2003 Gibson Custom Shop '60 Les Paul Brazilian Rosewood Music Machine Stinger Series - Faded Tobacco

Product Description

Here we have a legendary guitar from 2003, a Gibson Custom Shop '60 Les Paul Music Machine Stinger Series model with Brazilian rosewood fretboard! This one features premium, hand-selected woods and is in excellent condition with everything included.

2003 was a major year for the Custom Shop as they launched a revamped version of the Historic Les Paul. It was now firmly a historically accurate model shedding a number of the Gibson USA features the line had inherited in the 1990s. The 2003 Les Pauls featured Burstbucker pickups, CTS pots and Bumblebee caps. The truss rod route was moved away from the nut, the inlay material was more antique in color, the trapezoids came to a sharp point. Additionally, 2003 saw the reemergence of Brazilian rosewood for fingerboards, a feature that would prove short-lived as by mid-year it would be discontinued.

Also in 2003 you had the infancy of online guitar sales, with a few major players pioneering both online presentation and creative custom specs rooted in historical accuracy. Music Machine was at the forefront of this, and fresh off their 2002 25th Anniversary run, they seized a major opportunity with Gibson and the launch of the new 2003 Historic Line. The Stinger Series guitars covered each Les Paul reissue year from '54 through '60. They featured hand-selected woods and of course Brazilian boards. And as the name suggests, the back of each headstock had a black stinger with a historically correct Gibson serial number, as well as a Music Machine sequence number. The guitars pretty much all featured monster figured tops, regardless of reissue year, along with dark, rich fingerboards and beautiful bursts.

The guitar Tone Wolf presents to you today is a '60 Les Paul Reissue, Music Machine number 12. It is Gibson serial number 03153 which puts it right towards the end of the run of Brazilian '60s. The guitar is in wonderful condition and appears to be all original. There are a couple small dings on the top and back, as well as a few long, light scratches on the back. The finish however is glossy-new in most ways. The hardware shows light oxidation which is to be expected after 20 years. The guitar looks to be mostly case-kept and unplayed. There has never been a pickguard installed.

This one weighs 8lbs 12oz. The neck measures .835 to .965. It's quite full-feeling for a '60 with a touch of shoulder and an apex that doesn't quite flatten out. The guitar is sparkly and vibrant acoustically with warm woodiness off the body. It plays quite well in all positions and bends easily. It's an excellent-sounding example from this era. The top is wonderful and strong from all angles. The back of the body is straight grained with almost a hint of figuring to it. The board is very dark and quite straight grained.

Included with the guitar are the tweed Custom Shop case with crushed blue velvet interior, as well as the proper brown and pink Lifton case. It comes with the Gibson Custom Shop COA as well as the Music Machine COA. It also includes the hang tags, warranty card, leather strap, and custom care kit. Additionally there are receipts from when the guitar was purchased from Music Machine as well as from a later sale.

Overall a great-looking and sounding guitar with a fun history and all the goodies!

2003 Gibson Custom Shop '60 Les Paul Brazilian Music Machine Stinger Series Specs

• Highly Figured Flame Maple Top
• Mahogany Body
• Mahogany Neck
• Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard
• Trapezoid Inlays
• 12" Radius
• 1.6875" Nut Width
• 24.75" Scale Length
• 22 Frets
• Medium Jumbo Fret Wire
• Les Paul Model Headstock Silk Screen
• Pearl Gibson Headstock Inlays
• Holly Headstock Veneer
• Black Stinger On Back Of Headstock
• Ink Stamped Serial Number
• Music Machine Serial Number
• Double Ring Deluxe Tuners
• ABR-1 Bridge
• Stop Tailpiece
• Dual Burstbucker Humbucker Pickups
• Single Ply Cream Pickguard
• Silver Insert Top Hat Knobs
• CTS Pots
• Bumblebee Capacitors
• Lacquer Finish
• Hand-Selected Woods

Product Details