Description
Offered from 1978 to 1982, the Gibson The Paul Electric Guitar in Walnut was a popular solidbody model with a contoured body and neck made of Mahogany or Maple (later options), and a smooth Indian Rosewood fingerboard. Equipped with a set of humbuckers and standard Gibson hardware, this guitar offered top-notch performance and versatility. Intended as a lower cost line the finishes were simple and thin. For 1980, the 'Firebrand' versions appeared; these used logos that were branded directly into the wood.
Dating to August 15th, 1979 and built at Nashville, this Gibson The Paul is in good working and largely original condition. Aside from normal wear, there is one addition - a 'Curly's Wife' sticker between the stop tailpiece and tail pin. The finish is a thin, clear Nitrocellulose Lacquer layer.
The body is made of Black Walnut, a wood that was traditionally used for instruments but was largely displaced by Maple, Mahogany and Rosewoods. The neck is a three-piece construction with a Mahogany center section and Walnut outside sections. The truss rod insert will be Maple, and the fingerboard is Indian Rosewood. Some later models, like The Paul Standard, used Ebony for the fingerboard. Here, the Gibson logo is a decal, while the Firebrand series branded this into the wood.
Later models of The Paul used Mahogany (the Firebrand Deluxe line) ;or Maple (The Paul Standard) for the body and neck, and some used Ebony fingerboards.
This guitar has been used as intended. Consequently, it is nicely worn in, and sounds an feels great. It’s very warm and responsive. The fact that it has been ‘used as intended’ does mean that the frets are fairly low, and if one were going to gig with this guitar, a refret would be in the cards. Still, with some minor setup adjustments, it is quite playable as is.
This particular example is currently 'Top Wrap' strung, meaning the strings are mounted to the front of the stop tailpiece, and are wrapped over it on their way over the saddles to the head. This can provide a small increase in sustain as the stop tailpiece generally has to be bolted down all the way, and also increase string flexibility from the decreased break-over angle at the saddles. These effects are minor, and it's easy to swap from one method to another when re-stringing.
The nitrocellulose lacquer finish on these guitars was intentionally thin, and there is a fair amount of honest play wear. The contours make it very comfortable, and the walnut provides a smooth warmth that’s different from Mahogany. The neck uses a three-piece Walnut and Mahogany construction, with a volute behind the truss rod adjuster cavity and a shallower head pitch – these guitars are not as prone to damage as the 17-degree tilt headstocks.
I like this guitar a lot. It’s relatively light, but solid, and feels like a straight ahead rock guitar – in the vein of the early Les Paul Junior models, but with humbuckers.
A Gibson hard shell case, likely the original, is included.
|
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: The Paul
- Instrument Manufacturer: Gibson
- Instrument year: 1979
- Instrument Finish: Natural Walnut
- Instrument Class: Used
- Instrument serial number: 72279527 dated to August 15th, 1979 at Nashville
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Good
-
Playing Condition: Good
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: No
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Case Type: Hard
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 8.096 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 3.68 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 24.65 in
- Scale Length Metric: 626 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.696 in
-
Nut Width Metric: 43.09 mm
- Items in Case: N/A
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190240
|
|
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 |