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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Clarifying LP Custom I am buying
Newbie here...
I am purchasing a black LP Custom from a friend. It has a stamped 6-digit serial number beginning with "0" and no "Made in USA." Best I can figure out it is 1967 vintage.
Is that about right? Any rough idea of value?
Thanks.
#1 Make sure it is not a copy. Match the serial # on Gibson's website. Copies are hard to identify sometimes. If it has "stock pickups" make sure they have Gibson on the bottom side of them...make sure they are not some off brand or japanese copy brand.
that said, go on ebay and check on prices for guitars that year range.
I do know from experience that Gibson Les Paul Customs from the late 60's to the early to mid 70's are hard to differenciate.
Is the "i" in Gibson dotted or not dotted? Mine is not, which means mine is early 70's, although the serial # refers to years between 68-74. My pickups have Gibson engraved in the gold covers, and they did that '70-73. So I think mine is a '73.
go to www.gibson.com and you can look up the serial number in their year directory.
hope that helped out some
My personal opinion, of course is BUY IT! Les Paul Customs from any year - you cant go wrong.
Good info, thanks.
I am puzzled with some info I have found. It appears the six-figure serial numbers beginning with "0" are for 1967, but I see other sites that say Custom LPs were discontinued in 1964 or so and not produced again until 1968.
Mine is authentic based upon what you said to check but I am still baffled by the serial number issue and the contrasting info about no LP Customs produced in 1967..
it could be a '68 with an old serial #...
My '73 has a serial # from '68, but the headstock logo and pickups reflected early 70's era
you can take it to a Gibson dealer for an appraisal and they should be able to tell you the year.
It gets confusinger!
I thought the LP Customs were all black. Mine is sunburst. In every other way it has the characteristics of a vintage Custom (even says "Custom" on it, but I thought the mid-60s versions were black, even called "Black Beauty."
Is it possibly a Custom Shop version?
I understand your point about serial numbers. Gibson was pretty sloppy with them.
it could be a '68 with an old serial #...
My '73 has a serial # from '68, but the headstock logo and pickups reflected early 70's era
you can take it to a Gibson dealer for an appraisal and they should be able to tell you the year.
You mentioned in your posts about the "style" of the headstock and whether, for example, the "i" in "Gibson" was dotted. What is the difference in years between a dotted and undotted "i"?
Oh god, I could be wrong on this - but i think some gibson logos did not have a dotted i between '70-'78???
In 1977 they started doing better serial numbers...I believe.
You can buy a guitar bluebook, and it will show you different gibson logos on headstocks and determine which matches your guitar. But I haven't had to regurgitate this info since 1995...
The earliest Gibson Les Paul Custom with a sunburst that I have personally ever seen was either a '76 or '77...
If you don't want to buy a book, take the guitar in to a shop and have an appraisal done. they'll tell you the year, its condition, and how much it is worth. (good proof for home owner's insurance)
My understanding is that Gibson reintroduced the LP Custom in 1968. As far as I know the 68-69 pre-Norlin models all contained 6 digit serial numbers starting either with a 5 or 8. There's no "Made In The USA" stamped underneath the serial.
Another thing to do when checking the vintage is to look at the pot codes. The pot dates should confirm whether your serial number is consistent with the date, or not. Gibson was erratic in their use of serial numbers during that time.
The differentiating factors between the late 60s and early 70s models include:
One piece headstock (generally 68s) vs. three piece headstock.
One piece body vs. "pancake". The 68s and 69s have a one piece body. The 69s will also have a maple veneer on top of the body.
Interestingly, I have a 69 model (that's confirmed with the serial number and pot codes, lack of volute, no "made in USA"). I purchased my guitar in 1976. For some reason, the previous owner replaced the pickup covers with the engraved Gibson logos that appeared on the guitar in the early 70s. It also has nickel hardware unlike most customs, which are gold.
There are some excellent threads at www.lespaulforum.com on the subject. You should be able to find a thread and links that help with your guitar.
My understanding is that Gibson reintroduced the LP Custom in 1968. As far as I know the 68-69 pre-Norlin models all contained 6 digit serial numbers starting either with a 5 or 8. There's no "Made In The USA" stamped underneath the serial.
Another thing to do when checking the vintage is to look at the pot codes. The pot dates should confirm whether your serial number is consistent with the date, or not. Gibson was erratic in their use of serial numbers during that time.
The differentiating factors between the late 60s and early 70s models include:
One piece headstock (generally 68s) vs. three piece headstock.
One piece body vs. "pancake". The 68s and 69s have a one piece body. The 69s will also have a maple veneer on top of the body.Interestingly, I have a 69 model (that's confirmed with the serial number and pot codes, lack of volute, no "made in USA"). I purchased my guitar in 1976. For some reason, the previous owner replaced the pickup covers with the engraved Gibson logos that appeared on the guitar in the early 70s. It also has nickel hardware unlike most customs, which are gold.
There are some excellent threads at www.lespaulforum.com on the subject. You should be able to find a thread and links that help with your guitar.
Thanks to both of you for all the great, expert advice.
What am I looking for in the pot codes?
My guitar headstock as a six-digit serial number beginning with "04" but I'm beginning to wonder if Gibson used some of the left-over serial numbers from the late 60s on their reissues to make them look more authentic.
Pot codes:
Take off the back cover for the volume and tone controls. In the late 60s and early 70s the manufacturer of the pots stamped a code on there (they may still do it).
It's a 7 digit #.
The first 3 #s indicate the manufacturer. In many cases it's 137
The next two digits are the year the pots were made.
The last two digits are the week of the year.
As in the linked thread, 1377323 would indicate that the pots were made in the 23rd week of 1973.
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showt … =pot+codes
If you care to register over at the Les Paul forum, I'm sure you can get some very useful info.
also try LSLP.com for a lot of info on the late 60s Les Pauls.
I'd also recommend checking out this site. It has a lot of info about vintage Gibsons.
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gibson.html
The fact your serial number begins with 0 is very interesting. LP Customs were re-introduced in 1968, after some 0s were used. Based on the above, 0s were used in 1973, but you'd also have the Made In USA stamp with it.
I'd definitely check this out. If you have an early re-issue Custom (e.g. 68) or (gasp) something from earlier, then that guitar could be worth a lot of money.
Keep us informed.
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