A Unique opportunity to acquire a :One Of A kind: 1970'S original manufacturing run Recording Model containing a personally hand engraved message and signature applied in 1993 by the late Les Paul at his Mahwah New Jersey home
This model is historically important to the development of the electric guitar and particularly to Les Paul as he spent years researching and tweaking the recording model as he aimed for the cleanest guitar sound he could devise .
Watch the Demo On the youtube Link You can see this guitar expertly put through it's paces on the Youtube Channel FOXY'S GUITAR SHOW
https://youtu.be/3XtmLV6Oj5c?si=BiWKPoDPVILrlVD8
This is a genuine early 1970's original manufacturing run model.
It's certainly museum quality and really deserves to be on display It's a "one of a kind " LPR , I state "One of a kind" & "Rare" as it was signed ( hand scribed , yes he actually scored a message and his name into the finish ) by the "Father of the modern electric guitar" Mr Les Paul back in 1993 .
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a superb Instrument which boasts a unique background .
As an investment piece Gibson Guitars have shown to increase in value this is no exception.
The hand etched dedication "Keep Pickin" & "How High The Moon" goes beyond a quick "sharpie" signature at Fat Tuesdays or the Iridium club.
It is attributed To "Adrian" who back in the day when Britain led the world in Supersonic flight, spent 16 years as part of the crew on the British Airways Concord London Heathrow (LHR) to (JFK) Airport route.
(Hence the reference to Harry Belafonte Island In the Sun in seat 17c ) on Adrian's attached Notes.
I am informed that the reference you see in Adrian's notes to "PAX" means No of Passengers/Boarding Card list , "CSD" means Cabin Service Director.
Concord had a very cool Air Traffic call sign "Speedbird".
Scheduled Flight BA003" on this occasion left London at 19:30 and arrived New York 18:35 travelling faster than a bullet on the edge of space, it arrived before it left !
As a frequent visitor to N.Y. Adrian regularly visited Fat Tuesdays and latterly the Iridium Club. Through those visits, he became well acquainted with Les Paul, at that time he and his Trio were resident performers at Fat Tuesdays each Monday.
I have spoken to Adrian having finally tracked him down after years of searching and he informed me that he was invited to Les Paul's Home in New Jersey on several occasions and was well acquainted with Les' son Rusty and Les' Guitar Technician Tom Doyle .
Adrian had been a member of a family dance band in his earlier years and had an extensive collection of guitars.
He often received buying advice from Les Paul who would on occasion sign pick guards with a sharpie pen for Adrian's guitar purchases as he frequently did for many fans. I have one of those too on a different guitar from Adrians collection.
Some copies of the menu at Fat Tuesdays and a business card are included with the available paperwork retained in the case.
When I tracked down Adrian a while ago, he personally confirmed all of the details I have conveyed here.
As I said, this signing goes beyond the "sharpie pen" norm. Apparently when Adrian showed the Guitar to Les he liked it so much he took it home to "tinker" with it. The accompanying note confirms Les Paul had this instrument in his possession from (November 1993, at which time he engraved his message on the body of the guitar. Adrian corroborated that it was returned to him on Monday 14th Feb 1994. Valentines Day at Fat Tuesdays.
Incidentally 1994 was the year that the Les Paul trio celebrated their 10 year residency at Fat Tuesdays.
I doubt there are many other LPR's in Private ownership which can boast such a direct and traceable association with Les Paul.
According to Adrian as written in the documents with the guitar, he actually played this on stage Monday 14th February 1994.
This a 50 year old "hand crafted" Gibson guitar. Mahogany body and Rosewood Fingerboard. Everything works o.k. the "decade settings are a not as pronounced or a "Varitone like" function found on Gibson Blueshawks I have owned, it is very subtle indeed.
Apparently it processes the signal harmonics, this is more evident in Low impedance mode through a series of resistor and capacitor configurations controlled by the multi position Decade switch .
The serial No according to the "guitar dater project site" comes back to 1968 , but that's not likely, during the Norlin ownership era, I read they reused serial older numbers which makes research difficult.
It's been suggested by a helpful member from the USA that this is likely to be a 72/73 build from the serial no. and images I have supplied.
The manufacturing run of this recording model spanned from 1971 to 1977. a cosmetic change was made to the control layout on the 78, 79 builds.
The model was later revived in 2013/14 when a new Les Paul Recording model II was introduced.
However this newer LPR model is a far cry from the specification of the original 1970's era, as.It does not have the same build, the decade feature is no more, the true low impedance pickups are omitted as Gibson did not want to re manufacture them, their function is electronically created with a low impedance transformer. Cosmetically it looks great though.
This LPR Guitar Details
Note: It has the No 2 stamped above the serial No. After some research I read that this No 2 usually indicates that it was a "factory second" probably due to the finish blemish/fade on the rear of the head stock which has always been evident.
Adrian tells me that Les Paul referred to these seconds as "Goofers" Some of them found their way to Les from the factory but were often normally purchased by employees who finished them off raiding the parts bin for all the best components.
This particular one was purchased by Adrian at a music store in N.Y. Les liked it so much he took it home to tinker with it.
It has an attractive double ply Black/white Binding on the body which sits well against the Natural colour finish. Very light cosmetic wear on the body, and surprisingly no buckle rash on the reverse which has a angled cut away back at the top edge to aid playing comfort.
A couple of small dings on the rear of the neck are evident Some general play wear commensurate with it's age. The Ply Pick guard is missing. The Jack socket area of the control plate has been repaired sympathetically with an added piece of material. This was a common issue with this model due to the position of the jack on the control plate.
Replacements are available from Littebrook Engraving The frets look original and unmolested since new. It has all of the correct Phase, Hi/Lo and Tone switches, volume, bass, treble, decade and the top hat switch is in situ.
The 1960's/1970's period orange velour lined Gibson case handle is missing but is in good general order for its age, all of the clasps work and it continues to afford good protection of the instrument. I have seen these vintage Gibson orange lined cases offered separately for huge amounts.
The guitar is "Natural" a paler finish than other darker mahogany colour models I have owned of this vintage. Adrian informs me the guitar had its own Concorde flight ticket attached for the Supersonic return fight home to London
The low impedance pick up model series was designed by Les Paul over several years to provide the cleanest signal for recording.
It was normal for Les Paul to connect straight to the recording deck. However not forgetting modern amplifiers, no adaptor cable is required for High impedance operation as It does have an low/high output switch which allows connection to a regular amplifier.
As a great innovator, Les Paul was always making improvements to achieve his ultimate guitar model and this version was the fruit of his labours.
Since the passing of Les Paul, anything directly associated to him has increased in value.I believe there is a Les Paul 50th anniversary model for sale at $200K +
An Avid Les Paul collector wrote to me and suggested this guitar could make tens of thousands of pounds in the right auction setting ?
I think my price is realistic the value of this instrument will only ever increase further over time.
This is a rare opportunity to own very unique vintage guitar with a confirmed direct association to Les Paul at a very realistic price .
It has a Rare hand etched Les Paul signature and message, It was played by Les on stage at Fat Tuesdays N.Y. 14.02.1994 .
It would look fantastic as a centre display piece in a museum, or themed restaurant environment.
For completeness I have included an web image in this listing from 1994 of Les Paul playing his own personal LPR recording model, which he used at Fat Tuesdays and The Iridium Club. Note however the instrument in the image is NOT this one in the listing.
Dont' let this opportunity to add this validated rare piece of Les Paul memorabilia to your collection pass you by, these vintage instruments will only increase in value over time.
The Recording version was Les Paul's favourite model, which he used right up to his death.
Recent work carried out by a local Guitar Technician ; New strings, neck set up, string height, lemon oil conditioned fret board etc .
Additional copper shielding added to control plate jack repair section. Plays and sounds good .
see the YouTube Demo.
https://youtu.be/yYl3K8pWwGA?si=4flxFENByKOH8fMS
It is also pictured in a British news article which is part of the documentation available being played by Philip Stanic who claims to be Elvis Presley's biological Son.
Never gigged in my ownership, due to its heritage it had rarely if ever played by me just occasionally taken out to admire and polish.
It's been stored in an original 1970's Gibson hard shell case which I think was a triumph bass case as the case will house a longer necked instrument . It comes from a smoke and pet free home. It is part of a collection which I have been reducing.
ALL Original. NO Structural Breaks, Cracks or Neck Repairs! Please examine all images to ensure the item meets your needs, I do not refund for change of heart. Note the Colour of images may be affected by your PC LCD screen performance tone,hue etc.
Delivery, the instrument will be well protected for transport next day deliver (Mon - Fri) , and the cost includes full insurance for loss or damage.
See my good feedback you can buy with confidence.
You can hear a Youtube presentation by Les Paul speaking about the design brief of this recording model back in the 70's at the link below
https://youtu.be/yYl3K8pWwGA?si=4flxFENByKOH8fMS