Austin, as a plastics injection molder I can tell you exactly what those marks on the pickup covers are. The round ones are the indentations left by ejector pins, meant to kick the part out of the mold after the cycle is complete. The “hash marks” on the inside were almost certainly put in the because the parts were sticking to the wrong side of the injection mold. Those would have been cut into the mold itself to facilitate the part holding onto what we call the “ejector side “ or “b side” of the mold.
The back-of-the headstock pic at 2:32 has a sticker from Bobby's Music in Denver, the premier shop during the '70s and '80s. Bought a lot of stuff there back in the day, and have very fond memories!
Marc Ford also used one of these during the Amorica and Three Snakes era of the Black Crowes. You can see him playing it live on some videos like on a live version of Wiser Time. Love these so much.
I have 06 113478, how cool! It is ebony with the same Schaller tuners but was routed for humbuckers by the time I bought it in 1980. Because the neck pickup route is right against the neck, it may have been a Pro. My number one for decades!
I have an all orig NM '78 LP Pro Deluxe in black just like that one. Got it years ago. Hanoi Rocks guitarist Nasty Suicide played one, was his main guitar. I took the pick guard off and that's when that guitar really looks fantastic. The black against the dull white P90s is awesome. And that bridge pickup is absolutely great. Run straight into a JMP or AC30. Here's the only problem with owning a NM vintage black LP, I'm hesitant to play it because it's so hard to find one NM in black. Every tiny ding and scratch shows up on a black finish. It's maybe the coolest looking guitar I own except for my late 70's 7593 Falcons.
This was my first LP. I played it to death. The neck warped and couldn’t be salvaged. It was a bummer. I would not pay $3,500 for the guitar. The late 70s Norlin-era builds were not Gibson’s finest hour.
Love the Pro Deluxe. I actually have a 77 LP Custom with that same Bobbys Music in Denver, CO sticker on the same place of the headstock. I used to live in that area.
9 times out of 10 old stickers of the past will leave a finish issue…. My experience with old stickers like the one in this episode, it leaves a noticeable impression 100% of the time. I agree, leave them on.
You can tell a 1969 Deluxe from 1970 and on- the pre 1970 Deluxe has no “dot” above the “I”. It did not show up until early in 1970. If you have one with 1970 pots, but no “dot” above the “I”, the body/neck were produced in 1969 and the electronics possible added in January 1970. Just a bit of Gibson history. I love my Goldtop Deluxe, all original and just sounds so unique!
799 in 1977 dollars translates to ~$4100 today, for people who say X guitar isn't worth Y price. The 2024 Deluxe 70s is $2800 today. If they offered a Pro, at the same markup, ~$3100. Likely a better guitar. Hooray for CNC & Asian competition?
A buddy mine is selling a tobacco sunburst 1978 Les Paul deluxe for one of his customers. It plays well. Great neck. Good condition, players grade. HOWEVER, the serial number has been chiseled away. He’s already spoken to the police and based on the and non-markable features it would not be easily identifiable as stolen. That all being said, he’s priced it $3000. Reverb is about $3K - 6K. What evaluation would place on this guitar?😊
Picked up a '78 here in Florida for $2200 - single owner, passed away from cancer and was sold by his sister. It's beat to hell and perfectly worn in, plays like butter and sounds unreal. Unfortunately there's a Bigsby trem bolted on the front, I'm still trying to figure out whether or not to restore the tailpiece to stock.
Now that's my kind of guitar! A Gibson with P90's, f**k yeah! Not usually the biggest fan of ebony guitars either but for some reason when it comes to this one, like the great man says "It just works!" lol
Oh man finally, and just after I got my pro deluxe flood guitar you featured in that episode. I got the headstock glued back together and the body glued back, still can see some of the splits in the top but plays and sounds great. Hoping to do a regret soon. Also btw it did have the original clear bobbin p90 in the neck and a super distortion in the bridge with a phase switch.
Neil Schon had 2 famous gibsons the Pro Delux and the Super Custom, and Schon has re-linked up with GIbson and is due to have a Custom Shop guitar to appear probably in 2026
The guitar in the video has the original wiring and capacitors. The pot common ground is the metal plate which is not as effective as a soldered wired ground. The use of the pot body as part of the circuit, leg soldered to body, seems a little strange, also then relying on the pot screw down plate attached as part of the ground, even more strange, given the metal parts of the pots are hidden below the knobs, so why does the pot body need to be grounded if you cannot touch it? Okay, there is an attempt to shield the circuitry, with the pot plate and cover, but you could also run a common ground, and then choose how you would want the shield grounded (direct, resistor, or capacitor). Except for the pickups, all the point to point wiring is 20 AWG and insulation PVC. The switch cable three conductor with shield and drain wire, which is used as the ground, is the very common PVC slate colored jacket wire. To reduce noise the pickup select switch should be moved very close to the pots. Also, it looks like there is no ground (of any kind) going to the bridge.. I think the non-layered body mid 70s deluxe pro guitars (no parting lines), have an ebony fretboard and a rosewood neck. As such, the P90s would be replaced, many times with a neck single coil and a bridge humbucker, much like you discovered in the video. The deluxe pro is an excellent guitar to mod because of the outstanding neck and fretboard, stainless steel frets, up graded machine heads and a 12 inch neck radius. For it's time the neck is extremely fast.
If you do a Marshall setup, you could take a more modern sound and get right back to the 70s by switching to a minibucker guitar. Same with Firebird pickups. I wonder if country guys like 'em, sounds like a good choice for it.
I own a 1980 Les Paul Pro is cherry burst. It has the plainest top you've ever seen, just one tiny spot of curl in one of 5 pieces of the top, although one of the 3 pieces of the neck has a ton of flame.
A neck will not twist from the truss rod alone, something else has to be wrong, like a bad piece of wood, grain direction or something else. And, the number of threads sticking out can’t always be credited to an “over adjusted” neck, there can be a number of reasons for more threads I.E. compression of the wood, at either end of the rod, the rod was cut a bit long or installed slightly forward or something else. People are way to hard on truss rod threads sticking out. Beside there are plenty of threads in there to make further adjustments.
The twist will be caused by incorrect adjustment and string tension. Could try slackening off and carefully applying weight over several days. Take care!
I’m slowly coming around to Gibsons but the necks are just too big for my smaller hands. These deluxes are the best option I have, what year do you recommend I get for a deluxe if I wanted something easier for small hands?
Yeah, like @zeusapollo8688 said, later 60's/earlier 70's SG's have very thin necks. Gibson reduced the nut width by an eighth of an inch on all their guitars for the best part of a decade so maybe try one from this era.
The mini buckers remind me of the stuff in the 70's that annoyed me. Like trying to turn a Les Paul into a stunted version of it's self in an effort to replicate a Tele. -- Thankfully the pedal market grew like crazy during the 70's. JMO LoL it was a different era.
Trogy, i can't play worth a shit,but painted auto's for 20 years,lacquer and polyurethane finishes,when you polish,everything should be clean and dust free,in between polishings cleanthe area with glass WITH amonia.this will help withl remove swirls, and after wiping with a clean microfiber, wax it with good carnauba wax liquid or paste 3m or meguiars.youl be impressed.
Shocking to send a filthy guitar for consignment. Hope you charge an extra fee. They'll take a big hit for the twisted neck and maxxed truss rod. Could be from a deceased estate I suppose.
