with a noticeable midrange quack and a jangly chime. The neck sounds wide open and clear, lending a jazzy texture to chords and a vocal quality to single notes. Again, this guitar is extremely vocal, the amount of sauce on a single note is really amazing. It will also clean up in a wonderful way by playing lightly, without losing clarity or treble response. It is worth stating that I have played 1975 Gibson Les Paul standards with T-Top pickups that do not sound anywhere in the ballpark of this guitar. Something drastically changed around that time.

It holds its tuning superbly. All electronics are original and are working perfectly. Tuners are original. I used this LP for my most special gigs and when I play very loud to let that tone ring out :).

This is Super-Rare Gibson Les Paul Standard from 1973-4. To get one of these required a factory special order. You could only get the Deluxe or Custom between 1968 and the mid 70s (about 1975/76 Gibson started making standards again), when everybody REALLY wanted a Standard. This is not a routed out Deluxe that was later routed out for humbuckers, it is a Factory Standard. The date of this guitar means it was made at the Kalamazoo plant. By all indications, not many people did the custom order process. There are some publications that state only four custom ordered Standards where shipped out in 1973. In fact if you call Gibson about this specific guitar, they'll tell you that it is one of four Standards and one of three Tobacco Burst ones. I don't think this is entirely accurate. While everything on this guitar has labeled it as a tobacco, it looks to me like a cherry that faded; there is no black in the color. I think Gibson probably only has records of four, but they probably made a number of Standards that year and just logged them as Deluxes. I have contacted Gibson and they no longer have records for this time period. There is a quote from a former Gibson employee from that time frame that said they made like 20-30 of these. That seems more plausible. This is not one of the guitars stamped Deluxe on the headstock with a truss rod cover labeled Standard; so this was a special order Les Paul Standard. After all the research I have done, there were possibly up to 300 or so special order sunburst Les Paul guitars in the years of 1973 to early 1974. This is an extremely rare and special instrument and a fraction of the cost of the sunburst made just prior which was 1960.

It weighs 10lbs 2oz compared to most 70s Les Pauls weighing 10.5 to 11.5lbs. When I bought this I tried multiple others in the 8 to 9.5 lbs range but none had the tone of this one which made me rethink light guitars a little bit. Also, I have to mention that I have a 1960 reissue Les Paul that is very loud acoustically; this 1973 LP is not so much, yet my reissue sounds like a toy next to this vintage LP. That makes me rethink what everyone says about the acoustics before plugging in.

I have never played a reissue that even comes close to the tone of this guitar. Murphy lab models are definitely closer, but still just not close.

Description & Specs The following specs were carefully collected and recorded by a skilled technician of a similar 1973 Les Paul Standard at Chicago Music Exchange. Hardware specs are from this guitar. Finish Details: Body Material: Mahogany 2 Piece – 2 slabs rather than 2 half slabs. Faded tobacco (or faded cherry) sunburst Birdseye maple four piece top. Neck Material: Mahogany 3 piece Fingerboard Material: Rosewood Neck Profile: Medium C Neck Thickness (IN): 1st - 0.79" 12th - 0.97" Fingerboard Radius: 10.00" Nut Width: 1-11/16" Scale Length: 24 3/4" Neck Details: 3-piece mahogany neck with bound rosewood fingerboard and pearloid trapezoid inlays -the neck has original frets with wear but in good condition Electronics(111785): Original Gibson patent number humbuckers, pots, and wiring. The pots have 1973 codes; original pots date to the 48th week of 1973. Controls include a 3-way pickup selector and volume and tone pots for each pickup. Pickup Measurements: Neck - 7.47kΩ Bridge - 7.42kΩ Hardware(111785): Non-original: Schaller Strap buttons; Repro Kluson Tuners that replace the original double ring tuners. Orig. Tune-O-Matic bridge w/studs directly into the top. Weight(111785): 10lbs 2oz Modifications/Repairs(111785): None Case Details(111785): Original hardshell case Cosmetic Condition(111785): The guitar has moderate play wear. The finish has worn nicely with age and has scratches, dings, and chips throughout. Serial Number: Reviewed by technician:174088; this guitar: 111785 Tech Notes (111785): Plays extremely well with low action. The frets are tall, wide, and show moderate signs of play wear. The pot codes date this guitar to 1973.