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1979 Les Paul Custom 'Second'

DaveLPguy

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
4
Hi all, I'm a new member, hence my first post. Recently picked up a Norlin era 1979 LP Silverburst, which plays and sounds amazing. It's got a PRS HFS in the bridge and a Dimarzio ?? in the neck. I don't know much else about the guitar, but for it's age, it seems to be in great shape. I'm just wondering what kinda info. some of you LP gurus could shed. My other LP are a '92 studio, and one of the newer 60's reissues. This is my first "vintage" LP.
 

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Logjammin

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Messages
38
Nice guitar! Silverbursts seem to be sought after and I believe they were originally made from around 78-84 give or take. Others on the forum will have more accurate info. Mahogany body, maple cap, maple neck in this era. I've had a few late 70's Customs myself. Enjoy it man!
 

Logjammin

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Messages
38
Forgot to mention, the "SECOND" just indicates some finish flaw before it left the factory. Whatever the flaw, it's usually hard to find if at all. I believe these guitars were sold at a discount to dealers. Nothing to worry about in my opinion.
 

DaveLPguy

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
4
Forgot to mention, the "SECOND" just indicates some finish flaw before it left the factory. Whatever the flaw, it's usually hard to find if at all. I believe these guitars were sold at a discount to dealers. Nothing to worry about in my opinion.


I was definitely wondering about the "second" stamp, as I hadn't seen that before. It is much lighter than I expected, 9.8lbs. I'm wondering how many are out there, as I'd imagine a few folks on here have them. I've seen some examples on reverb, it seems many look extremely discolored due to the nitro finish getting exposed to the environment (presumably a lot of the 'yellow' or 'green' ones due to smoke). I saw Gibson is doing a signature Adam Jones reissue of these this year, will be interesting to see if it reignites some attention to some of these Norlin era guitars.. with a few notable exceptions, most of the folks I know love theirs (though I know they're made during a sketchy period in Gibson's history).

Thanks for your note!
 

Oatie

New member
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
17
Usually a factory second only has a very minor flaw, nick, binding issue, sanding issue or something. Nothing to worry about. Gibson would not sell it if it was beyond a good playable guitar. I have played some really nice Second grade guitars. The "Second" is stamped in the guitar before the finish is even sprayed, so the issues are usually in the sanding process or what I listed above.
 

Scozz

New member
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
11
Congrats on your new guitar! Norlin era produced some great playing guitars, people that are familiar with them understand this. One of the best things about 70s and early 80s Norlins imo is the 3-piece maple neck. If you look very closely to the back of the neck you’ll see 3 distinct strips of maple thst are glued together with the wood grain going in the opposite direction. This makes for a super stable neck that could almost never have an issue with warping or twisting.

Much more stable imo than a single piece of mahogany that is more widely used. Some other Notlin anomalies they were really nice but didn’t last very long, dime only a year or two. Things like diamond shaped strap lock pegs and Schaller Stringwinder Tuners.

Here’s a couple of pics of these things in my 82 Custom. I bought it new in 1982 for $718!







 

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
These are nice guitars , way back I used to use a friends from time to time and it was a really good guitar . As far as the yellowing goes I think it's pretty natural and it happens when nitro ages ,that would not be a turn off for me at all . The weight you listed is right around the same weight as mine is . All looks good to me . The only things I would swap are the Pickups out for ThroBak MXV-SLE-101 Plus with A5 Magnets and swap out the wiring harness for 500k pots and PIO Bumble Bee caps and then have it wired to 50's wiring spec www.throbak.cm I know this costs , but you will thank me later as you will have a fantastic sounding instrument . Even if you don't go for the upgrades this is still a killer guitar !!!!!!!
 

Scozz

New member
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
11
Congrats Dave, lovely Silverburst! I too am a new member here.

The Gibson Norlin years have produced some of the finest LPs ever made, don't believe anyone that might say different. There were some oddities in those years but there were some good ideas too. Here's a few that I thought were really nice!

In the 70s and early 80s Gibson used maple for their necks, a 3-piece maple neck. If you look closely, on some finishes, you can see 3 strips of maple glued together with the grain running in the opposite direction. This practice was used by some others besides Gibson back in the day.

With the grain running in the opposite direction it makes for a very strong, stable neck, a neck that is highly unlikely to warp or twist.

A couple other things that were somewhat fleeting during this time that I thought were good ideas,...diamond shaped strap locks that held the strap on more securely than the standard button strap holders. Another is the Schaller Stringwinder Tuners that were used in the early 80s. The tuners had a little flip out handle that was used to wind the string, they worked great but they only lasted a couple of years or so.

Here's some pics of these 3 things that came on my 1982 Custom, I bought it new in 1982 and still have it,...





 

DaveLPguy

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
4
Thanks guys! That thing looks in fantastic condition! I have def been thinking about swapping the pups, as they don't seem to fit at all together.. for one, the PRS HFS seems too hot for this rig, and whatever model Dimarzio is in the neck just doesn't seem to complement it. I am debating on which hums to swap in there, but still haven't decided (been listening to a ton of HQ youtube comparisons with my Bose headphones to pick out what sounds good 'to me'). Need something versatile, as I play everything from classic rock and blues to much much heavier stuff.

Thanks for the welcome, I'm happy to be a new member here!
 

DaveLPguy

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
4
Ended up swapping out the pups, put the SD jazz in the neck and SH-5 in the bridge.. sounds sooooo good, and much more balanced
 

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