1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom, Black - Early Long Tenon model

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Seller's description

An exceptional early 1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom, finished in Black carrying all of the desirable, early first-year production features. This is a very cool example from the earliest period of Les Paul Custom production after the model returned in August of 1968. These first incarnation features include: single-piece Mahogany body, single-piece Mahogany neck, long neck tenon, clover-shaped cavity route, no volute, no “Made in USA” stamp, dotted “i”/ open “b” and “o” logo, factory Patent Pending Grovers, ’67-dated pots and a 516XXX serial number. Together these features separate the earliest/first incarnation examples from later '68 production, making this a particularly early, rare and collectible example. The guitar presents well overall. The neck has been refinished, but importantly there are no breaks or repairs, and photographs of the neck stripped are included. There is a slight washer imprint to the face of the headstock from a previously installed set of repro tuners, but importantly no extra holes were drilled, and the correct Grovers have been re-instated. The neck itself is a real highlight. Unlike later examples, it has a lovely chunky rounded C profile, offering plenty of support in the hand while still feeling very playable. It has been refretted, and overall it plays great. Hardware is largely correct, including the factory Patent Pending gold Grover tuners and correct Patent No. bridge. The saddles have been changed, though five nylon saddles are included. The jack plate has also been changed, with the original retained, and the pickup selector switch has been replaced, again with the original included. The pot cavity cover is non-original. Electrically, the guitar retains its correct Patent Number humbuckers, which appear unopened/solder intact. The pots all appear correct, with the legible codes reading 137 6745, dating to week 45 of 1967.  Tonally, the Patent Number humbuckers are superb. They are chimey, open and harmonically rich, with a lo