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1974 LP Custom 20th Anniversary

kitchen

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Jun 8, 2006
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Bought this guitar several years ago and had several questions after reading this forum for a while. One is that some say that all 1974 LP customs had the 20th Anniversary ingraving on the neck? Seems like I have seen postings of 1974's that didn't have it. Anyone really know how many were made? Mine is a red wine which I think is rarer? The neck to me is awesome compared to newer ones I see in stores. It is narrow and gets larger as you go up the neck. Is this a 70's neck or is this a older profile? I don't see why customs are not more highly thought of than the standards. Real pearl in the custom and plastic pearl in the standards, correct? Better tuners etc. Makes no sense to me. Any info on the above model would be appreciated. Great forum by the way, been great reading old posts.
Steve
 
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dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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Welcome! Nice to see another 74 Custom here.
Mine doesn't have the 20th inlay either. I'm not sure how many didn't or why.
Sounds like you have the same neck as mine, I really like it. I think it's a standard 70's profile for these.
I think the fretless wonder frets turned a lot of guys off of the Customs. Mine's been refretted with Jumbos, and plays just great.
IMO these are a real 70's rock machine. They don't pretend to be a burst. They are what they are, and they do it really well.
 

LesterP

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May 13, 2003
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I like my '74 20 Anniversary very much. Mine does have the engraved fret marker, and to my knowledge, most '74s do.

Would be curious as to how you would compare the neck size of your 74's to other Les Paul's? Mine is as thin as a 'Classic' if not thinner, though it has no movement. Those 3-piece necks are strong as hell. :)
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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The neck on mine is roughly the size of an R0 on the first fret, grows to about the same size as my R9 by the 12th. A nice profile.
 

Bluedawg

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Oct 9, 2002
Messages
894
Great guitars IMHO.

Here's mine:

LP_Custom_20th_Ann.jpg


LP20thAnnlabel.jpg


I picked mine up back in '82 or there abouts.

:jim
 

kitchen

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Jun 8, 2006
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The neck profile is as described above. Thin an first position and gradually tapering up thicker as you go up the neck. The new LPs I tried out at a local music shop had thick necks all the way up. One called a 60's neck was thinner but not as thin as mine at the first position. I can see why they put in the volute to strengthen it. What surprised me is the general quality of the feel of the guitar. The Norlin's are much put down but I thought the feel of quality was far greater on my older guitar, especially the neck. Actually there was no comparison. I think, though they were turning them out like crazy during 1974 (I think over 7,000) there was still some magic in Kalamazoo.
Steve
 

kitchen

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Jun 8, 2006
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Curious what kind of pickups are on these 74's and what are the goods and bads of them.
Steve
 

dwagar

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Apr 18, 2005
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They likely have patent # TTops in them, mine had one original when I bought it. IMO a great pickup.
I don't buy the bad Norlin rep either, mine is a great guitar.
 

Thin_Lizzy

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Jul 25, 2004
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dwagar said:
They likely have patent # TTops in them, mine had one original when I bought it. IMO a great pickup.
I don't buy the bad Norlin rep either, mine is a great guitar.

As always: I'm with you dwagar :hippy
I'm really a great fan of the early 70s LPs. I like their sound and feel very much. The neck is just perfect for me. I have three and their neck profiles are the same.
 

Bass Blom

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Dec 6, 2005
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I replaced the original, the thinner one with a wire..
not that familiar with all the correct terms :D
 

dwagar

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The original would be an ABR-1, the thicker one would be a Nashville.
 

Bass Blom

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ok thnx, so I had an ABR1 and later a nashville.
the wire started an later all the bridge, corroding.
but still it's a beast of a guitar.
 

Indiana Erick

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Jun 11, 2002
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If the guitars have been refretted, it's possible to sand off the engraving if the inlay was not removed before leveling the board.
 

mikeyrsmith

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Feb 11, 2003
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My CSB '74 Custom has the "20th Anniversary" inlay, but it's VERY worn/faded. Kind of a steep neck angle on this one, too, so I had to top-wrap it to get optimal action, but the neck profile itself rocks. Very comfortable.

DCP_2015.jpg
 

mmcquain

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Sep 21, 2005
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Bluedawg said:
Great guitars IMHO.Here's mine:
LP_Custom_20th_Ann.jpg

Very nice. That brings back memories as the first real LP I played on was a 20th Anniversary Custom that my guitar instructor loaned me when my Montgomery Wards LP copy broke. Over the past almost 30 years since then I've tried to talk him into selling me that guitar (he's a collector with about 100 guitars). It is still the lowest action, truly "fretless wonder" LP that I've ever seen. It just played "like bud'her" :salude
 

Thin_Lizzy

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Jul 25, 2004
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mikeyrsmith said:
My CSB '74 Custom has the "20th Anniversary" inlay, but it's VERY worn/faded. Kind of a steep neck angle on this one, too, so I had to top-wrap it to get optimal action, but the neck profile itself rocks. Very comfortable.

DCP_2015.jpg

The binding around the fretboard and the nut are very white. I suppose they're newer?
 
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