Opinions on this 78 LP Custom

johnswiss

I've been offered this in a trade deal and wondered if any of you guys could spot any good/bad signs. I'm a bit nervous because the last 78 custom I looked at was dodgy as ****. I'm also a lot better clued up on Fenders than Gibsons. Anyway I've been told that the bridge and stop are newer and that there is a mark on one of the inlays and from what I can see it has once had different tuners on it, probably a refret and the knobs are not period correct.

I will be seeing it in person before I go ahead so I if it doesn't feel/look right in the flesh I will walk but any comments welcome. Cheers

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p767/johnswiss/20150130_153023_zps01d86e75.jpg

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p767/johnswiss/20150130_153047_zps3b848b24.jpg

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p767/johnswiss/20150130_153143_zps0b938346.jpg

johnswiss

Couple more...

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p767/johnswiss/20150130_153131_zps81ad64a6.jpg

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p767/johnswiss/20150130_153257_zps0e9e9724.jpg

Deijavoo

I'm no expert, far from it but it looks fine in those 3 pics.

I thought the Gibson logo looked odd, maybe too high or something, but on second look I think that's just the lighting. Maybe I'm just too tipsy.

Deijavoo

What is that mark on the inlay??

johnswiss

I don't know, the guy says it's been there as long as he's had it and it's like a stain?

richardhomer

The pictures aren't great - but it is almost certainly legit. It has the very pointed cutaway tip which was a characteristic of the period (it wasn't just Fender who forgot what shape their guitars should be in the '70s!)

As long as the price reflects the changed parts and there are no obvious repairs - it looks fine.

johnswiss

Thanks @richardhomer price wise it's going to owe me about 1800, reasonable?

SteveRobinson

The finish around the volute seems to have ripples and the edge radius *may* be over-sanded which suggests it might have had a neck break repaired. 

Hard to tell from the shaky photo but you should check it out.

The mark on the inlay looks like a bit missing which could have occurred when the refret was done.

bandmaster188

The mark on the inlay looks like a piece of the inlay has broken away and it's been filled but a bit hard to tell from the pics. I had that happen on my lp custom when it was refretted, a small piece broke out when the fret board was being sanded. They filled mine with some ebony type filler stuff and you barely notice it.

johnswiss

Thanks @SteveRobinson and @bandmaster188 that's really useful.

richardhomer

johnswiss;528142" said:

Thanks @richardhomer price wise it's going to owe me about 1800, reasonable?

That sounds high to me.

If it was completely original - then fair enough - but it's not.

Guitars from this period are invariably very heavy and - purely as a musical instrument - more recent Custom Shop iterations are probably 'better' - it lacking the 'cool factor' of being nearly 40 years old.

I'm not an expert on prices - these things always seem dear to me....

SteveRobinson

I think your LP Standard is probably a nicer guitar.

FelineGuitars

Could be that when the guitar was refretted thatthe boad took quite a lot of levelling and the edge of the pearl may have worn thin - or disappeared altogether, unless of course it is actually missing a corner on that inlay - as in broken or chipped
I can't tell from the pics if it ever had a head-break, but if it did it may have resulted in more levelling having been needed.

I'd want to know the weight - even if he pops it on some kitchen scales, as these 70s beasts can weigh a ton.

johnswiss

Yes you're probably right @SteveRobinson , it was actually another guitar I wanted to sell involved in the trade and I did wonder if the LP Custom might be easier to sell afterwards, but after the wise words on here I think I'm going to leave it. If it was all original then I might have but I had reservations about the anomalies and you guys have shed light on more potential issues.

Thanks all for the wisdom.

Bucket

I want it.

Bet it weighs more than the moon though.

Voxman

Looks legit to me - m/heads & tulip tuners, hardware, logo, tophat controls, shape and inlays all look good, and its worn - which is what you'd expect on a 78. 

ICBM

Definitely legit, especially since the exact "wrong" shape has never been faked as far as I know, but I would be very suspicious about that inlay. To me it looks like the board has been heavily planed when the refret was done - perhaps to fix a previous bad refret which had left chips, this is common on ebony - and the inlay is so thin that it then got worn away - that's in the D note fingernail position which is usually the deepest wear on a fingerboard. There seems to be a similar but less obvious one in the same place at the 5th fret too.

If so it/they can be repaired by replacing the inlays (deepening the recesses to take it), but it's not an easy job.

I agree that the texture of the finish on the back of the neck is suspicious too, but this will be a maple neck with a low head angle, and they are actually extremely strong, so a break is possibly less likely than simply a finish touch-up due to wear.

It also might not weigh as much as you think - most do (some are really silly), but a friend of mine has a '78 Standard which is remarkably light, probably only around 8 and half pounds from memory. I don't know why!

I certainly wouldn't want to pay the going rate for one of this year without investigating the fingerboard and head, anyway.

BigMonka

Definitely a fake, a 78 LP should look like this

johnswiss

BigMonka said:

Definitely a fake, a 78 LP should look like this

Nice one!

Voxman

I think thats open to disc-ussion. >:D<

viz

Voxman said:

For the record, I think thats open to disc-ussion. >:D<