That Very Gibson – The Story of My Les Paul

Probably everyone who buys their first guitar is guided by their musical tastes and appearance. Some like Explorers because they are obsessed with Metallica, others love Strats – a la Ritchie Blackmore, others are into Nirvana and adore Jaguars... This list could go on and on. I have been a fan of the band Guns N’ Roses since I was ten… for a second, that’s already 23 years. Of course, at a conscious age of 16, when I first picked up a guitar, I dreamed, like most guitarists probably do, of a Gibson Les Paul. It was an unreachable dream due to my family's financial situation. However, for my 16th birthday, my mom and dad gave me my first Les Paul. It was an Indonesian J&D Brothers Les Paul Standard in Sunburst finish. Why that one? It’s simple – I walked in and saw this beauty in the store when we were picking out a guitar, and I shouted, "Oh! Just like Slash’s!" That was the reason for the choice back then – I didn't know anything about sound, nor about brands. The price didn't hit the pocket too hard either – dad paid about $250 back then, and I, happy with the gift, dragged the new guitar home. After the "Formanta", this guitar was divine – I remember wiping it down after every rehearsal, dusting it off, and almost crying over every new scratch. I remember how the guys, watching me meticulously wipe every part of the guitar after a rehearsal, laughed at me like a fanatic, but I simply didn't pay any attention to it. 

photo from January 2011

Time passed… I played this guitar for about 7 years. By the way, the pickups were the first thing to fail – they started to whistle and feed back, so I replaced them with inexpensive ones from some Washburn belonging to the guitarist of the band "Rassvet". The opportunity to get my first good guitar only appeared in 2011 – the choice, of course, fell on a Gibson. Naturally, it was a Studio – the most optimal model for the money for a guitarist who already knew how to play a little properly. I combed the whole internet in search of one. Many still remember how incompetently I pestered the forum members of the local "Perekrestok" and "Froster" forums with my questions. But the fact is that I did get it. Wine color, mint condition. Straight from the USA.

photo from February 2011

 

Impressions of receiving the first guitar like this cannot be put into words. Thrill! I hadn't heard anything better, etc…. But childhood dreams didn't give me any peace… I wanted a Gibson Les Paul Standard Tobacco Burst, like the one Slash had in the November Rain video. I immediately began the search for this guitar… actually, as a result of these searches, I discovered my favorite business and started bringing guitars from the USA for myself and for sale. It was from January 2011 that all this began; soon it will be an anniversary, and I will have something to say and show in 2021! Stay with me, friends! So anyway… I looked for a Les Paul for about 3 years – I asked friends, intermediaries, acquaintances, but the prices or the product didn't meet my requirements. And honestly, there wasn't much profit from the guitars to save enough money to get this rolling seriously. Those who remember how I started know that for the first two years I usually had about 5 guitars in stock, one of which was always used by me for concerts and in the studio, while the others were swapped or sold. 

photo from 2012

   

I jumped from model to model. My dream became Slash’s custom shop signatures – the AFD (but the orange color didn't really appeal to me) and the CS Tobacco with a piezo. I found them more than once, even at very attractive prices. But after reading a ton of reviews and listening to demos, I realized that none of this was it! Neither Joe Perry, nor Slash, nor Jimmy Page recorded on custom shops! They played on regular series standards, but old 70s ones. Therefore, I set a clear goal: to search for a Gibson Les Paul Standard in tobacco sunburst on both sides with all original 70s parts. 70s because 50s-60s are unreal in price – it's astronomical ($25-500 thousand), and I had already owned 80s models and realized they weren't for me, just like a Gibson Les Paul Custom after 74 (I only like customs that are solid-body with mahogany necks from 68-74). I really love a rosewood fretboard over a maple neck. I searched long and hard. Everything was unsuccessful – either the condition was trashed or the pickups weren't original. I gave up…

On October 21, 2013, I accidentally checked eBay, and while scrolling through listings, I saw a beautiful LP Standard. Specifically, tobacco colored on both sides. I started looking at the photos… and was stunned! It was what I had been looking for for 3 years and what I had dreamed of since childhood. Moreover, the guitar was in perfect condition. But here’s the catch… there was an auction for a 2004 Gibson Les Paul Standard. I already had experience and realized that it was definitely not a 2004 model as the seller indicated! I checked this Gibson by serial number on the GuitarDaterProject website, and it turned out to be a 1977 production (the trick is that when checking, you can fail to check the necessary boxes, and it will indeed output 2004). Apart from the serial number, it is visible that the guitar is not from 2004 – the markings, headstock shape, volute, pancake body, knobs… everything! In general, the person who ended up with it clearly didn't know much about it. I think most likely the guitar lay at home as a relic, the owner died, and it was simply sold. Either way, in such condition, this guitar cost $4-5 thousand even back then; now it's $5-7 thousand. 

I won the auction and waited for this beauty. When it arrived, I didn't really understand or appreciate what I had in my hands.

photo from 2013

The happiness of fulfilling a childhood dream played a role. The guitar was even in its original case, which was a custom Artist one. All parts looked original. I only unscrewed the control cavity cover to check the electronics – and was surprised when I saw a protective metal plate inside, on which two small screws were covered in white dust from age… they hadn't even been unscrewed once.

The question of whether everything on the guitar was as original as it seemed wouldn't leave me alone. I started unscrewing the pickups… the screws were made of very high-quality metal – the slots weren't stripped, closer to the input, the self-tapping screws had something resembling slight corrosion or rust by 1 mm; I think those are the original screws. The plastic ring was also slightly deformed by time. When I unscrewed it, I saw how perfectly everything was fitted – the wire length to the pickup was just right! I could barely take a photo. I deciphered the inscriptions engraved under the pickups – both say PAT NO 2737842, on the ring, I also found the inscription 13 884 on the bottom side – I think the rings are also original. Under the neck pickup, there were some letters and numbers – only …BR… and the number 25 at an angle are visible. Under the bridge pickup, some symbol was also stamped on the wood – I couldn't make it out. Under the truss rod cover, there were two letters PK. I don't know what all this means yet – but I think it means ROCK :) What is also surprising is the operation of the potentiometers – it is perfect – nothing crackles, and it smoothly increases tone and volume on both pickups even today. Honestly, I am in shock at how everything could be preserved so well!!! This is clearly an indicator of the high-quality assembly of the instrument, if it still intonates and sounds so perfectly in every respect to this day.

Externally, there were really no flaws – everything was as I wanted, you won't encounter such condition even on fresh guitars, let alone on one almost 40 years old. It is very different in weight even from the 80s models. Very heavy. The sustain is insane, and what surprised me – the original metal tuning keys hold the tuning firmly! The body is made of two perfectly straight pieces of mahogany glued together, with a maple layer between them; the maple top on top of the body initially seemed like a one-piece to me, only later, from a certain angle, did I make out two barely noticeable seams. The maple top is 3-piece, perfectly fitted in pattern and dimensions. The neck is also made of 3 pieces of maple, perfectly straight from beginning to end. The tobacco finish on both sides is done in a burst. The pinnacle of my dreams. I discover the pluses of this guitar almost every day.
The sound… I understood the sound when I plugged into a Marshall, yes, a Marshall; I believe that is an amp created specifically for a Gibson LP, just as a Mesa is for a PRS. I plugged in and fell in love… every note was a reminder of that very sound from my favorite Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin albums! I literally didn't leave the guitar from morning till night, playing everything I knew on it. It was the best of the Gibsons I had held in my hands, and I had already owned soooo many guitars. Moreover, to this day, I haven't found a better LP.

I decided to keep the guitar for myself and am very happy about it. A lot of people have already listened to it – guitarists, collectors. I was offered scary sums for it – over $5000 seven years ago, and by more than one person, trades for R9s… I refused. Everyone who listened to the guitar discovered their own sound in it. For instance, one person turned the tone to zero on the neck and played Money For Nothing for me perfectly in sync with the studio recording by Dire Straits. Another – Cinderella. I, of course, Page and Slash. One musician, who has toured half the world, including Europe and the USA, expressed guesses that perhaps the guitar previously belonged to some artist in the USA, because "even there, people chase after guitars like this." Actually, there is no need to go far, I think many know the story about Perry’s guitar that Slash had. I can say with confidence that I will not sell it. Because I found what I was looking for and it is unlikely I will find another one like it. After studying it, I realized that 70s standards with all original parts in collector condition are a very great rarity and often cost more than customs of the same requirements, and they are rarer to encounter and sell for the $5-7k price tag in excellent condition. 

Many people who know me also know that I am a die-hard fan of PRS guitars and own three personal PRSs. But here is an important fact – PRSs are completely different – and all those guitars sound perfect without exception. A Gibson cannot boast of this; each LP needs to be listened to properly, and the majority are just so-so guitars, especially considering their cost! But my Gibson LP77 does not belong to them. This is "the very Gibson" that so many write about and praise. That sound which is in everyone's head. The one on which hits were and are being written.

For me, a very important point is the softness of the sound on the neck pickup, both clean and overdriven – not every guitar can boast of the right sound. Also, the sound with the tone rolled off! The guitar must sound good even without tone – and it sounds angelic. Another thing – when you are playing with overdrive and need to switch to clean, but let's say you don't have a footswitch – you use the volume knob and roll it back almost to zero. A true Gibson will give a crystal clear sound with a slight looseness. And yes!!! Most importantly for me – an LP must have a rowdy, loose, unhinged sound! That is a real Gibby! I get all of this on my LP playing through ANY rig. When recording, it sounds just as it does live! With other guitars, you have to mess around, twist knobs... here everything is perfect – just plug in and go. I have never had it happen that you pick up a guitar and write a song immediately. Now as soon as I pick up my LP, the notes just flow, everything is written easily and effortlessly. You can think what you want of me, but I believe that a guitar has its own soul, just like a person, it has emotions, a mood, and here my inner musical world is completely complemented by the world of this guitar. I don't know, it's impossible to explain in words. As an example – you take the guitar, record a solo as a jam, and it sounds perfect, all the notes hit the mark and have soul. 

This guitar fulfills the old-school style for me – classic rock, so to speak, and there is nothing better for me. Here I found MY SOUND. My guitar in this style. Later, I got my first LP 59 reissue (heritage 80 standard) with a mahogany neck, and these two guitars create a cool mix together, although they are very different, and no other guitar gives such vintage upper-midrange as the LP77. 

The guitar remains in my personal collection to this day; I have recorded many songs on it and played many concerts. This guitar is my songwriting guitar – it was on this one that I wrote the most interesting rock riffs and solos that you will hear on my future solo album with various vocalists. Every time I pick up this guitar, I write a rock and roll riff. For example, here is a link to listen to a single I released recently, in particular the solo was recorded on this very guitar – https://open.spotify.com/album/2YabfzgtMlmXfamqUc6fi6

On this track, I recorded the solo on this specific Gibson; the main instruments are my PRS Custom 22 Artist with Motor City Extreme and PRS Chris Henderson pickups. Reamped through a Mesa Road King – https://soundcloud.com/ladkor/green-delirium-peace This song will be remixed and will also be included in my 2021 album. 

And here is a review of my LP77 by Tikhon Levchenko through a Fender combo with that characteristic "chaka-chaka" 

In conclusion, I want to wish all guitarists inspiration, a minimal amount of time spent searching for your sound, and that you find that one guitar that will serve you faithfully and truly, and that you will experience the same euphoria playing it as I do playing my LP! 

Ladkor