Strange version of "The Paul"

Mark Wein

Mark Wein

Grand Poobah
Staff member
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1533119

FS: RARE 1983 Gibson "The Paul" Deluxe guitar...LOOOOOK!
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1983 Gibson "The Paul" Deluxe...a rareish guitar having the tremolo on it. It has T-Top humbuckers, jumbo frets, Mahogany body and neck, very comfy beveled edges around lower treble bout, Ebony fingerboard with dot inlay, Grover Tuners, nice sleek feeling medium sized C shaped neck, Antique natural finish and weighs 7-3/4 lbs. The action is dialed in making it very easy to play. It has some cool looking checking on the finish. The cool part is the Super-Tune Vibrola can be removed allowing the guitar set up like a regular Les Paul with ABR and stop tail piece...it intonates/holds tuning perfectly so that is how I have it currently set up. It also has the typical Gibson 3 way switch with 2 vol/2tone CTS 500K Audio pots, Russian PIO capacitors and shielded cavity.

This was the top Deluxe Firebrand model that didn't have the goofy Gibson logo routed into the headstock.

It was made at the Nashville Plant, TN, June 8th, 1983 and Production Number: 43

I took these pictures yesterday in between string change to show what the guitar looks like with the tremolo bridge on the guitar. That is why there are no strings on it in some of the pictures.
Included with the sale will be the original tremolo bar, locking nut, potentiometers/caps harness and the Gibson Super-Tune Vibrola.
Asking $1050...Now lowered to $1025 shipped in the Cont US.

I pack very well, ship fast and have done many transactions on this site before the feedback system was introduced. I can provide many references.I can't respond but once a day in this ad so if you want a quick answer to a question, please send me a pm or email to... gitrboy (at) comcast (dot) net

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please tell me that finish is an amateur rattle-can job. i might try that if i saw it, just to know how it played/felt, but i can't see myself ever wanting to own it.
 
That finish is just horrible. I have a hard time believing that could even be crappy 80s Gibson work, it must be a garage disaster. And I can’t imagine spending a grand for a guitar with a trem that’s probably impossible to buy parts for. Total failboat.
 
jp_nyc said:
And I can’t imagine spending a grand for a guitar with a trem that’s probably impossible to buy parts for. Total failboat.
Click to expand...

It's just a Gibby branded Kahler. Parts are available.

Sad thing is I think this guitar is legit. That teardrop burst was a thing for awhile.
 
Yeah, that finish is awful. I know people bag on the 80's Gibsons, but I had a 80 that was fantastic and an 81 that was really great. I would guess, based on how ugly it is, that it was an amateur refinish, but, yeah, Gibson, so it probably left the factory looking like that. I've seen some similar, but not as rough and shaky on the edge, but it certainly could be a factory paint job. IMHO, 80's era Gibsons are not something to be bought without hands on the guitar, as their QC back then was really bad. I mean bad enough that today looks stellar. Also, they went off the catalog spec on many instruments, so seeing a 'one off' isn't rare from that era. Rare is the one they made that matched the catalog specs.
 
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I like the look of the finish, in terms of the color combination. On the front, there's enough visual interruption that it looks okay to me. The back looks like what you'd see the next morning after drunkenly taking it home based on the front.
 
I own a 1980 one, bought it new in 1980, just Mahogany wood grain, no sunburst or whatever the hell that is.
I LOVE mine... Of course I modded the hell out of it and jumbo frets (had it refretted....twice since I bought it) really make it.
Gutted the electrics, it is perfect for me...

I have no trem, hard tail just the way I like it...

But the guitar is solid and yes stays in tune. Heard of a guy who was on stage when it got rushed, hit a guy in the head with it and continued to play...didn't even go out of tune... NOW THAT is awesome lol...

I did move the tail strap lock for better balance....

This thing? Um, no, not sure what ran that over...
 
That may be the worst sunburst I've ever seen. I don't think even a Miller drinker could create that. I bet it was a Schlitz man who created that road kill.
 
Maybe someone should buy it cheap, take it out to a field and do the horse thing to it, put it out of its misery ....
Well it is still a guitar...it deserves a decent end :wink:
 
So it's a Les Paul with SG beveling and an uneven burst (which is equally uneven on the back)?
 
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