Gibson Les Paul Recording 1973-75 Headstock Repair & Factory Refurbished Natural
Description
No sales tax for US customers outside California.
Les Paul gave Gibson his secrets for this guitar. That is not a marketing phrase — it is a direct quote from the man himself. For decades Les had been developing low-impedance pickup technology in his home studio in Mahwah, New Jersey, working on the principle that a low-impedance signal delivered straight to a mixing desk produced cleaner, more accurate, more tonally complete recordings than any high-impedance guitar signal run through a conventional amplifier. When he thought he might retire from performing in the late 1960s, he finally shared the full technical specifications with Gibson. The result was the Les Paul Recording guitar — and as Les explained it himself: "I gave Gibson all my secrets, which elated them to no end."
The Recording was discontinued because it arrived at exactly the wrong cultural moment. The classic rock era of the 1970s pushed players toward crunchier, overdriven sounds from high-impedance pickups, and as Les himself put it: "The Les Paul Recording guitar didn't sell because the kids were into overdriving the input to get distortion, and to get the pleasant distortion they wished to hear, the pickup has to brutally hit the first stage of the amplifier." Low-impedance design produces the opposite of that — clean, wide-bandwidth, detailed signal with a broader frequency response than high-impedance pickups that color the sound by their nature. The Recording's tonal range ran from Rickenbacker-like clarity to Telecaster twang to rounded jazz tones - not what 1970s rock players were looking for, but exactly what studio engineers and players who understood what the guitar was doing valued deeply.
The control complement on the Recording is unlike anything else Gibson produced on a solid-body guitar. In addition to the hi-lo impedance selector, the Recording has a master volume, independent treble and bass controls, a three-way pickup selector switch, a phase switch, a three-way tone selector switch, and the ten-position Decade rotary control — the only such control ever offered on a Gibson solid-body guitar. The Decade switch tunes and alters the treble harmonics, allowing the player to dial in biting or silky highs with a single control. On this example the Decade switch is non-functional. All other original controls are intact and operational.
The headstock has been repaired — visible in the photos and disclosed fully. Headstock repairs on Gibson guitars of this era are common, structurally sound when done correctly, and do not affect playability or tone. This guitar has also been factory refurbished. Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard with small block pearl inlays, natural finish. At 9 lbs 9.5 oz this is a substantial instrument. Action set at 2/32" on both strings at the twelfth fret. Original hardshell case included.
The guitar went to Gibson in 2016 for work on the electronics and the playability of the guitar. Apparently their effort on the electronics failed, thus the decade switch not working, or perhaps someone else got into the guitar after that. Everything else on the control plate is functional. The original control plate is in the case - the one on the guitar is not labeled.
Color: Natural
Weight: 9lbs 9.5oz
Top: Mahogany
Body: Mahogany
Neck: Mahogany. Head stock repair, see pics
Fretboard: Rosewood
Inlays: Pearl Small Block
Frets: Original
Fret Count: 22
Nut: Original
Nut width: 1-11/16"
Radius: 12"
Scale: 24-3/4"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .79"
Neck thickness at 12th Fret: 1.10"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Overall Length: 39-1/2"
Lower bout: 13-1/2"
Waist: 7-3/4"
Upper bout: 9-3/4"
Body depth/thickness outside edge: 1-3/4"
String gauge: 10-46
Hardware Color: Nickel, Chrome
Pickguard: Original
Bridge Pickup/Brand: Gibson low-impedance humbucker
Original?: Yes
Neck Pickup/Brand: Gibson low-impedance humbucker
Original?: Yes
Bridge: Original
Tuners: Original
Knobs: Original
Switch: Decade switch not operable
Pots/Codes: Original
Case: OHSC
Shipping policy:
There are multiple shipping cost options for purchases made on our site. Select Ground, 3 Day, 2 Day, or Next Day Air Saver. For Reverb purchases, there is one cost option for Eastern states - customers from any state that is more than a 3 day UPS ground shipment from our shop will get their shipment via UPS 3 day air. Otherwise, ground shipping will be used. Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions. If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to . Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.
Les Paul gave Gibson his secrets for this guitar. That is not a marketing phrase — it is a direct quote from the man himself. For decades Les had been developing low-impedance pickup technology in his home studio in Mahwah, New Jersey, working on the principle that a low-impedance signal delivered straight to a mixing desk produced cleaner, more accurate, more tonally complete recordings than any high-impedance guitar signal run through a conventional amplifier. When he thought he might retire from performing in the late 1960s, he finally shared the full technical specifications with Gibson. The result was the Les Paul Recording guitar — and as Les explained it himself: "I gave Gibson all my secrets, which elated them to no end."
The Recording was discontinued because it arrived at exactly the wrong cultural moment. The classic rock era of the 1970s pushed players toward crunchier, overdriven sounds from high-impedance pickups, and as Les himself put it: "The Les Paul Recording guitar didn't sell because the kids were into overdriving the input to get distortion, and to get the pleasant distortion they wished to hear, the pickup has to brutally hit the first stage of the amplifier." Low-impedance design produces the opposite of that — clean, wide-bandwidth, detailed signal with a broader frequency response than high-impedance pickups that color the sound by their nature. The Recording's tonal range ran from Rickenbacker-like clarity to Telecaster twang to rounded jazz tones - not what 1970s rock players were looking for, but exactly what studio engineers and players who understood what the guitar was doing valued deeply.
The control complement on the Recording is unlike anything else Gibson produced on a solid-body guitar. In addition to the hi-lo impedance selector, the Recording has a master volume, independent treble and bass controls, a three-way pickup selector switch, a phase switch, a three-way tone selector switch, and the ten-position Decade rotary control — the only such control ever offered on a Gibson solid-body guitar. The Decade switch tunes and alters the treble harmonics, allowing the player to dial in biting or silky highs with a single control. On this example the Decade switch is non-functional. All other original controls are intact and operational.
The headstock has been repaired — visible in the photos and disclosed fully. Headstock repairs on Gibson guitars of this era are common, structurally sound when done correctly, and do not affect playability or tone. This guitar has also been factory refurbished. Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard with small block pearl inlays, natural finish. At 9 lbs 9.5 oz this is a substantial instrument. Action set at 2/32" on both strings at the twelfth fret. Original hardshell case included.
The guitar went to Gibson in 2016 for work on the electronics and the playability of the guitar. Apparently their effort on the electronics failed, thus the decade switch not working, or perhaps someone else got into the guitar after that. Everything else on the control plate is functional. The original control plate is in the case - the one on the guitar is not labeled.
Color: Natural
Weight: 9lbs 9.5oz
Top: Mahogany
Body: Mahogany
Neck: Mahogany. Head stock repair, see pics
Fretboard: Rosewood
Inlays: Pearl Small Block
Frets: Original
Fret Count: 22
Nut: Original
Nut width: 1-11/16"
Radius: 12"
Scale: 24-3/4"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .79"
Neck thickness at 12th Fret: 1.10"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Overall Length: 39-1/2"
Lower bout: 13-1/2"
Waist: 7-3/4"
Upper bout: 9-3/4"
Body depth/thickness outside edge: 1-3/4"
String gauge: 10-46
Hardware Color: Nickel, Chrome
Pickguard: Original
Bridge Pickup/Brand: Gibson low-impedance humbucker
Original?: Yes
Neck Pickup/Brand: Gibson low-impedance humbucker
Original?: Yes
Bridge: Original
Tuners: Original
Knobs: Original
Switch: Decade switch not operable
Pots/Codes: Original
Case: OHSC
Shipping policy:
There are multiple shipping cost options for purchases made on our site. Select Ground, 3 Day, 2 Day, or Next Day Air Saver. For Reverb purchases, there is one cost option for Eastern states - customers from any state that is more than a 3 day UPS ground shipment from our shop will get their shipment via UPS 3 day air. Otherwise, ground shipping will be used. Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions. If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to . Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.