Gibson has welcomed back the Les Paul Custom ’70s to its standard line-up for the first time in what feels like an eternity to celebrate 50 years of guitar-building in Nashville.
Specifically, the new Les Paul Custom ’70s becomes the first standard-run USA guitar of its kind in 20 years. Before today, for two decades it had only been available as a Gibson Custom model, carrying price tags of up to $8,000.
This new model – a more bespoke version of Les Paul’s solidbody electric guitar design – pulls out of Gibson's Nashville factory with “classic-era correct specs”, with the firm marking half a century since it relocated from Kalamazoo.
Those specs include a headstock volute, throwback finishes, and, under those, the preferred tonewood recipe of the period: a mahogany body with a three-piece maple top, ’70s profile maple neck with a ’70s profile, and an ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl block inlays.
After Gibson’s move, the Les Paul went through a series of refinements before it landed on that combination, and ’70s Custom builds have since become drool-worthy vintage guitars. Randy Rhoads’ infamous Custom was a mid-’70s build. The Edge is another famous advocate for what they can do.
These new Customs have five-ply top binding and three on the back, while there are 22 medium jumbo frets, a GraphTech nut, and, of course, a 24.75” scale.
Tradition is maintained with an Aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar combo, Grover Rotomatic tuners with Keystone buttons, and Calibrated T-Type humbuckers hand-wired to Orange Drop capacitors.
Finer details include Witch Hat knobs and a black washer with gold text for its three-way pickup selector 'poker chip'. They also come complete with diamond-shaped Posi-Lok strap locks, which are handy.
For ’70s-chic looks, its bound headstock gets a mother-of-pearl Custom Split Diamond headstock inlay, and there are four gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finishes to admire. Choose from Ebony, Tobacco Burst, Wine Red, and a version with a beautiful Buttercream Top that’s sure to whip up (ahem) excitement from vintage enthusiasts.
At $3,999 apiece, these nostalgic riff machines don't come cheap, but that's cheaper than their vintage and Custom Shop counterparts.
“Some of the first Gibson models to come out of the new craftory were Les Paul Customs, which quickly made their way to the heavy metal pioneers and hard-rock icons of the era,” the firm says. “Gibson is proud to reintroduce the legendary Les Paul Custom 70s, making its long-awaited return to the Gibson lineup after two decades.”
Head to Gibson for more.
For more old-school Gibson goodness, check out its latest Certified Vintage drop, and Marcus King's signature ES-345.
