1974 Gibson Les Paul Standard Flametop Sunburst
Description
No sales tax for US customers outside California.
A 1974 Gibson Les Paul Standard flametop from the Kalamazoo plant — player's grade, priced accordingly. The Standard with full-size humbuckers was essentially a special-order instrument in 1974; Gibson wasn't officially offering it in the catalog, which makes a documented example a bit of a find. It is believed that about 60 such guitars were built in 1974. This guitar was built in Kalamazoo before the Nashville plant opened in 1976, and before they changed the construction of a Les Paul to one with a maple neck.
It has the weight (9 pounds, 7.5 ounces), the sustain, and the Norlin-era snap and directness that players who know these guitars specifically look for. Player's grade means it's a guitar, not a collectible — priced to be played.
There is an old, quality headstock repair. The back of the neck and headstock were refinished. The tuners were changed to early Schallers.
There was once a preamp setup of some type installed in the control cavity with an extra pot or switch - there is a small hole filled in the control knob area. The pots are original, dated to 1974. The knobs are reproduction parts. The output jack plate has been changed. The patent number tone-o-matic bridge is original, as is the stopbar tailpiece.
The pickups are original too - patent number T-tops with the overs removed. They both were worked on by Lollar Pickups, where they got new leads and spacers beneath the coils.
The neck is straight and the truss rod has room for future neck relief adjustments. The frets are pretty flat. They are playable, and they were low from the factory to begin with, but they will need to be replaced for those who want to really dig in.
The case is a somewhat recent SKB case.
A Bit of History
Gibson was acquired by the Norlin Musical Instruments conglomerate in 1969, and the years that followed have been debated in guitar forums ever since. The honest assessment is nuanced: Norlin made cost-cutting decisions that compromised some instruments, but the reputation of the era as uniformly bad is overstated. The 1974 Les Paul Standard occupies a particularly interesting position in the Norlin narrative. First: it was built in Kalamazoo, the original "soft tooled" plant where more handwork went into production than the Nashville facility that opened in 1976. Second: the Les Paul Standard with full-size humbuckers was not officially in the Gibson catalog in 1974 — Gibson was pushing the Deluxe with mini-humbuckers and the Custom. Full-size humbucker Standards in 1974 were special-order instruments, which means this guitar was built to a customer's specific request. Third: 1974 sits in the mahogany neck era — the maple neck substitution didn't arrive until 1975–76 — which is the configuration most Norlin-era Les Paul players prefer. The T-Top humbuckers used in this period have a devoted following among players who find them more open and dynamic than PAFs and more musical than later production pickups. Jimmy Page used Norlin-era Les Pauls extensively in the mid-1970s — including the 1969 Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" he used for the 1977 In Through the Out Door sessions. Ace Frehley, Mick Jones, Randy Rhoads, and Frank Zappa all played Norlin-era Gibsons seriously and on record.
Excerpts from real online user forums and reviews
"The whole 'Norlin era sucks' thing is so played out. There are good ones and bad ones of every year. Simply put, they have a different tone. They're snappier and more direct sounding. My R7 is fatter and warmer but can't keep up with the LPC in terms of aggression. There are so many good Les Pauls from all of those decades that I prefer that people think they all suck so that they will still be available for me when I have the money to buy them." — Rig-Talk Forum
"Some early '70s LP's play superb. Lowest action that rings true I have ever played. Heavy as a brick though. It takes time to destroy a company culture! They likely mostly were better than today's new ones." — Telecaster Guitar Forum
"Through the end of 1975, the only Gibson plant was in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo is a 'soft tooled' plant, meaning that there weren't as many hard jigs made for production and more handwork went into them. In 1976, the Nashville plant opened and it was a harder-tooled plant from the start." — Telecaster Guitar Forum
"I now believe it's impossible to blanket-condemn the Norlin era electric Gibsons. I have a cherry burst 1974 Les Paul Custom — other than the finish in places not really matching, we can't find anything wrong with it. Not my only Les Paul but for sure the best one I have." — Telecaster Guitar Forum
"I think it's very similar to Silverface Fenders. Both get a bad rap and there is good reason for that, but in both eras there are some nice gear if you are willing to look a bit and tweak it. I have a '73 LP custom and love it. Such a mean and thick sounding guitar." — Rig-Talk Forum
A real 1974 Kalamazoo Les Paul Standard — player's grade, priced to be played, with all the snap and sustain that players who've actually spent time with these guitars know firsthand. Ships fully insured, packed with care.
Be sure to check out the other cool guitar related stuff on our site!
Fender electric guitars - vintage & used
Gibson electric guitars - vintage & used
The largest vintage & used guitar amplifier selection in Northern California
Vintage & Used Effects Pedals
SPECS:
Color: Sunburst Flametop
Weight: 9lbs 7.5oz
Top: 3-piece Flame Maple
Body: "Pancake" Mahogany
Neck: 3-piece Mahogany with a volute
Fretboard: Rosewood
Inlays: Mother of Pearl Trapezoid
Frets: Original
Fret Count: 22
Nut: Non Original w/Brass
Nut width: 1-11/16"
Radius: 12"
Scale: 24.75"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .858"
Neck thickness at 12th Fret: 1.30"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Overall Length: 38-3/4"
Lower bout: 13"
Waist: 7-1/4"
Upper bout: 9-1/4"
Body depth/thickness outside edge: 2"
String gauge: 10-53
Hardware Color: Chrome, Nickel
Pickguard: Missing
Bridge Pickup/Brand: Gibson Patent Number T-Top humbucker
Pickup Reading: 7.25k
Original?: Yes
Neck Pickup/Brand: Gibson Patent Number T-Top humbucker
Pickup Reading: 7.05k
Original?: Yes
Bridge: Original
Tuners: Non Original Schaller
Knobs: Original
Switch: 3 Way
Pots/Codes: Original
Case: Non Original HSC
Notes:
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.
A 1974 Gibson Les Paul Standard flametop from the Kalamazoo plant — player's grade, priced accordingly. The Standard with full-size humbuckers was essentially a special-order instrument in 1974; Gibson wasn't officially offering it in the catalog, which makes a documented example a bit of a find. It is believed that about 60 such guitars were built in 1974. This guitar was built in Kalamazoo before the Nashville plant opened in 1976, and before they changed the construction of a Les Paul to one with a maple neck.
It has the weight (9 pounds, 7.5 ounces), the sustain, and the Norlin-era snap and directness that players who know these guitars specifically look for. Player's grade means it's a guitar, not a collectible — priced to be played.
There is an old, quality headstock repair. The back of the neck and headstock were refinished. The tuners were changed to early Schallers.
There was once a preamp setup of some type installed in the control cavity with an extra pot or switch - there is a small hole filled in the control knob area. The pots are original, dated to 1974. The knobs are reproduction parts. The output jack plate has been changed. The patent number tone-o-matic bridge is original, as is the stopbar tailpiece.
The pickups are original too - patent number T-tops with the overs removed. They both were worked on by Lollar Pickups, where they got new leads and spacers beneath the coils.
The neck is straight and the truss rod has room for future neck relief adjustments. The frets are pretty flat. They are playable, and they were low from the factory to begin with, but they will need to be replaced for those who want to really dig in.
The case is a somewhat recent SKB case.
A Bit of History
Gibson was acquired by the Norlin Musical Instruments conglomerate in 1969, and the years that followed have been debated in guitar forums ever since. The honest assessment is nuanced: Norlin made cost-cutting decisions that compromised some instruments, but the reputation of the era as uniformly bad is overstated. The 1974 Les Paul Standard occupies a particularly interesting position in the Norlin narrative. First: it was built in Kalamazoo, the original "soft tooled" plant where more handwork went into production than the Nashville facility that opened in 1976. Second: the Les Paul Standard with full-size humbuckers was not officially in the Gibson catalog in 1974 — Gibson was pushing the Deluxe with mini-humbuckers and the Custom. Full-size humbucker Standards in 1974 were special-order instruments, which means this guitar was built to a customer's specific request. Third: 1974 sits in the mahogany neck era — the maple neck substitution didn't arrive until 1975–76 — which is the configuration most Norlin-era Les Paul players prefer. The T-Top humbuckers used in this period have a devoted following among players who find them more open and dynamic than PAFs and more musical than later production pickups. Jimmy Page used Norlin-era Les Pauls extensively in the mid-1970s — including the 1969 Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" he used for the 1977 In Through the Out Door sessions. Ace Frehley, Mick Jones, Randy Rhoads, and Frank Zappa all played Norlin-era Gibsons seriously and on record.
Excerpts from real online user forums and reviews
"The whole 'Norlin era sucks' thing is so played out. There are good ones and bad ones of every year. Simply put, they have a different tone. They're snappier and more direct sounding. My R7 is fatter and warmer but can't keep up with the LPC in terms of aggression. There are so many good Les Pauls from all of those decades that I prefer that people think they all suck so that they will still be available for me when I have the money to buy them." — Rig-Talk Forum
"Some early '70s LP's play superb. Lowest action that rings true I have ever played. Heavy as a brick though. It takes time to destroy a company culture! They likely mostly were better than today's new ones." — Telecaster Guitar Forum
"Through the end of 1975, the only Gibson plant was in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo is a 'soft tooled' plant, meaning that there weren't as many hard jigs made for production and more handwork went into them. In 1976, the Nashville plant opened and it was a harder-tooled plant from the start." — Telecaster Guitar Forum
"I now believe it's impossible to blanket-condemn the Norlin era electric Gibsons. I have a cherry burst 1974 Les Paul Custom — other than the finish in places not really matching, we can't find anything wrong with it. Not my only Les Paul but for sure the best one I have." — Telecaster Guitar Forum
"I think it's very similar to Silverface Fenders. Both get a bad rap and there is good reason for that, but in both eras there are some nice gear if you are willing to look a bit and tweak it. I have a '73 LP custom and love it. Such a mean and thick sounding guitar." — Rig-Talk Forum
A real 1974 Kalamazoo Les Paul Standard — player's grade, priced to be played, with all the snap and sustain that players who've actually spent time with these guitars know firsthand. Ships fully insured, packed with care.
Be sure to check out the other cool guitar related stuff on our site!
Fender electric guitars - vintage & used
Gibson electric guitars - vintage & used
The largest vintage & used guitar amplifier selection in Northern California
Vintage & Used Effects Pedals
SPECS:
Color: Sunburst Flametop
Weight: 9lbs 7.5oz
Top: 3-piece Flame Maple
Body: "Pancake" Mahogany
Neck: 3-piece Mahogany with a volute
Fretboard: Rosewood
Inlays: Mother of Pearl Trapezoid
Frets: Original
Fret Count: 22
Nut: Non Original w/Brass
Nut width: 1-11/16"
Radius: 12"
Scale: 24.75"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .858"
Neck thickness at 12th Fret: 1.30"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Overall Length: 38-3/4"
Lower bout: 13"
Waist: 7-1/4"
Upper bout: 9-1/4"
Body depth/thickness outside edge: 2"
String gauge: 10-53
Hardware Color: Chrome, Nickel
Pickguard: Missing
Bridge Pickup/Brand: Gibson Patent Number T-Top humbucker
Pickup Reading: 7.25k
Original?: Yes
Neck Pickup/Brand: Gibson Patent Number T-Top humbucker
Pickup Reading: 7.05k
Original?: Yes
Bridge: Original
Tuners: Non Original Schaller
Knobs: Original
Switch: 3 Way
Pots/Codes: Original
Case: Non Original HSC
Notes:
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.