#33464

1961 saw the Gibson Les Paul™ Custom undergo a radical overhaul, with a sleek new double-cutaway body style that would go on to become known as the SG™ from 1963 onwards. Finished in White, the revamped design offered a stark visual and ergonomic contrast to its predecessor but was no less classy. It remains one of the most attractive guitars of the Golden Era.

Offered for sale as part of Gibson’s world-first Certified Vintage program, this 1961 Les Paul SG Custom is from the first year of production and is still sporting its original factory white finish, albeit with the light lacquer checking and occasional bump and bruise you’d expect for a guitar of its age. The original Fretless Wonder frets are still intact, and while their covers were taken off at some point in the past, all three PAF pickups are present, although the bridge pickup cover was replaced with a late 1960s or early 1970s cover.

Other than some missing finish under the binding at the first fret on the bass side of the fingerboard, one changed screw in the back plate, and another changed screw on the factory Sideways Vibrola™, this guitar appears very much as it did when it left Kalamazoo in 1961. It eventually found its way to the Gibson Vault, where it has been used in recent years as a benchmark for Gibson Custom’s Historic reissue and Murphy Lab models. The guitar ships with its original black Lifton case.

Availability Date: The purchased instrument will be available for pickup at the Gibson Garage in Nashville, or shipment to an address in the US, starting April 27, 2023.

A NEW WARRANTY AND LETTER OF APPRAISAL

Alongside a certificate of authenticity and limited lifetime warranty, enclosed will be a detailed letter of appraisal confirming the provenance and history of the instrument, signed by both Gibson’s Senior Director of Product Development Mat Koehler and Director of Brand Experience Mark Agnesi.