Product Description

Here we have an awesome '68 Les Paul Custom from the Gibson Custom Shop! This guitar is the ebony finish "Custom Authentic" model with nickel hardware, built in 2004, serial number 045358. At the time it was made, this guitar was about the finest maple top Les Paul Custom you could buy, as the other Custom Shop '50s reissue models all featured mahogany tops.

The Custom Authentic models at the time were more money than gloss guitars, and had a very subtle patina about them. Later Gibson would transition to VOS and the Custom Authentic would go away. The '68 Custom is a maple cap guitar with a mahogany body, mahogany neck, ebony board, Grover tuners, and dual '57 Classic pickups.

This one in particular holds a secret from a past life. It once had a Metallica sticker on the top and you can see the outline of the band's logo, which is just barely visible, when you inspect the guitar carefully. With a black light it's clearly visible. The sticker was quite large and covered most of the top from behind the tailpiece and up around the forearm area, with the "A" of the logo ending between the pickups. This sticker had been removed and the guitar has been cleaned up to the best possible state.

It also has light buckle wear on the back, concentrated in the upper bout near the toggle switch plate. There is a notable chip to the finish on the top edge binding where your forearm rests, as well as some chipping and discoloration to the binding edge on the back near the end strap button. Fortunately though there is buckle wear and some finish chipping at the edges, there is no wood exposed in these areas. The guitar presents quite clean otherwise, keeping in mind the Custom Authentic patina that is supposed to be there.

This one features the baseball bat type neck that these early '68 Reissues are known for. It's about the largest neck you'll find on a Custom Shop guitar. It has a nice resonance through the body, with a crisp attack. Sounds great through an overdriven amp, and has super-warm, rich, harmonic overtones with the tone knobs rolled down. It weighs 9lbs 6oz. The neck measures .920" at the first fret and 1.010" at the twelfth fret.

Ships in a black Custom Shop case with maroon interior. The case is a little rough on the outside. It's a slightly later star logo case. It includes the COA and warranty card, as well as a slightly later custom care kit.

Product Specifications

• Mahogany Body
• Maple Top
• Mahogany Neck
• Ebony Fretboard
• Mother of Pearl Block Inlays
• Split Diamond Headstock Inlay
• Grover Tuners
• Dual '57 Classic Pickups
• ABR-1 Bridge
• Stop Tailpiece
• Two Volume Controls
• Two Tone Controls
• 3-Way Toggle Switch
• Multiply Binding
• Nickel Hardware
• 24 3/4" Scale Length
• 12" Radius
• 1 11/16" Nut Width
• Black Lacquer Finish
• Custom Authentic Aging

Product Details