Gibson Les Paul Signature Guitar

Overview of this Gibson Les Paul Signature

We are entering the third age!!

This venerable Gibson Les Paul Signature was manufactured in 1973. I believe that it is one of the oldest guitars that passed through the Esprit Guitare workshop 😉
It’s a relatively little-known guitar, even if it’s part of the Gibson legend (paradox!). Quite simply because very few copies were made (less than 1,400) and for only six years.

This one lived her 49 years well. Time has left its mark: the varnish is weathered and discolored in places. Traces of use are present almost everywhere where the musician left his hands during long hours of practice. Relic lovers will appreciate: it’s all original.

However, the electronics still hold up. The sound is there, the knobs don’t spit, everything is OK. She comes for a check-up and review.

Work completed

Cleaning, then, to begin with. And there is a real need for it. Obviously, we’re not going to make it new. When the varnish is gone, it is gone and we can only reapply it, which is not the program for this one.

Then dismantle the Tune’o Matic bridge, check the electronics. We take the opportunity to correct a fixing fault on the EQ selection knob. Working on the potentiometers on this type of guitar (semi hollow body) is always a delicate exercise: there is no plate at the back that you can remove to access the knobs. The only opening is that of the nearest sound hole (the bottom one, therefore) and this one is relatively thin. Impossible to slip your hand in like you could do on an acoustic guitar. So of course, we use specific tools that allow us to carry out this work. Moreover, most of these dedicated tools are adaptations of existing tools or even in-house creations! This is very often the case in lutherie.

Checking the mechanics and screws, then the neck: hydration and maintenance of the fingerboard, polishing the frets and checking the fret leveling.
Finally, we put everything back together, put in new strings and fine-tuned the tuning (which was already quite good), especially on the intonation.

Conclusion

Here is a guitar that is almost half a century old, all its original parts and which remains a brilliant instrument. Its versatility is incredible. The neck is fast and the pickups super responsive. We could play metal with no problem on this old lady!! But she also knows how to play mellow jazz, electrifying funk, fat blues… It’s a real 4×4!
As it turns out, some constructions are made to last. This one is gone for at least 50 more years, if it continues to be maintained and treated well.

Photos

The Esprit Guitare workshop

The Esprit Guitare lutherie workshop welcomes you by appointment for maintenance, repair, setup or customization of guitars, bass, ukulele and more 😉
Feel free to contact us or book an appointment.

Esprit Guitare – a passion for instruments in Martinique.

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