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The pickup indicates that it is 1954-1956. The pickup was moved 1/4" north in 1957:
The truss rod cover appears to be a replica part. The profile around the screw is not correct.
The pickguard should have a square edge with no bevel.
I believe that the guitar is probably a 1955-1956...
Its hard to say with certainty based on the photos, but I think it looks too opaque to be original. You should be able to see the grain through the finish. Here's a '56 TV that I no longer own for reference:
The wear on the back appears to have been done with sandpaper. Other non-original...
I have 5 other Chambered Reissues, a handful of R7s, R8's and R9s, plus a few 1950's vintage Les Pauls. They're all nice guitars, which makes it really tough to thin out the herd.
Not a particularly crazy story, but about 6 years ago I went to the Ohio Winter Guitar Show. A nearby car accident had taken a power pole so the hall had no electricity (nor did the building have windows), so everyone had to walk around using their cellphone flashlights to see anything.
I...
Neither of the nuts shown above are correct. Flying V's and Explorers had a fine-knurl flat-style nut which doesn't have the shoulder on the bottom side.
It’s a real Historic. The bridge assembly, pickups, truss rod cover, and possibly the studs are not original. All else appears to be original as far as I can tell.
That looks very clean. I love the deep red color. It looks totally like a plaintop until its up on its side around 30:35.
And the countdown begins. 3, 2, 1, JB owns it.
There is a rumor that Mary Ford had a weight relieved Les Paul, but that may just be a rumor. Otherwise I have never heard of any chambered 1950's Les Pauls. Can you send a few photos of the guitar and the control cavity? I'll look for anything else that might be an indicator that guitar is...