Description
The Gibson L6-S Custom was intended to follow the Gibson L5 as a working musician's guitar. Built from 1973 to 1979 and mostly designed by Bill Lawrence. In 1974 the L6-S Deluxe was introduced, and this had a Rosewood fingerboard, simplified wiring, and through-body string path in place of the stop tailpiece.
This Gibson L6-S Custom dates to June 20, 1978, is in good condition and plays well. There is light natural lacquer checking, expected fretwear as well as 'buckle rash' to the back - all from normal use.
The electronics have been modified from original: the bridge pickup has been replaced with a Seymour Duncan SH5 humbucker, the six position rotary switch has been replaced with a three-way toggle, and a coil tap switch has been added in place of the middle control knob. The original wiring components are included in the case.
A rigid gig bag style case is included.
About the Gibson L6-S Custom, Deluxe and Midnight Special
While the Gibson L5-S was a higher-end instrument aimed at rock and fusion players, the Gibson L-6S Custom was used primarily by rock guitarists like Carlos Santana and Keith Richards, and by jazz-influenced rockers like John McLaughlin, Pat Martino and Al Di Meola. Unfortunately, for all this guitar's strengths, it was not a commercial success.
The original run of these guitars began in 1973 and ended for all versions in 1979, but the guitar was re-introduced in 2011.
This guitar has the serial number 71718524, and this dates it to 1978 at Nashville. Gibson's use of serial numbers has sometimes been chaotic. Between 1975 and 1977, Gibson used a decal that had eight digit serial numbers and the model name, with the first two digits denoting the year - but not directly. For 1975, the first two digits were 99. For 1976, they were 00 and for 1977, the numbers are 06. For 1977, Gibson went to an 8-digit number stamped into the back of the head, with 'Made in USA' below the numbers.
The Gibson L-6S Custom is a straightforward solidbody electric. It's got a fairly thin, solid, single cutaway body made of maple and a maple neck with a maple fingerboard. The original pickups were Bill Lawrence humbuckers with extra leads for coil access. These were then potted with black epoxy, leading to the name 'Tarbacks'. When servicing these pickups, it's extremely important to protect the wiring as damage may render the pickups unrepairable.
The L6-S Custom wiring featured a six-position selector control. The selector control allows for getting either one or both coils from the pickups (but not a combination of single and humbucking). Tuners are Gibson branded made by Schaller, the bridge is a wide-travel 'Harmonica' Schaller part, and there's a stop tailpiece.
For 1974, the L6-S Deluxe was created by replacing the distinctive rotary switch with a standard toggle switch, a rosewood fingerboard in place of Maple, and the stop tailpiece was dropped for a string-through-body path. Early in production and in small numbers, a 'Midnight Special' version was quietly offered with most Deluxe specs but with a bolt-on rather than a set-neck joint. All models were discontinued in 1979.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: L6-S Custom
- Instrument Manufacturer: Gibson
- Instrument year: 1978
- Instrument Finish: Natural Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Instrument Class: Solidbody Electric Guitars
- Instrument serial number: 71718524, dated to June 20th, 1978 at Gibson Nashville
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Good
- Right-handed
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 7.744 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 3.52 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 24.6 in
- Scale Length Metric: 625 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.555 in
- Nut Width Metric: 39.50 mm
- CITIES Documentation Required: Yes
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: No
- Items in Case: Original Electronics - Bridge pickup and rotary switch components
- Case Type: Rigid Gig Bag
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 191185
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |