1969 Gibson Les Paul for sale
I know a guy who is selling this amazing guitar. If you are interested, let me know and I’ll forward you more info.
Unique 1969 Les Paul Custom Black Beauty
Late ’69, but with solid body and 1-piece neck!
For the Player/Collector, we offer this 1969 LES PAUL CUSTOM “BLACK BEAUTY”, in very good, but played, condition. It was a one-owner guitar and was played a lot, but cared for very well. It is very clean with few scuffs and dings. The owner purchased it new from The Guitar Shop in Pomona. He played with the Everly Bros and others on stage and in studios in Hollywood in the ’70 & ‘80s. He passed way in 1997 and the guitar had been closeted for over 10 years before and 14 years since then, until just recently.
Lots of players dream about finding a vintage guitar like this. This is one of them. A few of the appointments: SN 840XXX, 1-piece mahogany neck (it has the ear-wings of the wide head, but not the 3-piece maple neck); no volute; transition tenon - a big distinction from the later more common 3-pc neck ‘69s and later with the short tenon. The body is solid mahogany (no sandwich line) with a maple top.
The pot dates are 1376934, or August, 1969, which indicates a later-1969 manufacture, which is interesting considering the neck and body do not reflect the more notorious “Norlin changes.” It has the wider flared headstock hosting the Gibson Logo with no dot on the “i”, and the open “b” and “o.” Inside the electronics cavity one of the rounded curves is squared off. All electronics and wiring are original.
It has the ORIGINAL T-TOP HUMBUCKERS. These have pat # 2,747,842 on the stickers instead of “pat applied for”. The tone from them is warm and outstanding. And all the mounting hardware is original. In the control cavity, CTS pots numbered 13769340, Sprague caps with untouched solder joints and wire.
There is very little lacquer checking, no major scratches, or belt rash, one spot on the back of neck showing finish wear, little fret wear and play wear on the top or back. There is one chip in the finish near the cable plug; minor and generally unobservable. The nitrocellulous finish retains all of its original gloss.
ALL THE ORIGINAL PARTS AND HARDWARE ARE THERE, except for removal of the original Bigsby tail piece, which was replaced long ago with the favored, lighter stoptail. Gold Sealfast (waffleback) tuners are like new, smooth and tight, headstock tuner routing holes untouched. Black witch-hat knobs with the gold numbers slightly worn but fully legible, gold pat. # bridge with ALL the original saddles and foundry mark, super lightweight gold tailpiece, original 5 ply pick guard.
THE POLISHED EBONY FRETBOARD, BINDING, AND INLAYS ARE ALL PERFECT. Remember, this is a Fretless Wonder, so it has the crownless frets and the fretboard has been finished for extreme fast play and bending. The binding has aged dramatically to a deep yellow-ivory. The topless frets are in amazing condition, never crowned or filed. Fully functioning truss rod. Sighting down the neck, it is absolutely laser strait on both sides. THE ACTION IS PERFECTLY LOW with no buzzes or dead spots up and down. THE WEIGHT IS UNDER 10 LBS.
Being critical, the tailpiece and pickup plates have some wear to the gold finish. The gold hardware on the bridge has some mild oxidation from playing. On the back, a little slight shirt button scuffing and a couple of tiny dents, not very noticable, and some edge finish flaking, from age not playwear. On top, the holes from the orginal Bigsby tailtpiece have been professionally finished. Otherwise it’s in very, very good condition. The pickguard has some abrasion, but after all that’s why it’s there. Other than the changeout of the tailpiece and gloss finish on the fretboard, THERE ARE NO CRACKS, BREAKS, REPAIRS, MODS, REFINISH OR OVERSPRAY. Everything works perfectly, there are no issues. This is a great guitar.
The case was original with the guitar, but not a Gibson case. While fully functional and serviceable, it’s not a classic case. The black tortex covering shows wear and age. The gold velour lining is I good shape. All clasps and handle are in fine condition.
The guitar has been professionally appraised at $10,000, which is at the low end of the high-quality range. The price has been adjusted to $8,500 to compensate for the removal of the Bigsby tailpiece and to allow the new owner to replace the frets and fingerboard finish, if desired, for the more conventional Les Paul setup.
The price is firm. Serious buyers only. Email: etroxel at gmail dot com
