1974 Les Paul Deluxe

Rick A. · 03-21-2008, 10:06 AM

I have had a Les Paul Deluxe for over twenty years that I entertain myself with at the house. Don't know much about it other than it plays and sounds great. I think it's a 1974. SN 139326 with a stamped "Made In" on one line and USA below. The Gibson does have a dotted i. The tuners have been changed out and it does have buckle rash. Would the best way to date the instrument be to put 6 or 7 pictures on the site? Any suggestions as to what areas of the guitar would be the most appropriate to photograph? The guitar has a sticker in a body cavity from a local retail dealer. The dealer says that the sticker would not have been used after 1976 so I'm fairly confident that it is a '74 according to the serial number

dwagar · 03-21-2008, 11:02 AM

does it have any original pots? the pot code is the best way to pin down a year. It should read 137YYWW - where YY is year, WW is week.

If not, can you tell if it's a mahogany or maple neck? The switch to maple came in '75.

You can also pull the neck pickup, check for a trans tenon. They ended in '75.

twinrider1 · 03-21-2008, 11:57 AM

Might get more eyes on it if you post it in the 'Gibson Les Paul' section too. Or maybe a mod could move it.

Yep, post pics of the back of the headstock, in the cavities, and back of the pickups.

03-21-2008, 10:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
Rick A. Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	1974 Les Paul Deluxe I have had a Les Paul Deluxe for over twenty years that I entertain myself with at the house. Don't know much about it other than it plays and sounds great. I think it's a 1974. SN 139326 with a stamped "Made In" on one line and USA below. The Gibson does have a dotted i. The tuners have been changed out and it does have buckle rash. Would the best way to date the instrument be to put 6 or 7 pictures on the site? Any suggestions as to what areas of the guitar would be the most appropriate to photograph? The guitar has a sticker in a body cavity from a local retail dealer. The dealer says that the sticker would not have been used after 1976 so I'm fairly confident that it is a '74 according to the serial number

03-21-2008, 11:02 AM	#2 (permalink)
dwagar V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: C eh? N eh? D eh? Posts: 4,961 Thanks: 28 Thanked 51 Times in 9 Posts	Re: 1974 Les Paul Deluxe does it have any original pots? the pot code is the best way to pin down a year. It should read 137YYWW - where YY is year, WW is week. If not, can you tell if it's a mahogany or maple neck? The switch to maple came in '75. You can also pull the neck pickup, check for a trans tenon. They ended in '75.

03-21-2008, 11:57 AM	#3 (permalink)
twinrider1 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,349 Thanks: 47 Thanked 8 Times in 4 Posts	Re: 1974 Les Paul Deluxe Might get more eyes on it if you post it in the 'Gibson Les Paul' section too. Or maybe a mod could move it. Yep, post pics of the back of the headstock, in the cavities, and back of the pickups.

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