The Gibson Custom Shop 1968 Les Paul Custom Reissue: An Early 2000's S

Around the turn of this century, the Gibson Custom Shop was finally hitting its stride, distanced from crafting a polished Gibson USA product and instead building guitars wholly their own. When Y2K hit, the clear champions of the Custom Art & Historic line were the 1950's Reissue Burst, Goldtop, and Black Beauty Les Pauls. The originals from which the reissues were inspired had earned their reverence and nicknames over 40 plus years of gracing the stage with iconic rock legends. The Custom Shop had done their homework by now, actively reproducing the original models in exacting detail. Adjacent to these vaunted 50's replicas however, Gibson also offered something curious: a '68 Les Paul Custom Reissue which looked nothing like any vintage 1968 model anyone had seen.

Why reissue the 1968 Les Paul Custom at all?

As most folks know, in 1961 Gibson decided to stop producing the carved top Les Paul model, and instead began offering a new Les Paul design that later came to be known as the Gibson SG. From 1961 until 1968, only SG-style guitars were available from Gibson. In 1968 Gibson reintroduced the carved top Les Paul model, though by all accounts the specifications, electronics, and quality differed dramatically enough from the 1950's predecessors ensuring these late 60's models would always be second-best. To make matters worse, a year after this reintroduction, Gibson was using multi-piece bodies and necks, as well as short neck tenons, further diminishing the likeness to the 50's originals.

By the end of the 1990's, vintage Les Paul prices were through the roof, pricing out working class musicians, so it stood to reason that the Custom Shop should be offering every possible iteration of the Les Paul that had existed historically. You could choose your favorite Les Paul Standard or Custom reissue year from 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 or... 1968? Yep, 1968 was indeed an important year for the Les Paul: not only had it been reintroduced after a 7 year production hiatus, the 1968 model year was the first Les Paul Custom to feature a maple top. Though the Les Paul Standard always had a maple top, Les Paul Customs from the 1950's had always featured a mahogany top. Had Gibson gotten it wrong in 1968, or had they gotten lazy and simply used the same wood for both the Standard and Custom? Maybe they were actively attempting to change the tonal property of the Custom, adding the clarity and bite maple is known for? Either way, from 1968 onward the Les Paul would carry its maple top, and by all accounts the specs and quality of the model would decline for decades to come. By 1999 however, the Custom Shop with its robust reissue program in full effect, Gibson was arguably back to producing the finest quality instruments it had since 1959.

Is the '68 Les Paul Custom even a true reissue model?

At that time, the Custom Shop persisted with the '68 Les Paul Custom Reissue in non-exacting fashion, totally unlike the highly accurate 50's reissues. Remember, '68 was the year of reintroduction and it had that maple top. Plus, the Custom Shop had one niche to fill: the other '50s Les Paul Custom Reissues all had mahogany tops, and since maple was the benchmark for all Les Paul Customs from 1968 onward, there needed to be a maple top Custom in the line. Additionally back in 1968, the Custom had a correct long tenon: the piece of neck wood that extends into the body through the neck pickup cavity and that can be seen when the neck pickup is removed. The long neck tenon would shorten in '69, then disappear altogether for years, but the Custom Shop thankfully and accurately was using it across all Les Paul models. Our '68 Custom Reissue features this long tenon, unlike all Les Paul Customs made since 1969. Les Paul connoisseurs will tell you that the long neck tenon is the key manufacturing ingredient that unlocks the complexity of the Les Paul tone.

So now we have a '68 Les Paul Custom reissue with a correct maple cap and long neck tenon, so it must have come exclusively in black with gold hardware just like the original, right? Nope. Gibson reissued the model in stunning...Triburst... with a red back. Antique Natural was an option too. They did choose the correct one-piece body and neck briefly used in production in 1968, pancake bodies being a poor business decision to reissue. The reissue neck shape however was a baseball bat, as big as any neck on any Les Paul ever made, and certainly bigger than a vintage '68. Unlike 1968 however, the sunburst and natural versions came with, thankfully, a monster flame top. You could also get the model in Ebony (black), but that one curiously had nickel hardware as opposed to the correct gold plating. Plus, all of the Ebony '68 Customs had a hazy "Custom Authentic" finish, lightly patina'd at the factory. The '68 Reissue did correctly feature dual humbucking pickups with a stopbar tailpiece and ABR-1 bridge. In the 50's your options were a P90/Alnico pickup set, or triple PAFs (mostly), and many guitars shipped with a Bigsby at the time. In '68 the more desirable 2 humbucker / stoptail setup became the norm for decades to come.

By all accounts, the Custom Shop needed a maple cap long neck tenon Les Paul Custom in the line, so the '68 fit in perfectly. And keep in mind, in the early 2000's the base Les Paul Custom was a Gibson USA model, not a Custom Shop build. So the only way to get historically accurate long tenon Custom without a mahogany top was via the '68 reissue. Further the reintroduction of the Les Paul in 1968 was a very important moment, and the Custom Shop correctly paid tribute to this important year. But, they also took the opportunity to build the reissue the way it should have been built in the sixties. Why not offer a flame top just like the iconic Burst, or show off the beautiful mahogany back. Why not use the same 50's style production methods, electronics, and hardware on the '68 reissue like they had developed for the 50's reissues. If you wanted a proper maple top Les Paul Custom with the complex long neck tenon tone, the '68 Reissue was actually the finest option, literally, ever manufactured by Gibson.

Don't sleep on this tone monster

Though we're sure most Gibson players know about this model, the early 2000's '68 Les Paul Custom Reissue was always the sleeper of the line. The fervor of buying up 50's reissues left a much smaller demand for the '68, even though it was one of the finest sounding Les Pauls ever produced. By the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 reintroduction in 2018, Gibson had dialed in the '68 Reissue with the correct headstock pitch, witch hat knobs, and glossy ebony finish with gold hardware, putting this historically incorrect version of the '68 away forever. If you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and get your hands on one of these 2000's versions, they are worth more hype!

The Gibson Custom Shop 1968 Les Paul Custom Reissue: An Early 2000's Sleeper Model

Why reissue the 1968 Les Paul Custom at all?

Is the '68 Les Paul Custom even a true reissue model?

Don't sleep on this tone monster

Model Specifications