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Dating my "1977" Ebony Custom

Crusader

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Oct 2, 2020
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In 1977 I bought an Ebony Les Paul Custom but I have reason to believe it was made two or three years earlier. I only have one crumby photo of it and a list of details. I'm wondering what people here might say as to when it was actually built. Something to note when I bought it, it had some flaws so I think it probably sat on the shelf for a while

Serial number 250000
"Made In USA" back of peghead
Pancake body
3-piece neck (Maple of Mahogany?)
Volute
All-gold tuners
Top Hat knobs

One person said (going by the serial number) that it was the first guitar built in the Norlin era. Someone else thinks that serial number never existed. I don't see any reason for either of these claims. I don't know if it had a long, trans or short Tenon or if the neck was Maple or Mahogany

There are some things (ie. Serial Number) that make me think 1973 but it had top-hat knobs, so I'm wondering if they were changed to be in line with 1977 specs
 

PaulD

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Check the pot codes, if they are the original pots that will tell you the earliest date that the guitar could have been made.
 

SS901771

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In early 1977 I bought a new ebony LP Custom from Red Bank Music in NJ. The serial number was 124759. I thought maybe it was built in '76, but don't know for sure. Don't know if that helps.
 

Crusader

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In early 1977 I bought a new ebony LP Custom...The serial number was 124759
Bought in 1977 and having a 6 digit serial number I would think it is very similar to mine. Do you know if it has a long tenon neck joint, and is the neck Maple or Mahogany? I would be interested to know
 

SS901771

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Sorry, I don't know if it had a maple or mahogany neck. I do think I remember it having a short tenon neck, I had the front pickup out. I sold it in '78. I still have the factory warranty card, if I knew who had the guitar now I would send it to them. It was my first good guitar, out of fond memories of it I just bought a 2019 '57 LPC.
 

Crusader

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Sorry, I don't know if it had a maple or mahogany neck. I do think I remember it having a short tenon neck, I had the front pickup out. I sold it in '78...
Thanks for your reply. Its funny I kept mine for 10 years but I didn't know anything about long tenon neck joints until about 2008 when a sales guy was explaining why reissues were more expensive
 

gahubbard

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Sep 28, 2020
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I don't know if this will be any help but I have a '77 LP Custom and here is the serial number and the breakdown of what it means...

Serial# 72667555

Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
September 23rd, 1977
Production Number: 55


In 1977, Gibson first introduced the serialization method that is in practice today. This updated system
utilizes an impressed eight digit numbering scheme that covers both serializing and dating functions. The
pattern is as follows:
YDDDYPPP
YY is the production year
DDD is the day of the year
PPP is the plant designation and/or instrument rank.
The numbers 001-499 show Kalamazoo production, 500-999 show Nashville production. The Kalamazoo
numbers were discontinued in 1984.
 

Crusader

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Thanks for helpful info although my custom had a 6-digit serial number. I just read somewhere that Serial numbers with last 3 digits above 500 indicate made in Nashville and below 500 indicate Kalamazoo. I wonder did that apply to the 6-digit system?

Well the story so far - I'm trying to conjure memories up from 43 years ago, but I'm sure the neck was Mahogany (looking under the Truss Rod cover) and therefore probably had a Transitional Tenon. And with everything I've read so far I think my LP was built in Kalamazoo in 1975 due to the Serial Number 250000 and the Top-Hat knobs

Does anybody agree with my thinking, or have other thoughts? Is there anything that rules out made in 1976?
 

SS901771

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The only other thing I remember is mine came with reflector top hat knobs. With the serial 124759, would my guitar be older than yours? Even though I bought it new, seems like it could have been a year or so older. I paid $758 for it new in '77. The warranty card came plasticized and is credit card sized, pink with the Norlin Gibson logo with the floral looking thing.
 

Crusader

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The only other thing I remember is mine came with reflector top hat knobs....
Yes mine had reflector top hat knobs. I had no idea what that meant until I googled it just now LOL, so thats something else that might help in my quest. I think our guitars are the same vintage with so much in common

Progrocker111 has suggested mine's a 1975 and I find everything agrees with that and I would say same for yours

To the best of my knowledge so far

1974 models had witch-hat knobs and 1976 models had an 8-digit serial number starting with "00" So those two factors alone suggest 1975 as year of production

And something else I read last night is, although Nashville started in 1974, they didn't make Les Paul Customs there until 1978 (according to one source I read) So if that is true our guitars were built in Kalamazoo

I have no memory of warranty cards or paper-work and probably threw them out

EDIT
I just remembered one more thing, mine had an ABR-1 bridge, that's Kalamazoo I think
 
Last edited:

SS901771

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Jan 18, 2003
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I found an old picture, mine had the ABR-1 also. The warranty card looks like a pink credit card with the old Norlin Gibson logo with the floral looking thing. I paid $798 new in '77, it's all relative, I guess. I learned a lot from this thread!
 
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