1974 Gibson Les Paul Signature Goldtop

A rare bird indeed!  This guitar has tons of vibe!  The body contour is literally a split between a 335 and a Les Paul, but it's nothing like either guitar.  This one dropped by for a set-up, fret dress and a good cleaning.  I don't post every set-up I do, as this blog would become quite boring ~ but when something like this comes along it's great to share!

These models had Les Paul's own design of low-impedance pickups, not unlike what he used in his personal Les Paul "Recording" guitar. With two outputs for a hi-fi and low-fi circuit and a phase switch, when used normally it has just one volume and one tone control. I believe the idea behind it was so that the output from the guitar could be cut to half volume so you could crank the amp a bit more to run the tubes hotter.

As for the sound of the pickups themselves, they have a very clean and balanced tone akin to many active pickups today. Very full and rich but also sterile in a way, making them excellent to control from the board in a recording situation. Very chimey jazz tones and excellent Mike Campbell-esque rock sound with an overdrive box in front of the amp. Needless to say, I had some fun when test-driving it after the set-up!




Unlike a 335, there is no solid piece of wood down the middle of the body, making this guitar very resonant.  With epoxy-potted pickups, however, it's not as prone to feedback as one might suspect.

There is a solid piece of what appears to be basswood or poplar under the bridge and saddle, seemingly only to provide a solid anchor for the stud inserts.

Body contour has been achieved by laminating the top and back to slotted solid strips for bend-ability and rigidity.



Overall an inspring guitar to work on and play!