Gibson Les Paul Standard Solid Body Electric Guitar (1963)
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Item #13843
Gibson Les Paul Standard Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1963), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 118022, cherry lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a great playing 1963 SG/Les Paul Standard, one of Gibson's all-time classic solidbodies. In the early 1960s this novel, radical-looking design was unprecedented, offering more unencumbered neck than anyone had ever seen! It is amazing in retrospect that this wicked looking guitar was the product of Gibson's middle-aged conservative design team, long pre-dating even the dream of heavy metal music. "Take that, Fender" they must have been thinking!
This style "Standard" replaced the original 1950s single-cutaway Les Paul just at the end of 1960, a bold statement of guitar modernism from the Kalamazoo company. While the original single-cutaway Les Pauls roared back to favor later in the 1960s, this slim and supple SG has also found generations of adherents. Les Paul himself was not a fan of this design ("a guy could injure himself on those sharp horns") and his name was removed from the model later in 1963.
The cherry lacquer finish on this exquisitely sculpted double-cutaway body is a darker reddish hue than many, accentuated by a lot of "smoking" over the years. This final year LP/SG has two very hot original "Patent Number" humbucking pickups, unchanged structurally from the later PAF's. The original pots are topped with capped back-painted plastic knobs with "tone" and "volume" markings. The hardware is all nickel plated including the original style no-wire Tune-O-Matic bridge with Nylon saddles mated to the about-to-disappear elaborate Gibson side-to-side vibrato tailpiece. This one is intact and fully functional, though many players prefer not to use it!
The bound rosewood fingerboard has the larger frets typical of the period and trapezoidal pearloid inlay which have darkened noticeably from smoke exposure. The headstock has double-ring Kluson deluxe tuners and Gibson's classic "crown" inlay on the face; the lacquer over the inlay has also gone particularly dark and partially chipped away here. The "Les Paul" markings are engraved into the truss rod cover, which has also darkened somewhat as have the tuner buttons. The neck retains the slim back-to-front character of the flat-feeling "1960 style" but with more dressed away sides for a nicely rounded feel. The neck heel is neatly faired into the body and less prone to distress than most.
Despite perhaps in retrospect being a bit lightly built for the abuses of the road, these early Les Paul-marked SGs have an aesthetic and sonic character unlike any others. If fairly popular when new they really came into their own in the late 1960s with the advent of high volume amplification (Marshall, especially) unleashed the screaming beast within! .
1445 of these elegantly badass guitars were shipped in 1963, at a list price earlier in the year of $295 plus $50 for the case. The Les Paul/SG Standard in general remains a very popular guitar, with good reason. It had a particular heyday in the late '60s and early '70s, a fixture in many heavy and Psychedelic bands particularly after Cream's Eric Clapton toured his riotously psychedelically painted "Fool" to enormous acclaim in 1967-8. This is simply one of the classic rock guitars of that or any era, and actually a more versatile instrument than many think.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 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.).
This is fine playing first-year Les Paul Standard, showing signs of use but generally well-preserved. The finish is completely original and darker than most, showing the effects of a very smoky environment long ago over most of the instrument. Despite this, neither the guitar or the case have a residual smoke odor. The color is a very deep almost burgundy hue more than the typical brighter cherry of most, but all finish is original. The back of the neck has bleached out just a bit from hand contact as is typical. There is some very fine checking and small dings, chips and scuffs overall but no major loss; there is a spot of belt buckle wear into but not through the back finish. The back of the neck has a few small dinks but is only worn away on the treble edge, mostly from the first to seventh frets on the treble side. The neck binding is heavily ambered from smoke
The heel joint is the trouble spot on early SGs, often having been either partially or wholly broken. This one shows one very small tight split to the wood on the treble side of the body off the heck joint, running diagonally down about 1/2" from the edge of the shelf. All is solid but the tenon on the treble side must have shifted a bit and been reglued on that side. There is a bit of finish chipping just above this and a small amount of glue residue visible over the spot. This particular faired-in style heel is the strongest of the pre-1966 designs; it shows no movement or splitting along the back of the body or the bass side and the neck is completely solid, whatever movement there was having been dealt with. The headstock is also completely free of the common cracks.
All hardware on the guitar is original, inside and out. The Patent # pickups have never had the covers lifted and all solder joints appear untouched, with a visible pot date to the 41st week of 1962. The "Patent Number" decals are intact on the bases, quite darkened but legible. The plating has general wear and tarnish overall but no heavy loss. The side-to-side trem unit is intact and functional, with a chip to the plating on the forward piece. The pickguard has a repair to the lower front tip. The original double-ring buttons on the Kluson tuners have darkened quite a bit but are not shrunken up.
The frets are the original style but are likely an older refret; in any case they have been crowned down somewhat in the lower positions with minor subsequent wear but not enough to cause any playability issues. The fretboard has some light divoting in the lower positions, again not affecting play; the nut is original. This is a real screamer of a LP/SG Standard, with a full dose of the raunchy, singing tone these are known for when cranked. The original deluxe yellow-lined black case is fully intact and cleaner than we would have expected, with some minor wear but fully solid with some old Gibson string envelopes in the pocket. Overall Very Good + Condition.
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This is a great playing 1963 SG/Les Paul Standard, one of Gibson's all-time classic solidbodies. In the early 1960s this novel, radical-looking design was unprecedented, offering more unencumbered neck than anyone had ever seen! It is amazing in retrospect that this wicked looking guitar was the product of Gibson's middle-aged conservative design team, long pre-dating even the dream of heavy metal music. "Take that, Fender" they must have been thinking!
This style "Standard" replaced the original 1950s single-cutaway Les Paul just at the end of 1960, a bold statement of guitar modernism from the Kalamazoo company. While the original single-cutaway Les Pauls roared back to favor later in the 1960s, this slim and supple SG has also found generations of adherents. Les Paul himself was not a fan of this design ("a guy could injure himself on those sharp horns") and his name was removed from the model later in 1963.
The cherry lacquer finish on this exquisitely sculpted double-cutaway body is a darker reddish hue than many, accentuated by a lot of "smoking" over the years. This final year LP/SG has two very hot original "Patent Number" humbucking pickups, unchanged structurally from the later PAF's. The original pots are topped with capped back-painted plastic knobs with "tone" and "volume" markings. The hardware is all nickel plated including the original style no-wire Tune-O-Matic bridge with Nylon saddles mated to the about-to-disappear elaborate Gibson side-to-side vibrato tailpiece. This one is intact and fully functional, though many players prefer not to use it!
The bound rosewood fingerboard has the larger frets typical of the period and trapezoidal pearloid inlay which have darkened noticeably from smoke exposure. The headstock has double-ring Kluson deluxe tuners and Gibson's classic "crown" inlay on the face; the lacquer over the inlay has also gone particularly dark and partially chipped away here. The "Les Paul" markings are engraved into the truss rod cover, which has also darkened somewhat as have the tuner buttons. The neck retains the slim back-to-front character of the flat-feeling "1960 style" but with more dressed away sides for a nicely rounded feel. The neck heel is neatly faired into the body and less prone to distress than most.
Despite perhaps in retrospect being a bit lightly built for the abuses of the road, these early Les Paul-marked SGs have an aesthetic and sonic character unlike any others. If fairly popular when new they really came into their own in the late 1960s with the advent of high volume amplification (Marshall, especially) unleashed the screaming beast within! .
1445 of these elegantly badass guitars were shipped in 1963, at a list price earlier in the year of $295 plus $50 for the case. The Les Paul/SG Standard in general remains a very popular guitar, with good reason. It had a particular heyday in the late '60s and early '70s, a fixture in many heavy and Psychedelic bands particularly after Cream's Eric Clapton toured his riotously psychedelically painted "Fool" to enormous acclaim in 1967-8. This is simply one of the classic rock guitars of that or any era, and actually a more versatile instrument than many think.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 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.).
This is fine playing first-year Les Paul Standard, showing signs of use but generally well-preserved. The finish is completely original and darker than most, showing the effects of a very smoky environment long ago over most of the instrument. Despite this, neither the guitar or the case have a residual smoke odor. The color is a very deep almost burgundy hue more than the typical brighter cherry of most, but all finish is original. The back of the neck has bleached out just a bit from hand contact as is typical. There is some very fine checking and small dings, chips and scuffs overall but no major loss; there is a spot of belt buckle wear into but not through the back finish. The back of the neck has a few small dinks but is only worn away on the treble edge, mostly from the first to seventh frets on the treble side. The neck binding is heavily ambered from smoke
The heel joint is the trouble spot on early SGs, often having been either partially or wholly broken. This one shows one very small tight split to the wood on the treble side of the body off the heck joint, running diagonally down about 1/2" from the edge of the shelf. All is solid but the tenon on the treble side must have shifted a bit and been reglued on that side. There is a bit of finish chipping just above this and a small amount of glue residue visible over the spot. This particular faired-in style heel is the strongest of the pre-1966 designs; it shows no movement or splitting along the back of the body or the bass side and the neck is completely solid, whatever movement there was having been dealt with. The headstock is also completely free of the common cracks.
All hardware on the guitar is original, inside and out. The Patent # pickups have never had the covers lifted and all solder joints appear untouched, with a visible pot date to the 41st week of 1962. The "Patent Number" decals are intact on the bases, quite darkened but legible. The plating has general wear and tarnish overall but no heavy loss. The side-to-side trem unit is intact and functional, with a chip to the plating on the forward piece. The pickguard has a repair to the lower front tip. The original double-ring buttons on the Kluson tuners have darkened quite a bit but are not shrunken up.
The frets are the original style but are likely an older refret; in any case they have been crowned down somewhat in the lower positions with minor subsequent wear but not enough to cause any playability issues. The fretboard has some light divoting in the lower positions, again not affecting play; the nut is original. This is a real screamer of a LP/SG Standard, with a full dose of the raunchy, singing tone these are known for when cranked. The original deluxe yellow-lined black case is fully intact and cleaner than we would have expected, with some minor wear but fully solid with some old Gibson string envelopes in the pocket. Overall Very Good + Condition.
