NGD 1979 Gibson “The Paul”

[Gridlock]

Finally an affordable vintage ‘70s Les Paul.

From my understanding, this guitar has a Walnut body, Mahogany neck, and an Ebony fretboard. I believe that the guitar is all original with two T-Top Humbuckers.

On the way home, and in back seat of the car photo.

 

[BDW60]

The Paul was the way you could get into a Gibson at a reasonable price. Lotsa memories. The guitar player in my band in high school rocked one.

 

[Tollie]

The forearm bevel is a great feature. Congrats. I love it.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

I remember back in the day when Billy Eisbrenner walked in to a practice with one of those ... I said "Dayum!"

 

[metalmike222]

REALLY wish I never sold mine back in the 90s...

 

[1allspub]

Super cool! Congrats and HNGD!

(Should probably be in the Norlin section though.)

 

[gitmohair]

Great guitar, congrats

 

[pondcaster]

Those are fun, congrats!

 

[mudface]

I had one exactly like that,.... I received it Christmas Day 1979.... it was my first Gibson.

It actually fueled my love for Gibson guitars..... decades before Norlin was a bad word.

Congratulations and enjoy

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

I hate to admit this but some years ago at a flea market I saw one of these sitting on a vendor's table for $250 and passed on it because it wasn't a Strat.

Please form a line to kick me in the ass.

 

[Gridlock]

I hate to admit this but some years ago at a flea market I saw one of these sitting on a vendor's table for $250 and passed on it because it wasn't a Strat.

Please form a line to kick me in the ass.

You deserve it. Prices are definitely going up.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

You deserve it. Prices are definitely going up.

Who knew?

 

[Gridlock]

Cleaned up 43 years of grime. Still some work to go and I need to put on a new set of .010’s.

Other than the dark area on the horn, the guitar is in really good condition. Sounds good, plays good, and stays in tune. Pretty happy with my purchase.

The T-Tops definitely get that ‘70s sound.

I need to decide what to do with the dark spot on the horn. In the last photo, I sat a black pick-guard on the guitar just to see how it would look.

 

[dc007]

I really like that guitar. Enjoy

 

[Gridlock]

Who knew?

Kidding, but a Gibson for $250… never seen a Gibson that low priced, unless one was badly broken.

 

[JHMvP]

Wonderful find; it's a beauty.

Don't apply the pickguard.
The dark region in the horn....does it feel rough? Like as if there's no more sealant there?

Seems like the previous player played with his picking-hand at the horn so the thin layer of lacquer has gone and absorbed the hand-oils into the wood. My OCD would want that dark spot evened out with the rest of the body so I guess I'd clean that region with high-grid sandpaper and after that some naphta and a microfibre cloth. And then reseal it with a few ultra-thin layers of Tru-Oil, along with the rest of the body. But I'd FIRST consult the luthiers over here!

On the other hand, the longer I look at your guitar, the less the dark area bothers me...

 

[JHMvP]

I hate to admit this but some years ago at a flea market I saw one of these sitting on a vendor's table for $250 and passed on it because it wasn't a Strat.

Please form a line to kick me in the ass.

***DOUBLE-KICK***

 

[judson]

leave the horn alone, forget a guard...just play the dam thing!! bonus on the T tops still in there...maybe check the pots but season to your own taste..

the wide ebony board is what lured me in and the price of these are a huge bonus, a bit heavy being walnut but something different from the other LPs

congrats...i now love mine

quick story which is weird even to me..

i have a 79 Paul, never bonded with it, kept thinking i should sell it, it had a zebra pup in the neck and Gibson USA in bridge...it felt fine but it just didnt do it for me and i didnt know why .....so i decided to switch out the zebra with another black Gibson USA pup i had then sell it or trade it......plugged it in... and next thing i know im playing it for about 40 mins and wondering WTF am i gonna sell this???its sounded great and weird how it just felt perfect....its staying on the rack and gets played every day....i guess sometimes the littlest things can change things but the weirdest is why does it feel so good with just one pup change...crazy shit but now its a keeper...

 

[mudface]

I have been looking for one of these for a while,... but I decided to have @LtDave32 build me one instead... the twist here is instead of walnut or mahogany it’s going to be made of Korina.... one piece neck and a one piece body with some T-Top clones.
This will be Desert Star number 4 for me.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

I have been looking for one of these for a while,... but I decided to have @LtDave32 build me one instead... the twist here is instead of walnut or mahogany it’s going to be made of Korina.... one piece neck and a one piece body with some T-Top clones.
This will be Desert Star number 4 for me.

You're becoming one hell of an income stream for old Lt.