How to get mfg date of Les Paul Personal?

[pmt]

(new member) I'm planning on (dramatically) simplifying/downsizing my life-style and living space. I need to sell a couple guitars including a Les Paul Personal (I think). Also, as it turns out, I have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever.

I'd like to get details of date of mfg. Is there a definitive way to do that? Gibson? Some book or database?? Approx value would be nice but I know how this free-market stuff works.

Here's link to pic on IMGUR. Bought it used in Denver in 70s or 80s. Original case, cord and low-z xfrmr AFAIK. Grover tuners. I think read somewhere that this model used Schallers but my brain has never been what or where it used to be. :dang

 

[Tom Wittrock]

(new member) I'm planning on (dramatically) simplifying/downsizing my life-style and living space. I need to sell a couple guitars including a Les Paul Personal (I think). Also, as it turns out, I have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever.

I'd like to get details of date of mfg. Is there a definitive way to do that? Gibson? Some book or database?? Approx value would be nice but I know how this free-market stuff works.

Here's link to pic on IMGUR. Bought it used in Denver in 70s or 80s. Original case, cord and low-z xfrmr AFAIK. Grover tuners. I think read somewhere that this model used Schallers but my brain has never been what or where it used to be. :dang

This information is not available.
But if you contact Gibson Customer Service with the serial number, they might give you the original shipping date.

 

[Big Al]

You can determine year of manufacture from serial number and pot codes. YOM for Personals and Professionals aren't much of an issue due to the very short span of time they were made, only a few short years when the Les Paul Recording model replaced them.

 

[Grog]

Your guitar is a Les Paul Professional. The Personal has Custom features like gold hardware & a mic jack on the upper bout. Most of them were shipped in 1970.

 

[zombiwoof]

Some people had the transformer installed inside the guitar to simplify using it with high impedance amps. I've read that the Les Paul low impedance amps that came out at that time were not big sellers so most players used them with regular amps.
Al

 

[pmt]

Your guitar is a Les Paul Professional.{snip snip}

Thanks! I probably knew that at one point.

 

[pmt]

Some people had the transformer installed inside the guitar to simplify using it with high impedance amps. I've read that the Les Paul low impedance amps that came out at that time were not big sellers so most players used them with regular amps.
Al

I use a little 'ol Fender Champion 600 which I think is pretty old. For solid state I've got a mike matthews freedom amp. It could even be battery powered. Hums like a mothra-faker.
Imgur link.

 

[Grog]

The amps were huge and very expensive in. $1,100 in 1970 was a huge sum. The speaker bottoms were amplified & you could gang up to ten of them together if you had the money & the means to move them! The guitar on lthe left is a Les Paul Professional like yours. The Guitar on the right with the gold hardware is a Personal.

 

[pmt]

The amps were huge and very expensive in. $1,100 in 1970 was a huge sum. The speaker bottoms were amplified & you could gang up to ten of them together if you had the money & the means to move them!

For some strange reason, I just get more excited seeing a wall of Marshall stacks ....

 

[pmt]

Re: How to get mfg date of Les Paul Personal? -- UPDATE

...I'd like to get details of date of mfg ...

I called Gibson. Apparently their database is "sparse" for that period. The tech couldn't find any records for my S/N. He said it could be 70-72 or a 74-75, which narrows it down to half a decade. He said I might be able to get info from the pot codes. Another alternative would be contacting an appraiser like "Carter Vintage", but their resources were no better than Gibson's.

After looking around I'm pissed that back in '75 I sold my original 58 Les Paul Jr to a friend for $250.

 

[Grog]

For some strange reason, I just get more excited seeing a wall of Marshall stacks ....

Lester himself use the same preamp, but a much smaller bottom...………..

According to the shipping total book....
(2) were shipped in 1969
(781) were shipped in 1970
(116) were shipped in 1971
(2) were shipped in 1973

The pot codes can get you closer to the manufacture date, but there must be many with 1969 pot codes. Mine and many others have claimed to have a 1969 based on their pot codes, even though only two are listed as being shipped that year.