One of the Earliest Les Paul Reissues

One of the earliest Les Paul reissues. This great guitar weighs 9.80 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Single bound solid mahogany body with carved maple top, mahogany neck with a medium to thick profile, and rosewood fretboard with 22 wide jumbo frets and inlaid pearl trapezoid position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and "Les Paul Model" silkscreened in gold. Two layer black on white plastic truss-rod cover with "Jimmy Wallace" engraved in white. "Jimmy Wallace" serial number "8 1002" inked-on in black on back of headstock. Individual "Gibson" Kluson Deluxe two-line tuners with single-ring tulip-shaped Keystone plastic buttons (stamped inside "D169400 / Patent No"). Two humbucker pickups with cream plastic surrounds and balanced outputs of 7.56k and 7.50k, each one stamped in black on the underside "137 581" and "138 381" respectively. Inside the bridge pickup cavity is the "Gibson" factory serial number "81611113" (June 1981) stamped in blind. Cream plastic pickguard. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch. The pots are stamped "137 8010" and "137 8011" (March 1980). Gold plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs.Tune-O-Matic bridge and separate stud tailpiece. Minor indentation on back of neck behind the 8th fret and two small indentations on lower edge, otherwise near fine. A superb guitar with a nicely flamed top. Housed in the original Gibson USA brown hardshell case with five latches and pink plush lining (8.50).

"In the 1970s some US dealers who specialised in older instruments began to order from Gibson's Kalamazoo plant selected Les Pauls with 'vintage correct' appointments. Since the onset of Gibson's new Nashville factory in 1975 the original Kalamazoo plant had leaned more heavily toward shorter, specialised runs of guitars. Jim Deurloo, by the early 1980s plant manager at Kalamazoo, remembers dealers such as Leo's of California, Jimmy Wallace of Texas, and Guitar Trader of New Jersey ordering special vintage-style Les Paul Standards. These dealers and their customers were looking for features such as an exact old-style carving shape and a particular neck feel, as well as a number of small visual details -- and Kalamazoo provided an approximation" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul, p. 80).

"Jimmy Wallace LPs were special ordered by guitar dealer Jimmy Wallace from about 1980 up to the mid 90's, but after 1990 they ended up with slightly smaller neck sizes. The Wallace LPs made in Kalamazoo in the early 80's had beautiful quilted tops, with vintage serial numbers starting with '8' (for 1958). The features of these guitars are similar to those of the Leo’s and Guitar Traders, including the thin binding in the cutaway, ABR-1 bridge, etc. The truss rod covers of the Jimmy Wallace guitars say 'Jimmy Wallace Model'. The early 80's guitars had block letters for the Jimmy Wallace script, but later models had script lettering. These guitars have Gibson Deluxe Klusons, open 'b' and 'o' and a dot on the 'i' of the Gibson logo. The 1980 model (serial number '8 1012') has black backplates for the control cavity and switch, large tortoiseshell side dot markers, and weighs 9 lbs. 9 oz. The 1990 model (serial number '0 0076') has brown backplates, large black side dot markers, and weighs 9 lbs. 2 oz. The 1990 model also has a small clear sticker with gold letters saying 'Jimmy Wallace' that is affixed to the inside of the control cavity" (Mike Slubowski, "Gibson Les Paul Late 70’s/Early 80’s 'Pre-Reissues': On the Road to ’59?," reprinted from the February 2004 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine at http://www.lespaulforum.com/slubarticle/59reissues/59reissuearticle.html).