First Year 'Les Paul Deluxe'
This 12 3/4-inch-wide electric solid body guitar weighs 10.30 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Three-piece (mahogany/maple/mahogany) sandwich body with carved maple top. Three-piece mahogany neck with a medium-to-thick profile, a small 'volute' and "Made in USA" stamped in blind on the back of the headstock beneath the serial number "923400". Rosewood fretboard with 22 original jumbo frets and inlaid pearl trapezoid position markers. 'Wide' headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo, "Les Paul Model" silkscreened in gold and "Deluxe" on truss-rod cover. Individual Gibson Deluxe tuners with double-ring Keystone plastic buttons. Two metal-covered mini-humbucker pickups with cream plastic surrounds and outputs of 7.03k and 6.64k. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch. Gold plastic bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. 'Patent-number' Tune-O-Matic bridge with retainer and separate stud tailpiece. The pots are dated "137 7040" (CTS, October 1970). Original gold-plated metal jack socket surround with four screws. This guitar is a totally original 1970 Les Paul in excellent plus (8.75) condition. There is some finish checking (mainly to the mahogany sides), a miniscule amount of belt buckle scarring on the back, some light wear to the lower edge and a couple of insignificant 'dings' (the size of a small match-head) on the top. The original jumbo frets have been dressed and have plenty of life left. This thirty-nine year old axe feels very comfortable and has a really great strong sound. Housed in its original Gibson four-latch black hardshell case with purple plush lining (9.25).
"This Les Paul model is "deluxe" in every way. Fine performance and outstanding styling. The attractive gold finished carved maple top is magnificently highlighted by two powerful chrome-plated humbucking pickups." (1970 Gibson Guitars Les Paul Models - catalog).
Gibson re-introduced two original-design Les Paul models in 1968, after a number of years when guitars with the SG design had replaced them: the relatively rare two-humbucker Les Paul Custom, and the gold-top Les Paul with P-90 pickups and Tune-O-Matic bridge.
"The guitar design department at Gibson gave a change of style and name to the recently re-introduced Les Paul gold-top model in 1969, when the Les Paul Deluxe took its place. The Deluxe was the first 'new' Les Paul model for 14 years, and was prompted by calls for a gold-top with humbucking pickups rather than the single-coil P-90s of the existing reissue model. Gibson ended up using small Epiphone humbuckers for the Les Paul Deluxe model...At first the Deluxe was only available with a gold top, but gradually sunbursts and other colors were introduced, and it lasted in production until the mid 1980s" (Tony Bacon, Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, pp. 145-146).
The Who's Pete Townshend began using Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars, after the Gibson SG Special that he preferred had been discontinued.