Heard y'all like holy grails!
This thing has mojo to spare - a rare and interesting Les Paul Deluxe from 1975. This one has a vintage correct "Standard" truss rod cover, but the back label says it is a Deluxe, so I am going to trust that. Looks right for a Deluxe of this era, although you do no see many with the uncovered PAFs. You don't see a ton with full sized PAFs, much less uncovered PAFs. This is a rare find, and by all appearances, these are the stock pickups.
This guitar has been well played, and it just oozes personality. The PAFs sound so sultry and smooth and this Les Paul has that "legendary item that was the reward for a side quest" vibe. A real Excalibur. The guitar was played hard by the consignor years ago and spent the last few decades in the closet while the owner had a family and career and all that good stuff. We did a lot of sprucing up, a little cleaning, a lot of fretwork and now it is a real player.
Speaking of the frets, like most 1970s Gibsons, the frets are in the last 30-40% of their lifespan since they were pretty wide and flat in the first place. I did a lot of crowning, leveling and polishing and I was able to get the neck playing smooth all the way up and the frets reshaped and mirror shined, but the guitar would likely need to be refretted in the next decade or so of moderate play. This is pretty par for the course on most 1970s Gibsons I have seen though. In the grand scheme of a guitar of this magnitude, a refret is only $300-$500, which is a pretty small investment to insure the longevity of the instrument. BUT AGAIN: This is just me preparing you for the future, the guitar will come to you READY TO ROCK with a good few years left in the fretlife.
The tuners have been swapped out a few decades ago for a set of vintage Grovers that still work wonderfully and have a patina to die for. The bridge was similarly swapped back in the day to a vintage Schaller T-o-M. The original Gibson ABR-1 and four original tuners are included in the case. The original book / owner's manual is in there too with a few other odds and ends, so that is always cool!
The original black pickguard is included along with the mounting screws, but I left it off because it shows off the sweet, SWEET wear-spot. If you want me to reattach it before shipping, just let me know and I will be happy to oblige.
Looking for a light guitar? Keep looking! This guitar is an absolute boat anchor -- around 10.5 lbs. It is a 1970s Gibson which means it is HEAVY. If you want a light guitar, buy a modern Gibson and pray for the best.
Listen, if you are looking for a collector's condition guitar, this one might not be for you. If you are looking for a mojo-drenched sex machine that still has hundreds of gigs left to give. If you are looking for a "One." This is the guitar for you. Some guitars "have it" and some don't and this one has it.
As always, I cleaned it up, polished the finish, flushed the electronics, changed the strings and set the action low and smooth. This one comes with the original Gibson case, and I pack my guitars up tight and insure every package for the full purchase amount. This one is in on consignment from a local retiree who is looking to stay a retiree, so he is selling some gear to line his nest egg. Like all my consignments, this one is being sold "as described" regardless of condition.
Got questions? Shoot me a message, I love nerding out with other gearheads!
