For sale is a fantastic Gibson Les Paul R8 that I bought in 2013. This was my main guitar for 3 years and has subsequently seen use, but not abuse. I have a lot of respect for the guitars I use and as a result the guitar has never had any damage (no broken neck!) aside from natural wear that has come over the 3 years I have owned it. Neck is straight as an arrow and has a lovely profile, slightly thinner than other R8s I have tried, but still a little fuller than a typical R9.
Shortly after buying the guitar, I had it stripped back to bare wood in order to remove the thick factory "Nitro" which actually turned out to be more like plastic or rubber than real nitro! I even have some of the original finish (that came off in flakes) in the case, just to show people what came off the guitar. The guitar was then resprayed in real nitro which hardens quickly. I chose a red, transparent back (aniline dye as used in the 50s) and a deep red sunburst which has, though the years, faded to a more subtle Ice Tea than it was originally due to the 50s spec paint I requested.
To finish it off, I asked for a stinger to be painted on the back of headstock as was commonly seen on 50s ES guitars (but in this case NOT to cover a break!). Also had smoother Grovers fitted,and a very neat strap lock system which is not bulky (called Loxx), hardware for which will be included, along with the certificate of authenticity and all original hang tags!
The Bigsby has is fully useable, and it can be locked with a small strap pin placed between the base of the unit and the arm mount. To unlock, lift the arm slightly, take out the pin, retune and go! Locking is the reverse and once locked, is as stable as a stop tail. Used this for many years and will continue to do so!
As mentioned, this guitar is not fresh off the shelf, it is played in, loved and naturally aged, with some finish checking starting to appear on the back of the headstock. With a few more years, this will age gracefully! Any marks on the guitar now are shown in the pictures as best I can.
Safest is of course to collect, but if sent by courier it will be very safely packaged!
Thanks for looking!