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1997 Les Paul Classic Plus ???

heliman

New member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
186
Did Gibson "officially" market the Les Paul Classic Plus in 1997? I have searched through several historical sites and I can not find a Classic Plus mentioned for that year.

If anyone has any information or links, it would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully yours,

Heliman
 

DonP

Active member
Joined
Feb 21, 2003
Messages
3,020
I can't answer your question, but I will say Gibson was a little confusing as to which years had Plus and which years had Premium Plus. My Classic Premium Plus is a 1996 vintage.
 

generankin

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2003
Messages
299
DonP said:
I can't answer your question, but I will say Gibson was a little confusing as to which years had Plus and which years had Premium Plus. My Classic Premium Plus is a 1996 vintage.

I don't have the info at hand, but I had sent a serial # into Gibson for a Classic Plus and it was confirmed as made in August of the year Bacon says they most definitely were not made. No dis of Bacon; there's only so much record research a guy can do.

Didn't buy it, though. Auction price went higher then I wanted to pay.
 

heliman

New member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
186
I find it interesting how Gibson classifies different models. I purchased the following recently:

http://www.wichitaband.com/02/lpcl7.jpg
http://www.wichitaband.com/02/lpcl9.jpg

It was made in 1997. According to everything I have been able to find, Gibson did not "officially" make any Classic Plus guitars that year. The tops were supposed to be plain maple. I emailed these pictures to Gibson customer support and they told me two interesting tidbits of information:
- They tend to use the best quality wood for the honeybursts
- After viewing these pictures, he told me that this was definitely a Classic Plus top.

It appears that the only thing predictable is the unpredictability of Gibson.

Also, I am wondering if having a plus top in a year in which they supposedly were not available would increase its market value?

Just curious,

Heliman
 

bjh65

Les Paul Froum Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2002
Messages
957
Uh...what's the difference between Plus and Premium Plus?
Higher grade top??
 
B

Bluejazz

Guest
heliman said:
Did Gibson "officially" market the Les Paul Classic Plus in 1997? I have searched through several historical sites and I can not find a Classic Plus mentioned for that year.

If anyone has any information or links, it would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully yours,

Heliman
According to Gibson in 1997, they stopped production of the Classic Plus on 12-1-96. The model was officially discontinued at that point. I had purchased a leftover '96 in early '97. The dealer had said it was a discontinued model. So I called Gibson to confirm it.
The Premium Plus model continued in 1997 btw. And I don;'t think there is any extra value for a Classic Plus that may have been orderd and made in 1997 (an "off" year). The thing is, Gibson brought the Classic Plus back...just like they brought back the "discontinued" R8's and the "discontinued" R0's. "Off" year production, imo, just falls into the mix of what ended up to be "continued" production.
 
Last edited:

heliman

New member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
186
So I gather from what you are saying that Gibson might have had a shelf full of these tops at year end and simply continued to use them without assigning the name Classic Plus?

BTW,

I has a serial number: 7 3763 Inked in black. So far, I have not done too good a job in decyphering it! Is this a typical type of serial number? I thought that would be a serial number associated with an R7, which it definitely is not!

In the neck pickup cavity is written HB in red ink, and the name Arlo is signed in black ink. In the bridge pickup cavity is written LPCP in red ink.

It appears to have the short neck tenon, but it came in a black Custom Art Historic case.

Respectfully yours,

Heliman
 
Last edited:
B

Bluejazz

Guest
You might want to call Gibson customer service and ask about that serial # and see if it's a classic plus or premium plus just for the heck of it, unless you have all the tags
The number itself would be due to show up later this year for an R7, yes. So overlaps do occur. My '96 serial number will show up next year as an R6.
 

sozo

Member
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
32
Looks like I’m twenty years late to the party!!! But for anyone interested in this issue…

I bought a Les Paul Classic Plus new back in 1997. I still have it, the nitro has aged wonderfully.

It was definitely made in 1997, has a 1997 serial number, and the tags/docs that came with it confirm it was made in 97 and is a Classic Plus. It also has LPCP written in pickup cavity.

Those 90s Classics were great LPs, better than the Standards of the time, almost like the later Custom Shop reissues, and much better than the ones Gibson currently make with the name Classic.

True ABR1 bridge with posts (not a Nashville on studs). Short neck tenon though. And came with ceramic magnet pickups which I changed for alnicos.
 

BlueGuitar!

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
Messages
74
Looks like I’m twenty years late to the party!!! But for anyone interested in this issue…

I bought a Les Paul Classic Plus new back in 1997. I still have it, the nitro has aged wonderfully.

It was definitely made in 1997, has a 1997 serial number, and the tags/docs that came with it confirm it was made in 97 and is a Classic Plus. It also has LPCP written in pickup cavity.

Those 90s Classics were great LPs, better than the Standards of the time, almost like the later Custom Shop reissues, and much better than the ones Gibson currently make with the name Classic.

True ABR1 bridge with posts (not a Nashville on studs). Short neck tenon though. And came with ceramic magnet pickups which I changed for alnicos.
Yes it would've said LPPP in the bridge cavity had it been a premium, and likely not had the pickguard factory installed.

I got to a couple comments before yours when I realized I was reading from 2003. Lol oh well. Great guitars.. and I wasn't aware there was a gap in the 'classic plus'. I thought the only gap was around '99 when they didn't have the 'premium plua' because I had a 99 with a basically PRS 10-top with no pickguard installed, but said LPCP in the bridge cavity.
 

sozo

Member
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
32
I was surprised when I bought mine new in 97 that it was only graded as a Plus, not a Premium Plus, because the top is nicely flamed. Mine didn’t have a pickguard, I guess to show off the top more, but I’ve always preferred the look of LPs with pickguard so I fitted one.
 
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