The Gibson Les Paul Deluxe was released as a replacement for the Les Paul Standard in late 1969, equipped with mini-humbuckers sourced from Gibson's purchase of the Epiphone factory, and a new headstock "volute" implemented to better prevent headstock breaks, the Les Paul Deluxe otherwise very similar to the Standard model.

Some time during the late 1970s, Norlin-era Gibson decided that the mahogany available to them was of poor quality and switched essentially all production guitars to laminated 4- to 6-piece maple necks before going back to mahogany in the early 1980s. The Cherry Red and two "Sparkle" finishes in particular are quite rare and command significantly more money in today's market.