Up for sale, a 1971 Gibson Les Paul Standard in excellent condition and in perfect working order. One of the sparingly few Standards produced in the early '70s on a special order only basis, this is a rare model with original patent sticker T Top humbuckers and a warm Sunburst finish in the vein of what Gibson is currently marketing as "Bourbon Burst." With a two-piece mahogany "sandwich body" and three-piece carved maple top with extremely well matched seams, the classic Les Paul tone wood platform delivers the goods with articulate, singing highs and ample, throaty low end. The original humbuckers have a distinct sound in each position on the three-way toggle, with a touch of growl and a snappy, chiming top end in the bridge position, more girth and heft with both pickups engaged, and ideal warmth and sweetness when the neck humbucker is solo'd. Weighing in at 10lbs 2oz, the guitar balances well on a strap and has great sustain and body even when strummed unplugged. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Les Paul is strung with fresh 11-50 strings and low, comfortable action.
The three-piece mahogany neck has a slender C shaped profile at the nut graduating to a more chunky shape with good shoulder as you move up the fretboard. The fretboard retains the original wide/flat fretwire, putting this Les Paul firmly in the "fretless wonder" camp. The frets show moderate, uniform fretwear on frets 1-4, with lighter wear extending beneath the plains until fret 10, and virtually no wear further up the board. At the headstock joint, the guitar has a very small, early volute and the headstock is fitted with vintage double line double ring tuners. Two of the tuners have "Gibson Deluxe" text on the gear housings, while the other four are actually earlier, late '60s gears with the "Kluson Deluxe" text. All tuners have uniformly aged and lightly greened double ring buttons, turn smoothly, and hold pitch well. The "Les Paul Standard" logo is also of the silkscreened variety, another meaningful clue as to the early nature of this '70s Standard.
On the body, all of the electronics work as they should, with the original matched pair of T Top humbuckers with untouched solder on the chrome covers and clean patent stickers on the baseplates. Two of the CTS pots are original with one clear 1971 date codes, while the other two are more recent replacements, along with the input jack. Both of the original Sprague "Black Beauty" tone caps are also present. All of the original plastic parts are present, with a quad of ambered reflector cap knobs and cream pickup rings and pickguard. The stopbar is a well matched locking chrome replacement courtesy of TonePros, and the Nashville bridge was arguably installed later, as this bridge would not become standard for the Standard (if you'll forgive the pun) until 1975, as ABR-1s were used previously. Given that serial number range on this guitar is correct for 1970-72 and the first special order Standards from the '70s were shipped in '71-72, the features of this guitar and the available date codes make a strong argument that this is one of the earliest special order Les Paul Standards to surface in some time.
Cosmetically, this is a lovingly played and soulful instrument with zero cracks or repairs and a 100% original nitro lacquer Sunburst finish that has plenty of saturation and warmth. While any Standard from the early '70s is rare, most of the examples which have surfaced have either a Cherry or Tobacco Sunburst, making this particular darker, richer Sunburst an even more uncommon instrument. The three-piece maple top shows prominent grain in the wide central third, with heavy finish checking and lighter checking on the mahogany back. The back also exhibits some centralized buckle rash along with various nicks and finish chips around the back edges of the body, most notably adjacent to the input jack. The neck profile also shows lacquer checking with a few tiny, inconsequential nicks on the profile and one slightly more sizable ding on the treble side behind the 10th fret.
The original Gibson hardshell case with purple interior is included.
Check out our shop "Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar," and please let us know if we can answer any questions!
Shipping in the continental USA will be $135, fully insured and shipped via FedEx Three-Day Select. Expedited shipping available for an additional fee at buyer's request. We will happily ship WORLDWIDE, but please contact us for an accurate international shipping quote before bidding or buying, as cost varies by buyer location.
International orders will be declared as “merchandise,” and the value of merchandise will be declared as the amount paid. We cannot declare anything as a gift or for a lesser value. No exceptions! The customer is responsible for all taxes and duty, which may be collected upon delivery, as well as any additional charges involved with import. We have all necessary CITES paperwork in-hand to ship rosewood worldwide.
We do our best to describe all items with honesty and accuracy, but to be sure, please contact us with any questions or concerns prior to bidding or buying. We require payment within 48 hours of auction end. In the unlikely event of a return, buyer pays all shipping costs. Your positive feedback and five star ratings are very important to us, and we appreciate your communication in resolving any issues!