{"product_id":"gibson-les-paul-custom-owned-and-played-by-jason-isbell-solid-body-electric-guitar-1960-12689","title":"Gibson Les Paul Custom Owned and Played by Jason Isbell Solid Body Electric Guitar (1960)","description":"Gibson Les Paul Custom Owned and Played by Jason Isbell Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1960), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 0-1689, cherry lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHere's one for the books, and although there are a number of books on Les Pauls this guitar does not appear in them! Pretty much everyone knows the elegant and badass Les Paul Custom was Gibson's top-of-the-line solidbody for the 1950's, a shining \"Black Beauty\" with gold plated hardware and deluxe appointments. BUT, as one can plainly see, this played but original Custom is indeed beautiful but is NOT black, making it an exceptional rarity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*This* Custom sports a transparent cherry lacquer finish instead of the expected solid ebony on its all-mahogany body. This was a new finish Gibson had introduced at the end of the '50s, mostly seen on the revamped double cutaway Les Paul Juniors and Specials and the new ES-335 family. Most recent research suggests there were six original Les Paul Customs made in 1959-60 in cherry red in two runs; first in solid cherry followed by this more see through cherry stain lacquer. It is believed 6 cherry Customs were shipped to Gibson's Scandinavian distributor Hagstrom in Sweden (who apparently preferred this finish to black) as custom order in 1959-60. There is a VERY faint small \"Made in USA\" stamp on the back of the headstock just above the serial number which is specific to export models originally shipped outside the US. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Les Paul Custom was introduced in 1954 as Les' personal choice for his signature model. The Custom has a number of specific features: Unlike the Standard the carved-top solid body is made entirely of mahogany, with no maple cap. The bound fingerboard is ebony with pearl block inlay, while the elaborate split diamond inlay on the headstock is shared with the Super 400, Gibson's most expensive guitar. All hardware is gold plated and the body and headstock are multi-bound. The Custom was the first Gibson to feature the then-new Tune-o-Matic bridge and the only 1950s Kalamazoo-made solidbody to carry three pickups.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis latter point spotlights a major change made in 1957. Replacing the previous twin single-coil pickup outfit the Custom was fitted with three of the new humbucking pickups designed by Seth Lover, which spanned the face of the guitar beneath the strings. The stock switching offers neck pickup alone, bridge alone or bridge and middle out-of-phase, this sound then new sonic territory for Gibson solidbodies. The Custom's all-mahogany body tends to give the instrument a subtly mellower sound than the maple-capped Standard, while the PAF pickups offer an amazing range of tones from a jazzy purr to an all-out scream, from deep crunch to an almost Strat-like twang.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis particular distinctive instrument was shipped fairly early in 1960; the old-style 1950's ink stamped serial number registers it as the 1689th solid body serialized that year. The see-through cherry finish highlights the one-piece carved top body construction and looks simply splendid, subtle and flashy at the same time. The one-piece mahogany neck has something of a transitional profile with some of the character of the round backed \"59 neck\" but a bit shallower, still not the noticeably flatter profile identified with 1960. The three original PAF pickups are undisturbed; the covers have never been removed and the \"Patent applied for\" decals largely intact. The wiring rig remains original with pots coded to the 47th week of 1959 and the infamous \"mini phone book\" capacitors specific to the late '50s Customs (and Flying Vs!). The three humbuckers measure 7.94K (Neck), 8.29K (Middle) and 8.34K (Bridge) and all sound fantastic. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is not a whole lot of prior reference on this very rare Custom variant. In \"The Les Paul Legacy; the early Years 1915-1963\" Robb Lawrence notes \"A few Cherry Finished Les Paul (Customs) were built�in 1960\". This particular guitar was featured in PREMIER GUITAR magazine's Vintage Vault dated August 29, 2022. It has lately been in the collection of Jason Isbell, who told us he thinks the guitar is beautiful but prefers his 'Burst as a player, hence this Custom's return to the open market. This is a spectacular Gibson rarity, a truly unusual variant of one of the company's most revered classic designs.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOverall length is 39 1\/2 in. (100.3 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7\/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3\/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5\/8 in. (41 mm.)., 9.67 lbs. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis exceptionally rare Gibson shows a decent amount of honest play wear and minor repair but remains a beautifully original instrument. Like the majority of original Customs it has been refretted; the original very low thin \"fretless wonder\" frets are rarely in playable shape 65 or so years along and most modern players find them awkward even in perfect condition. This guitar has been very neatly refretted with larger wire and plays perfectly with a feel that nearly all modern players would prefer. The nut appears to remain original despite the refret, looking shimmed up slightly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is general play wear to the original finish, mostly smaller dings, dents and scrapes with no large areas of loss. There are numerous dings and dents but no heavy belt buckle wear into the back. The lovely cherry top shows scattered small dinks and dents. The back of the neck has the most wear, with a number of noticeable dings and dents to the wood and a long scratch down the center from the first to fifth fret zone. While this looks somewhat like a grain split we have examined it very closely and see no wood disturbance along its length; it is possible the grain opened up slightly here long ago but if so it was thoroughly closed and sealed. The back of the neck could be carefully touched up if desired for feel but the finish now remains original.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is a small repair to the bass side headstock wing at the back bottom end through the Low E string tuner screw which opened slightly at some point, likely when the tuner took a hit long ago. This has been solidly resealed with some minimal touchup to just that spot. The area above along the bass side of the rear of the headstock shows some slight stress marks through the tuners but no open grain or added finish. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe gold plating shows some fairly heavy wear overall, most notably to the pickup covers, tuner buttons and top of the bridge as is typical. The pickups themselves are undisturbed original PAF's and sound fantastic in all positions. All hardware is original and complete; with the exception of the more player-friendly frets this NON-Black Beauty is stock as it left Kalamazoo for Sweden in 1960. This superb and super rare Custom has had some adventures (mostly in Europe, apparently) and shows some minor scars but has a unique look with a vibe second to none. It retains the original yellow-lined black pebble HSC, solid with some wear and a functional if amateur handle replacement. Overall Very Good + Condition.","brand":"Gibson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49755720319116,"sku":"12689","price":175000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_67a8d3c4-3ec8-4a1a-b5ab-bdf9a59c125c.jpg?v=1778624472","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/gibson-les-paul-custom-owned-and-played-by-jason-isbell-solid-body-electric-guitar-1960-12689","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}