NGD!!

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Khshockey44

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Picked up my first Vintage Les Paul! I’ve been looking for years and finally decided to pull the trigger. It’s a 1980, looks to be all original. I checked the solder joints and none look to have ever been messed with. All the Pots are period correct. Few questions I have though.

1) What kind of case should this have come with? I was thinkin a chainsaw case, but it came with a regular Les Paul style case with reddish interior.

2) Does anyone know what pickups should be in it and how to verify?

3) Ideas how to clean the tarnish off the nickel parts?

4) one latch on the case needs to be repaired. Where can I get
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mudface

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Awesome find,.. congratulations!

It should have T-Top humbuckers and from your photos this seems to be the case. Looks original to me.

The case looks original as well,.. I have a similar case that came with my ‘78 Custom,.. except mine came with art-deco style die-cast latches. I also have a broken latch,.. can’t find one anywhere without buying another “vintage” case. Those on your case look to be the normal style hoop latch,.. should be easier to find,.. should be doesn’t mean it is.

As for the hardware,.. it should be chrome. Not nickel. Though Gibson would have used whatever is available during the Norlin period. If it’s indeed nickel,.. a simple metal polish will make it shine. Though I love the look of well tarnished nickel and would count myself lucky to have nickel hardware.

Tuners look to be nickel for sure,.. but the bridge and stoptail look like chrome,.. common mix/match Norlin era perk.

Nickel hardware is cheaper to produce as it is one less step in the process of chrome plating.

Again,.. awesome guitar, enjoy.
 

Khshockey44

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Awesome find,.. congratulations!

It should have T-Top humbuckers and from your photos this seems to be the case. Looks original to me.

The case looks original as well,.. I have a similar case that came with my ‘78 Custom,.. except mine came with art-deco style die-cast latches. I also have a broken latch,.. can’t find one anywhere without buying another “vintage” case. Those on your case look to be the normal style hoop latch,.. should be easier to find,.. should be doesn’t mean it is.

As for the hardware,.. it should be chrome. Not nickel. Though Gibson would have used whatever is available during the Norlin period. If it’s indeed nickel,.. a simple metal polish will make it shine. Though I love the look of well tarnished nickel and would count myself lucky to have nickel hardware.

Tuners look to be nickel for sure,.. but the bridge and stoptail look like chrome,.. common mix/match Norlin era perk.

Nickel hardware is cheaper to produce as it is one less step in the process of chrome plating.

Again,.. awesome guitar, enjoy.
Thanks for all the info! As far as I can tell everything electronic wise looks original so I was figuring it was t-tops.

The one latch is just missing the loop part. I was hoping it would have been a chainsaw style case but this one is pretty cool too. I’ll probably use a different case for it when it goes anywhere since the headstock rest on the bottom of the case, and doesn’t lay in the neck support in the case.
 

mudface

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Thanks for all the info! As far as I can tell everything electronic wise looks original so I was figuring it was t-tops.

The one latch is just missing the loop part. I was hoping it would have been a chainsaw style case but this one is pretty cool too. I’ll probably use a different case for it when it goes anywhere since the headstock rest on the bottom of the case, and doesn’t lay in the neck support in the case.
Mine is the same way,.. i use a rolled up sock in the little storage compartment to raise the lid to support the neck.

I have a chainsaw gen-3 case for my '77 LP Custom,.. the only thing about them is that they are too large and very slippery,.. don't put it where it can slide around or put something on top of it that can slip off. Generation 1 chainsaw case is the one you want. Smaller and flatter than the Gen-3 case.

They're good for a flight case,.. not so much trying to fit it in a '70s Camaro trunk.
 
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rogue3

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If i remember reading right, ink stamps on the baseplate indicate Shaws. But that may have been a serial #...idk. How they sound will tell you a lot.
 

mudface

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If i remember reading right, ink stamps on the baseplate indicate Shaws. But that may have been a serial #...idk. How they sound will tell you a lot.
It would be a year and a half before Shaws would be included on Standards. T-tops would have a date stamp just like the OPs guitar,.. Shaws would have a prefix number and a number month and year stamp,.. no spelled month,.. like "APR" like that on the OPs guitar.
 

1allspub

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Awesome 80! Congrats and HNGD!

Everything mud said was spot on. My 79 Standard and my 80 LPC have the same case as yours. Very typical.

If you’re so inclined, please add it to the Norlin Appreciation Thread.
 

Southwest

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Beautiful! HNGD.

If I could ask @Khshockey44 or @Becker34 or any other member who has one, what weight do they come in at?

You can see from my avatar I'm a huge wine red fan. My ideal would be a Norlin WR Custom, but I couldn't cope with 10lb+. Are the Standards lighter?
 

1allspub

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Beautiful! HNGD.

If I could ask @Khshockey44 or @Becker34 or any other member who has one, what weight do they come in at?

You can see from my avatar I'm a huge wine red fan. My ideal would be a Norlin WR Custom, but I couldn't cope with 10lb+. Are the Standards lighter?
My 79 Standard (Cherry Sunburst, not Wine Red… not that color affects weight) is 9.65lbs… which is quite manageable. My 2 Customs (78 & 80) are chunkier… 10.29lbs and 11.01lbs respectively. But still, I manage okay with them, particularly the 78… it feels more well-balanced (not just lighter) than the 80.
 

Becker34

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what weight do they come in at?
About 9lbs. These were before weight relief. Mine is about a full lb lighter than my 85 LPC, which allegedly has the swiss cheese style weight relief. Pretty slim neck, too. Slimmer than my LPC but bigger than most of the SG's I've played. I have no idea where that falls in the spectrum of the common neck descriptions, so take that for what it's worth,
 

Dogbreath

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Be careful with the metal polish. If you go at it too vigorously you will go through the nickel and into the copper under plating. You can buy a jeweler’s polishing cloth that is coated with jeweler’s rouge. They are very gentle on delicate surfaces. Most people would prefer to see the patina (tarnish). It’s like a badge of honor.
 

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