Lfan
Hi Gibby experts
1975 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe - Bridge pup was changed. R8k. Should I buy or pass?
el-guapo
Not an expert by any means (esp not re 70s prices) but my gut feel is that that is a great price as long as it's a good Norlin (I know, I know, their quality is variable at many stages of their history but the 70s are known for being especially variable). If you play it and like it, I would say don't hesitate.
IceCreamMan
I ocncur with el gaupo , if genuine and u like it , R8k is a steal imho.
One cant even buy a mex strat for that these days...never mind a 40 year old LP.
singemonkey
The price is suspiciously low. If it's not a scam, jump on it.
Sebber
Stunning! The bridge pickup is an "after-market" customisation, is it a Seymour Duncan Invader? It makes me wonder whether or not the body for the '70s Deluxe models was routed for mini-humbuckers or normal size humbuckers.
singemonkey
Some nincompoop sold you that for R8,000?! Were they on the run from the mob or something?
Congratulations. Looks in great condition but for the humbucker rout. Those early replacement pickups tend to be a bit over the top and you might do well to replace that bridge pickup with something really nice.
Score of the year mate.
Edit: A few notes - Orginal tuners. Very nice. Double ring type buttons on those. They were clearly still using the ABR-1 bridges rather than the fatter Nashville bridge. That's a score in my book. The guitar has been refretted (because the binding no longer covers the ends of the frets) but seems in wonderful condition for a well-played guitar.
A '75 will be a bit different to my '83 Deluxe in that is has a maple neck and probably a 'pancake' (layered wood) body. Also it has the large headstock that Gibson used from 1969-1983.
serven
@Lfan - Congratulations, nice purchase, looks beautiful!
@singemonkey - I found the comment about the refret quite interesting. As a relative beginner (1-2 years in) I don't have many clear-cut things about guitars that I like or dislike, but the one thing that I have figured out that I don't like is when the frets do not go over the binding.
It seems that the new LPs from Gibson is done with the frets over the binding (lots of angry-man comments about it on the net of course). I tried different guitars in a store once and I didn't like binding going over the frets (just a feel thing).
singemonkey
Totally reasonable. Most older bound-neck Gibson's that are refretted lack the binding 'nib' over the fret-ends. With only a few exceptions, Tokai hasn't done that with it's Gibson style guitars since the early '80s, and I didn't miss it on mine, although my two Gibsons have it.
I think people are mainly mad because it was a Gibson 'luxury' feature, and canning it is just representative of their willingness to cut corners and costs while charging ever higher prices.
I'd sure rather have this '75 Deluxe for R8k than a new LP standard at R45k.
Lfan
Thanks Guys!!
@Sebber, Yes it is a SD Invader installed at the bridge. Not really my cup of tea and want to replace it. A bit too high gainy for me. The body was actually re-routed for that HB at some point in its life.
@Singemonkey, Yes it is a pancake body. If you look at the side of you can actually see a line where the two pieces of the body are attached. I actually like that!
The guitar is currently with Andy Mcgibbon, he is doing a service, polish, touch up, a little bit of restoration, etc. Really cant wait to see how it turns out. Thanks guys!!
el-guapo
Score of the year indeed! Looks like a ripper.
