My favorite era of Les Pauls; I love the volute and reduced headstock angle. T-tops sound absolutely glorious, and the more pointy cutaway horn is very distinctive.
@@philsb9388 my favorite Les Paul I owned was a 1991 heritage cherry sunburst Standard that had a very unremarkable top, but beautifully patterned inlays.
I was 15 years old the summer of 79 and would have given a leg for this guitar at the time. Remember this was only 20 years post late 50's and a LP Standard in Cherry was Jimmy Pages guitar.. every guitar playing teenage boys dream at the time....40 years ago already wow....
You got that right! I finished high school in 1980, between Jimmy Page and Ace Frehley it was the only guitar to have, clown burst and all. Trogly, have you ever done a show explaining the differences in the cutaways and how they changed from era to era? This LP Standard almost looks like a Floretine cutaway! Back in the late 1980s a bunch of us were at a music store when we spotted a mid/late 70s LP Standard thats' cut-away was so pointy it made the guitar look fake! Thing is, even the few LP copies that were importing back then looked better than that actual Gibson! Its hard to explain the subtle differences, but once you see it on a particular guitar it cannot be unseen! Still a cool guitar, it's historical importance noted. Those t-tops sounded great, it's no wonder who ever owned it strapped it on often to play.
ContraBand Joe Those were the days Fenders and even Gibsons from the 50s and 60s were just used guitars. Although, the original Bursts were more desirable than new guitars and priced accordingly they weren’t crazy expensive yet. I’m about ten years younger than you and I remember going into a vintage guitar shop in the early-mid 90s and playing a 1952 Telecaster. It was the most expensive guitar I had ever played by far, but they were asking less than $10,000 for it. By the mid 00s it would have been “worth” $30,000+, and today they consistently sell for $20-25,000.
@@charlesbolton8471 In the early 1980s I played a 1960 burst that was for sale at the local music store. I can't remember the exact asking price but it was well under $10K. At the time we all laughed at that price considering it totally ridiculous for "just a used guitar". If memory serves me I think that very same guitar went unsold for close to 3 years.
It's funny how so many guitar players will see this finish and immediately think of Ace Frehley lol. I really wonder just how many people he inspired to play the guitar and specifically the Les Paul. In 1978 or 1979 the number one guitar player in rock music as chosen by fans was ......... Ace Frehley! At that time I thought "Hell yeah, he is THE best in the world!!", of course now I am much older and know a little more about guitar players and WOW, that must have really angered Jimmy Page!! LOL. Ace is good, but he can't hold a candle to Jimmy! It's funny because it was at about this time that I saw a pull out poster thing in a magazine of this guitar player that I had no clue who he was. He was standing on stage with a Les Paul and making a cool guitar face and looked as though he had just struck a magnificent chord. The photo was from a show in Los Angeles in 1972 but it didn't say who the guitar player was. Because of Ace and that poster I knew then that I HAD to have a Gibson Les Paul someday!! fast forward to about 2017 and one day I was in a local head shop in town and saw they had some really cool old posters. I am making my own studio in my home so of course I have to have posters!! As I flip through the stack of these 24" x 36" posters what do I find? That same guy, that same pull out poster only now two things were different, 1) It was much larger and 2) I now knew he was just by looking at him. All those years I remembered the poster but I just couldn't really remember his actual face, there he was in L.A 1972 none other than Jimmy Page himself!! Yes, I bought it lol. I would like a poster of the same size of Ace Frehley, that really cool one of him that used to hang in Madison Square Garden, where his guitar is "on fire" and he is bent at the knees, c'mon you guys know the picture I am talking about!! I want that poster so bad!! I did have an opportunity to buy one about 4 years ago, but ain't no way I am paying $400 for a poster!! Ahh good times, good times.
@@charlesbolton8471 There's a vintage shop in my town that has been open since the mid 1970's, the owner tells me that the 59 LP Standard was the first used guitar to break the $1000 barrier starting in the mid 70's. At the time, that was an obscene amount of money for a used guitar....
I was set on buying one in '79 until I went to the store to get it. While I waited for the guy to get it for me I started goofing around with a Westbury standard and fell in love. I bought the Westbury and I still have it. It's a three piece solid Mahogany body, with a three piece neck and DiMarzio humbuckers, a PAF in the neck and a Super Distortion at the bridge, twenty-four and three quarters scale, the headstock slants in putting the strings in a straighter angle, rosewood fretboard with medium jumbo frets, I think the neck specs are the same as a Les Paul. I now have a Les Paul Special with P-90s and I play one as much as the other, both great guitars.
They might not be as collectable as the earlier ones, but I always find myself really, really liking the sound of those 70's Les Pauls. If I ever bought a vintage LP, it would definitely be a 70's one.
Oh, I remember seeing those in music stores in the early '80's. The sunburst necks were always so distinctive. There was so much buzz about the Guitar Trader run that the late '70's LP's just languished.
@@lovesgibson I think that depends on the year it was made. Wanting to pretend I was Ace Frehley I purchased a new Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Deluxe in 1976, the neck, back of headstock as well as the body all had the burst pattern. But yeah, most the Les Pauls I've seen made this Century have their backs finished in either solid cherry or natural.
I would MUCH rather have a REAL relic guitar like this - than a new “Relic’d” model. Kinda cool this channel exists, for us Gibson fans - however unpopular that might be, given their PR moves of late.
I had a 1975 Les Paul Standard that I purchased in 1979 and finally sold it about 3 years ago. My guitar had the serial number on a decal instead of the traditional stamped serial number. Also the decal stated 'Deluxe' while the truss rod cover was stamped 'Standard'. The guitar was custom ordered with the standard humbuckers instead of the minis. Another quirk with the 1975 models was the way the frets were set. The frets were set over the neck binding instead of the binding put on after the frets. The body on mine was the pancake style. The color of mine was the 'wine red'. I really liked the guitar. I only sold it because it was getting too heavy for me to play for any length of time.
Awesome Trogly《☆》I bought a 79 black beauty custom for $250 in 19and93 & put it out at a yard sale in 19and95 for $500. An older gentleman who obviously knew more about Lespauls than me bought it neck repair & all no questions asked🤓☻🤠
My '79 LP Custom cherry sunburst looks practically identical to that one, except the hardware, gold instead of chrome, 5 ply body binding and black knobs. It has a factory flaw on the neck where part of it isn't painted near the binding - they just finished over the unpainted wood. They also left some exposed glue at the neck join. The finish is cracked all over from cold exposure (I took a Greyhound in the winter and it rode underneath) - it looks like a road map. It's also a heavy sucker. I bought it in '86 and the bridge pickup had a Dimarzio replacement that was very microphonic, so I had a Gibson one put in, but I never liked the sound except for heavy rock, so I recently gutted all the electronics, replaced all wiring and put in TV Jones Classics. I also installed a Duesenberg Les Trem, my attempt to make it more like a Jet. I play it all the time now. The original case is long gone after those crappy plastic latches broke. Oh, and the serial number ends in 558 so I guess it's a Nashville, too. Currently, there's e-tape over the headstock logo - that's for you, Agnesi ;-) Thanks for the video.
You may have addressed this in another post, but the horn of the lower cut away during this era was sharper than the originals and it went back to the original style in the early 80's.
@@samuelbiskin3416 I was selling Gibsons in the early '70s, and playing in a band in a college town. The pop music of the day had guitar sounds that were sustaining, and guitar companies were straining to meet the demand for average guitar players' tone needs. Dan Armstrong made a plexiglas guitar and Gibson made heavier, denser guitars in an effort to make notes last longer. It really was a big deal back then. I have a brother-in-law who bought a used '70s Deluxe that had been routed for the full-sized humbuckings. He loaded in some really hot pickups, and between that dense body and those PUPs, he has a real tone/sustain monster.
I have a 76 wineburst LP Deluxe. Most of the "pros" who have seen it say it is not a sought after model, it's full of flaws, etc, blah, blah blah. I set it up myself and it rocks every night. Most people who talk about certain eras and quality control, etc, all seem to miss the point. The guitar is in your fingers. Give me any guitar and one afternoon and I'll have it sounding great. ( Not bragging, just making a point). And if you don't believe me, just ask Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Joe Walsh, Keef, or any other great player you know.
Can you make a video on pickups? Like how a certain kind of pickup can be different if made in different years. And maybe a general overview on which pickups gibson used when and why
I had a '77 just like this but it had all metal tuning pegs that looked just like the plastic tipped ones. Paid $500 in '82 (about $1,300 in today's money. Got stolen from an airport in '99. I've got dozens of Fenders and Gibsons old and new but that '77 was hands down the best instrument I've ever owned. Sounded amazing and I had no issues with build quality etc. at all. I don't know why people knock these models so much.
thanks for the video, I just inherited what I believe to be a 1979 standard, its not in as good a shape as this example, however It does play very well, it belonged to my aunt, she taught me how to play as a child, I grew up lusting after this guitar, I'm looking forward to getting it cleaned up and changing the electronics back to what would be original thanks again
i used to cut giant saw blades for the Tennessee saw mills, open up the arbor in the center to whatever the customer's machine shaft was. i always engraved my name next to the work. not to be cool, but when its returned, I dont want to get blamed for somebody elses screw ups. 3 ft diameter carbide tipped saw blades, are pricey. that was the 70s
Pretty much my dream guitar. Cherry burst Standard from my birth year, well worn road warrior. I wish I could’ve purchased this one because I would’ve, without hesitation.
lovely sounding guitar! I had few years ago a Gibson Les Paul from Norlin era, it was a deluxe, but with a pair of dimarzio super distortion instead of the mini humbucker (someone before me adapted the pickup cavities for humbuckers), in wine red. It was a great guitar, with a very bright tone, so bright that sometime I felt like playing an LP junior. The weight was crazily heavy, it was like 5,6 Kg. Sold time ago, still missing it
Oh man, you made me long for my 76 deluxe I had routed and had Bill Lawrence L500's put in her... looked just like this one only with the L500's in her... love this axe and would love to have her back again! ~Cheers!
I want a 1978 Les Paul artist or custom. My second choice would be a 1978 strat hardtail. I’d prefer a les Paul just because back then fender just killed a lot of strats by overspraying polyester on them. It’s a birth year thing for me but both brands back then made them all in that 10-13lbs range so they would be very hard for me to strap on because I can’t take that kind of weight for too long anymore. Great video my friend! I’d love this guitar and your price is perfect but when you live on a fixed income like me you have to choose between guitars and medications this month and my medications take the priority. I love your channel though so keep up the great videos!
My old friend Grover bought a beautiful HCSB Les Paul in 1981 that I was in love with. He ordered it (phoned in the order) from Sam Ash in NYC for $600. I wish I knew what type of LP he had.
I sold these when they were new. We hated them because they were way too heavy and wouldn’t stay in tune. Plus those Shaller made Kulson copy gears, with the screw in bushings, are the worst gears ever made and usually fall apart in about 6 months of heavy use.
I have a Ibanez LP also . It's a cream color Custom that I bought in 1983 because I couldn't afford a Gibson .. It even has a Gibson style headstock which Ibanez didn't do for long. I traced the serial to September 1975.
I gotta say Trogz.. The neck inlays are seriously beautiful..very very deep.. quite exceptional..Wish they were on my "17".. Perloid plastic sucks..why Gibson cuts the corner there on a $2500 guitar is beyond me.. Dont like the looks of the guitar (especially the deck) but it does sound really good. Pick ups MAKE that guitar..neck seems chunky.. Its a player..certainly not not much collector value there.. I hope it gets played to death by who ever buys it because that one was born to work and work it has! Great vid once again..Thanks!
Great question and one I think of as well.. other then some of the old growth wood used back in the day, most of the mystic on the older guitars is alot of hype tone wise. I would argue older Gibson, American Fender, USA made brands were made better
@@kantina4765 you can't argue the old growth wood Gibson and American guitar makers used back in the day. I would also argue there was better hands on craftsmanship. But the tone thing I believe is questionable
It can. I've seen cracks/fractures to the wood under the finish that were invisible without the black light. Same goes for finish flaws, I've seen to thin of finish visible with the black light, under normal lighting those areas looks just fine.
I love these videos, but honestly I think guitar flippers are killing a lot of the online secondhand market. I have followed some Les Pauls on Reverb that get bought and relisted over and over again between different re-sellers and each time it gets a price bump. I would just prefer to see guitars going into the hands of players who will use them rather than just bouncing between investors and re-sellers. It is what it is, and at least for Trogly we get these great vids.
Have you ever taken a glance at Sweetwater's exclusive model Strats? They've got cherry bursts and roasted maple necks, as well as the sane pickups as that Custom Shop you had a while ago
@@markcheetah4960 Pretty much what Beepbeep Lettuce indicated. Kind of like the special runs of Fender Designer Series that Guitar Center Stores occasionally have. Pretty much just nicely optioned guitars a big music store can afford to special order.
So guys? Can you hear/feel the difference between long and short neck tenon? Im not sure if its only in my mind. Also I find it interesting that some people really love the sandwiched 70s LPs. Im more of a 50/60s guy.
I’m building a three-piece maple neck that’s a Les Paul, (24.75” scale), style neck. Now that I know that Gibson used three-piece maple necks, I might just build a Les Paul replica with this neck that I’ve been carving, since I have some extra mahogany lying around.
Hey trogly, how did you replace those dimarzio strap locks? I bought a used guitar with them and didnt like the long screws. I dont know if putting shorter straplocks in the same hole will really grip the wood right.
Toothpicks and wood glue. I break the point off and put a little glue on it. Then just push a couple in the hole. You can take one with the point still on and wedge it in. After it dries, over night is good, then cut the toothpicks off clean with a razor knife. Redrill with a recommended bit smaller than the screw. Pretty easy.
As much as I trash modern Gibson, it should also be made clear how much I love the stuff from the ‘70s. That headstock volute is a mark of an improved design.
I am wondering why it is 79 and the makers mark inside looked like it was dated 1983? Did it take them almost 4 years to finish wiring it and get this on the floor, or am I reading that mark wrong? I think the guitar sounds great too. The pickups have great variation and give that awesome middle position sound.
That picture is probably from a completely different guitar, so that Trogly could illustrate the signatures of the two Leonards that sometimes pop up on Norlin-era guitars. I'm guessing he did that since the guitar in the video only had the one on it?
I find it odd that the EXACT time Gibson was getting the Epiphone line made in the Matsumoku factory where they quickly realized they needed to use 3 piece maple aged and dried wood with the 90 rotated center piece... CNC made necks... Wonder if Gibson was shipping some of those during the transition... Norlin is on the list of companies they provided parts for... So I think it's highly likely
Hi there! There is some kind of confusion regarding the weight. Either your 9.15 lbs is correct and then it should indicate 4.15 Kg or your 4.49 Kg are correct and then it should read 9.9 lbs ???
Sir Trogly, it would be super sweet if you could do a few more guitar competition type things. Maybe give away a signed tshirt or something. BTW I live in the mother land, Kalamazoo MI
Maybe you explained this and I missed it, but if it's a 79, why did the father/son Floyd team stamp it as an 83?? I understand it varying by one year during a model year switchover, but why 4 years??
Hi, I have the identical 1979 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst with an 8 digit serial number made in Nashville. There is no Made in USA stamp under the serial number. How can I tell if this is a real Gibson? Thanks!
Thanks for another informative and son video your videos are a wealth of information fun facts and tips I look forward to them. Thanks again. please excuse typos misspelled words lack of punctuation I'm not a bad type of a mother illiterate I'm just legally blind using speech to text but doesn't mind is it some it was truly the blind guitarist has
Ok, I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom with a serial no. of... C924373 (yes that is the correct stamped serial no.). It is Natural finished 3 piece top with a maple fretboard and three piece maple neck and no pancake body. I know that these were manufactured between 1976- 1978. Pots date to late 1976, so I am guessing it is either a 1976 or 1977. However the fact that it starts with the letter "C" is throwing me off, following your serial no. scheme. According to Gibson, it is a 1973 (pots say otherwise). It is all original, I did upgrade the hardware, because the person I got it from, allowed all of the hardware to get pitted to the extreme as he sweated profusely and his sweat was very acidic. I have kept all of the original hardware, of course ( the bridge was unsalvageable). Any ideas as to what year it is and what the "C" represents (Custom Shop possibly)?. The last three digits would suggest Kalamazoo origin, but the rest of the serial no. has me a bit puzzled. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help and thanks for all of the vids... keep them coming, as they are a wealth of information.
Between those T-Tops and the Tar Back pickups of the Norlen era, there’s not a better sounding pickup out there. Most people have no idea what they’re capable of after all that aging.
They are my favorite for real cause I believe there still the best of the best!! Cause that was the first guitars build by people that wanted to work and keep there jobs and not have a job at that time ment there wasn't food or anything else because them jobs around hear in Tennessee wasn't a lot of jobs ! All the jobs went up to the north so have one job around hear was have a good day job that made a lot of money and only a slick few people got hired cause of the wages was so big for it was the job to have back than and to say you built guitars that would be on TV and around the world was something for Nashville it meant everything as the people was try to keep Nashville running at a point that it would in up working ever man that had a family in Nashville at that time!! People was driving from Memphis to Nashville to work and from Knoxville to Nashville to work as that was only thing going on in or around Tennessee!! I know people that worked on remolded of old Vanderbilt building and pour roads and side walks I even knew people that I could not even speak to as they was native American and Cubans that made Nashville there home!! Brought money in and left it there to help out !! I am not sure what time you get to work or home from work cause back in them days there was big heavy fast cars that had a 2 lane road with no shoulder and most importantly thing was that gravel roads was dirt roads and the gravel roads we call gravel wasn't any gravel on them ! But boy who knows about them late 70 and all the 80s!! Man the country grew so large from tall buildings to high rises to over and under instructions interstates roads with side roads that had turning lanes and stop lights!! Man people in the day knew what life was all about from see how everything from food to the clothes to the soap to wood everything was all American hand made and proud of the craftsman ship we had no one bitch about not having or not be good enough or would even cuz as drinking beers was a special moment and see a company give you a Christmas bounse was that you didn't know you was get one or knew you had done that much work and let me tell y'all those people survived happily and love it! Best of some of the best times from 50s to late 60s was great and late 70s to 90s was great!! Bill sign the world trade agreement and in around 95 of the al Gore internet bomb it shot to hell and never came back!! Dumb asses Democrat sold Americans to the Mexican and China and I seen more homeless and unhappy people today than I ever seen!! Look at these companies hand people lay offs for Christmas bounse!! I mean sometimes I really wish these government people would die off and see how no one needs to pay taxes or have anyone gov over them!! As we all same and see how we looked and took our self back around war 1 and all 20 till 30 is not shameful but dam straight to first of weekens days of school that we can get together for real cause it's working man that your hold in your hands say your not a big fan of that time!! But no way in hell you can say that those people that build guitars to day is any better or good!! Cause now days people that do work switch jobs every 2 or 3 days!! I am not talking from jobs inside building I am talking from working at as a cop one min and a dam plumber the next now ! No way a 40 year old guitar toady is just ok but no way in hell it good enough for 40 plus years!! Wood more green and glue way to strong and not care with the wood is awful if you know about antique you know how strong glue is today!! Wood is designed to be harder than the wood cause I believe if you put a nail threw a harder peace of wood than the nails hardest than you fine out that wood would split weather it is in there now or 50 years later!! But I guess older is better cause they knew how to remove the wood from the air and age dry! Not cooked!! Green is green wood your just pull all mostier out of it when it rost not cure shit!! You should know when a rosted or a Polly is put on a normal Peace of wood it shields it like it is aboust threw the gran and harder is in paint so wood would require a great job and bond over the glu and over sprays from other coats as more layers of Polly is heavy no doubt but see how them lacure paint is thin with no harder as it is a oil to a dry out peaceful age wood than it is a part of the wood! Now days not as bad head and neck breaks but when they do they break at a joint or something else might have a hole or screw as know we're the old ones would split as it break as part would break but watch some one smash guitars back in 70 and watch one today you tell me how much more space you need to be there around them back in 70!! Break 1 today and 1 tomorrow it break in same place with same break but o no not the old ones!! They would take a lot more hits but o man who ever around when it break it mess up every one around! Lol! Better in fact and today overall price is 3 times high in today standers than back than everyone except standers for real and wish they could give others more than what they had
Gorgeous guitar Not all Nrlins sucked same with 1970s Strats maybe the arnt as good as the 50s 60s vintages or their modern counterparts but ive hears and seen some lovely sounding lps and strats on this channel and yt to know advocate for em and like em, warts and all i actually wiuld buy a mocha 1970s Strat well because i love em im weird. Any guitar that reminds me if chocolate is good in this fat dudes books.
