In light of Gibson's possible near-future restructuring, or buyout, or even liquidation…I decided to pounce on one of the lesser known '70s models I've always liked just in case prices on all older Gibbies go up. It's a 1971 Les Paul Recording model. Ironically the LP model favored by Les himself, with electronics and switching designed by him, is also among the least favored by most guitar players. This has nothing to do with the guitar itself and much to do with its "too complex" reputation.
It's one of the stupider aspects of guitar culture that the same people who zoom around effortlessly within the labyrinthine interfaces of digital effects gizmos usually go glassy-eyed with confusion when faced with a guitar featuring anything beyond volume & tone knobs and a pickup selector switch. But this can work to your (that is,
my) benefit when seeking out certain high end, small batch instruments with extra features that really should cost far more in the used marketplace than they do. I nearly bought one back in 2001 but then decided not to 'cuz it was so heavy. This one is light for a Les Paul: ~8.25 lbs. It's made from the last of the easily & cheaply available old growth Honduras mahogany. The body is just two slabs of nicely grained wood glued together pancake style. The neck is made from three pieces rather than the traditional single piece…Gibson was already starting to use their wood supply more smartly.
The pickups are an early example of the stacked humbucker design: two coils with the second placed atop the first, wound and wired up for hum-cancelling operation. Each coil has ~600 turns of 28 gauge wire. This is weird for guitar pickups, which are normally wound with far more turns of far thinner wire. But the result is a snappy, punchy, full-frequency sound. Which also contributes to the guitar's lack of popularity: the stereotypical Les Paul sound is about mellow high end, thick midrange and somewhat loose bass. The LP Recording, in comparison, sounds more like a Telecaster.
Anyway, I've had this one for a few days and really like it. Beyond the basic tonality there's lotsa subtle tonal shading available via those knobs & switches.
-Dave-
