frettedamericana | 1 decade ago
An All Original 1958 Les Paul Black Beauty
This light weight Les Paul Custom weighs just 9.20 lbs. and has a solid mahogany body with a slightly arched top. One-piece mahogany neck with a nice thick profile, a comfortable nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Ebony fretboard with 22 original thin frets and inlaid pearl block position markers. The top of the guitar has seven-ply binding, the back of the guitar has five-ply binding, the headstock has five-ply binding, and the fretboard has single white binding. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and five-piece pearl split-diamond inlay. Two-layer (black on white) truss-rod cover with "Les Paul Custom" engraved in white secured by two screws. Individual Grover Roto-Matic tuners with half-moon metal buttons. The serial number "8 6330" is inked in yellow on the back of the headstock. Three original 'gold-plated' double-black PAF humbucking pickups with outputs of 8.05k, 8.28k, and 7.86k (each with a small rectangular black label "Patent Applied For" on the underside. The black pickup rings on the neck and middle are stamped on the underside "MR 491 / M-69 7". The black pickup ring on the treble pickup is stamped on the underside "MR 490 / M-69 8". Five-layer (black / white / black / white / black) plastic pickguard secured to body by two screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout plus three-way selector switch on upper bass bout. Black plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and separate stud tailpiece. All hardware gold-plated. The potentiometers are all stamped: "134 838" (Centralab, September 1958). This totally original example is one of the lightest 'PAF' Les Paul Customs that we have seen. At just 9.20 pounds it is just one ounce heavier than the lightest one we have had (9.10 pounds). We have had eight PAF Customs over the years ranging from 9.10 pounds to 10.70 pounds. This guitar is in excellent plus (8.75) condition. The frets are original and have been dressed. The gold hardware is a little tarnished. There is an area of wear (approximately 4 1/2 x 4 inches) on the back of the body. There are a few other small areas of wear on the sides and a tiny chip on the treble face binding of the headstock. There are a few small marks on the back of the neck and some fine finish checking. This guitar has been lovingly played and is all original. The three PAF's have never had their covers removed and all of the solder joints are original. This is an opportunity to acquire an all original Les Paul Black Beauty at a much lower price than usual. The perfect weight, the perfect neck profile and the incredible bite of the PAF's make this a truly great guitar. Housed in its original Gibson black pebble-grain "black beauty" hardshell case with orange plush lining (8.50).
