Gibson Les Paul Custom Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 7-8071, black lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This well-worn early "Black Beauty" has come a long way since leaving Kalamazoo around the end of 1957. It has seen wear and restoration but remains true to its original design and feel, with vibe for days! The simultaneously elegant and badass Les Paul Custom was Gibson's top-of-the-line 1950s solidbody with gold plated hardware and deluxe appointments drawn from the company's flagship archtops. This one has languished in a single owner's stash since the 1960s; he was apparently a dedicated denizen of pawn and junk shops always on the lookout for a guitar bargain, and also a relentless tinkerer.
When unearthed a couple of years ago, this Custom was lying dismantled in the heavily worn original case in somewhat sorry looking shape; it had been buried away deep in a hoarded apartment for at least 40 years. It has been carefully cleaned, lovingly repaired and re-assembled using as many original parts as possible. Here is the guitar from top to bottom:
An old crack repair at the base of the headstock has been cleaned up and seamlessly finished over; even under blacklight there is no visible damage. The back of the headstock was oversprayed from the top down to the third fret area on the neck; the inked-on serial number is faint but still visible. The tuners have been restored to the correct "waffleback" Klusons with original bushings; there are deep pressure rings on the headstock face from other machines and small sprayed over screw holes in the headstock rear. The peghead face and sides retain the original finish. The original truss rod cover is still present with the tip broken off the top.
The neck finish is original below 3rd fret, heavily worn but with no other overspray. A decent amount of wood is exposed on the back of the neck but there are only shallow dings and dents. Someone played a lot in the key of C; the heaviest wear is in the 7-10th fret area. The small-wire frets appear to be the original, but are a bit taller and in better condition than we would expect the original fretless wonder low, flat wire to have survived in; we must assume an early refret. Many modern players would prefer larger wire anyway, which can be arranged.
The body finish is original except for some tiny touchups and an area spot under bridge, which again was seamlessly sprayed over which is visible only under blacklight. The reason for this was an odd ancient modification: This is an original Bigsby-equipped guitar, there are no holes in the top for a stop tailpiece. Someone long ago removed the Bigsby and as there was no place to anchor the strings then mounted a Les Paul Jr style stoptail where the ABR-1 sat, adding the larger mounting bolts. Amazingly enough the original no-wire Tune-O-matic bridge was still in the case, so this has been re-installed with new posts and wheels. A correct style but slightly later (1960s) Bigsby has been reinstalled, returning the guitar to its original configuration.
The original finish shows fairly heavy wear overall with some minor touch ups in dings and dents, heavier belt buckle wear and a large area of finger/pick wear into the wood below the pickups, which is largely covered by the original pickguard, which was also stored unused in the case. The bracket is period but not original. The original knobs are intact; there is a small sealed crack to the mahogany top coming off the back edge of the lower volume pot.
And now to the pickups: When the guitar was found the original PAF pickups had been removed and dismantled (!) with some original parts remaining in the case pocket. Jimmy Carbonetti of Carbonetti Guitars was able to re-assemble all useable pieces and substitute vintage or vintage repro parts for what was missing. The bridge pickup was reassembled from all original PAF components including the coils, winds, poles, worn gold-plated cover, leads, screws and springs. It looks great and sounds fantastic! The neck pickup is assembled from one original coil, original poles, cover and mounting screws and otherwise repro parts, the middle is all repro parts under an old (but not 1950s) worn gold Gibson cover. The neck position is deep and rich, the middle position is VERY snarky and out-of-phase. Jimmy used his own personal 3-pickup 1950s Custom as a reference point when voicing the pickups. The middle mounting ring is original to the guitar and very worn; the other two are correct Gibson parts but later. About half of the ring mounting screws are original.
The wiring rig remains original including all four pots (coded 134-734) and the very rare and sought-after "mini-phonebook" capacitors, only used on this period Les Paul Customs, Flying V's and Explorers. The switch is original but the mounting ring is not; the plastic Rhythm/Treble ring is gone; the amber tip looks correct but may be a superb repro. The original pickguard is mounted but must have sat in the case for most of the guitar's life as there is considerable wear into the top wood underneath it.
This is a great gigging 1950s Custom, playing and sounding fabulous and worn enough to not be precious about. The neck is quite comfortable, fairly slim for a '57 with more dress-away to the sides than some. The current frets are small by modern standards but still have some meat to them. Many iconic players have made the 3-pickup Custom part of their arsenal, and despite the acclaim surrounding the sunburst Standards, there are some out there who consider this Black Beauty the ultimate Les Paul. This once well-used guitar had been laying dormant for decades and is now ready to sing again, housed in an extremely battered but very cool original black yellow-lined case (We can provide a solider case if needed!) We'd like to thank Jimmy Carbonetti for his help getting this old black 6-string Cadillac up and running again; It's had a hard life but like that old Timex watch is still tickin'!
Overall length is 39 5/8 in. (100.6 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 in. (5.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.)., 10.64 lbs. Overall Very Good Condition.
