❌SOLD❌ Gibson Les Paul Deluxe GoldTop, 1969

Here we’re looking at a very early Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, one of the first made and one of the few built before the introduction of the ‘Pancake’ body and headstock Volute. This example was likely built in late 1968 or very early 1969. It is in good working order and appears to be almost entirely original. Notably, the original plastic output jack plate has gone the way of most of those, and a metal replacement is fitted.

The frets are original and have moderate wear, but the guitar plays well and cleanly, and sounds great. The ABR bridge has the nylon saddles of the period. About half of the stop tailpiece plating has worn off. The wiring and Sprague capacitors are original and basically unmolested. The control cavity shows the use of 1950’s style construction, where the Maple cap was glued to the Mahogany slab, and then routed. Not following the 1950’s construction, the neck is three pieces of Mahogany (five counting the headstock ‘wings’) and has a 14 degree headstock pitch.

The Kluson Deluxe tuners are original, and point to the early production of this guitar. Part of the design changes with the re-introduction of the Les Paul was a wider headstock. Particularly on the G and D tuners, the shafts are short enough that the buttons do not completely clear the wider edges.

The finish is in overall good condition with a level of wear consistent with over half a century of use, but not abuse. There are a few dings and dents and some buckle rash on the back.

Sold without case.

Built from 1969 to 1985, the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top was a renaming of the Les Paul Standard, but used the original P-90 body route and a pair of mini-humbuckers mounted in modified P-90 covers. This allowed for a low cost refresh of the model, perhaps not co-incidentally using up parts Gibson had on hand.

Initially introduced in 1952, the Gibson Les Paul carried the Gold Top finish, a pair of P-90s, and a trapeze tailpiece. The tailpiece and neck set were quickly changed to allow use of more practical bridges, and in 1958 the model received the new humbucking pickups and the name ‘Les Paul Standard’. This design lasted until 1960 when poor sales prompted a complete redesign, soon renamed to “SG”. The original single cutaway model was not produced again until 1969, with the Les Paul Custom restored but the Standard appearing as the Deluxe.

At its initial return, the Les Paul Deluxe used a ‘slab’ Mahogany back, but by 1969 the ‘Pancake’ body with two thinner layers of Mahogany forming the full thickness under the Maple cap. At this point, the back of the neck at the headstock also received a Volute, a ridge intended to provide more wood and support in this potentially weak area.