Is this custom 1 of them 68's?

[MeHereNow]

I wanted a White lp custom, so i got me one, a 99' model.
After playing it and seeing it up close i noticed some things i was'nt familiar with in custom models i've seen or played before, beeing:

-a 6 digit impressed serial number
-an ABR with posts directly screwed in the top
-a 3layer bl/wh/bl jackplate
-a shallower neck pitch

but gibson sometimes changes specs every year so i did'nt think to much about it and it played/felt/sounded the way i want a LP to be.
So, i took her home and started to clean her up a bit and do a setup to fit my needs.
This is what i found:



No groundplate where the pots or on, gibson pots, tiny capacitors, modern style wiring.
First thought it was'nt original, but it turns out they are short shaft original gibson stamped pots feb 1999, and seeing the fact they were a little "crusty" (that white corrosion stuff on em) made me think it was original, also the yellow tubing around the ground wires is typical stock gibson.
Also, under neck volume pot there is a perfect round router area where you can see the maple top.



Then i went on to see if anything was done with the pickups, maybe they were not the original
first the bridge pu



ah.. that ain't a 490T, it,s, by the looks of it, it's a 57 Classic, and it beeing a 99, that made sense to me.
then i went on to the neck pickup



cool! another 57 classic, sweet.. i like em, always have, and.... ? wait a minute...

what's that?



is it..?

yes it is ?!?

the infamous "long tenon"

 

[MeHereNow]

why is there a long neck tenon in a 99 lp custom?
The modern customs have the shorter tenon construction faik
But now the ABR with screw in the top posts makes sense, so do the 57 classics, they came stock in the reissue's before there were "burstbuckers"

and the serial number is a 6 digit impressed style like gibson did from early 60's

some more pics:

Laquer "donuts"under the stoptail posts were still there


Mahogany neck, but i can't figure out the lighter coluored area.. is that a holy/birch veneer?


Serial number and the old style customshop logo, which is also on the case


but what i don't understand is the fat neck, almost identical to my 2009 R8.
The 60's profile is skinny i thought.
Or is this a R7 in white?
Should'nt it have a inked serial then?
I did'nt recieve a COA with it, which i thought all reissue's came with, but that could be long gone in the last 18 years offcourse.

 

[DanD]

Nice looking '68 Custom. :salude

A lot of '68 reissues have large necks.

Some special runs were done with thinner necks.

The 6 digit impressed serial and long tenon point to a 68 Custom.

 

[Wilko]

Since it's got that custom shop logo, all bets are off as to features to be expected.

 

[67SLP]

It’s a 1968 Historic Reissue Custom from 1999. The serial # is the giveaway. You can verify with Gibson CS. I have one with a baseball bat neck as well. Most of the slim 60s necks on these had the flame tops.

 

[AA00475Bassman]

Really interesting thread beautiful guitar . Thanks for posting .

 

[Arch D. Bunker]

Before they became catalog models Gibson made small runs of these during the mid to late 90s, often for Japanese dealers. First two digits are the year of manufacture, most had big necks. Mine weighs a ton, too.

 

[MeHereNow]

Thnx for the replies!
I'm putting it back together today, after it had a thorough cleanup (was neccesary) and try to "decrust" those pots.
They work and actually read a good 500k, all 4 of them, but as i said.. crusty
I'll post some pics of her then.
I'm not sure, but did these come witm COA?

About the finish:

i've had multiple artic white finished 90's gibsons over the years, and it seems like the white finished ones are more prone to wheater checking than other finishes.
It's there at pressure points like the bottom of the pickupring, pickguard, grovers where the screws are, at the R/T ring, and just random all over the body.
The typical cracks along the bindings too.
Anyone else noticed that too on their white finished gibsons from, let's say, early 90's till mid 2000?

 

[Tim Plains]

Regarding the neck shape, I believe only the Guitar Center runs have 60s necks and I believe they are all tri-bursts. All other 68s should have fat R8-ish necks.

 

[MeHereNow]

"Crusty"
Them pots.. not the clown..



so i dissassembled them and see if i could refurbish



that's what hey look inside, and to be honest, it did'nt suprised me in a pleasant way.
seeing how they are constructed they feel to flimsy to me.
Soft kind of plastic bottomplate instead of phenolic, the carbon trace is really thin applied, and the wiper... well, you see it..

casing is "powdery" / "crusty", which i've seen on vintage stackpoles and cts's, but these are also cooroded and don't contain any lubricant to keep m operating smoothly.

 

[MeHereNow]

so i discarded them and made a new harness from cts audiotapers i still had.



i use an old baseplate from a studio as template for the new harness, works like a charm! :salude


assembled



And soldered

 

[MeHereNow]

next i tried to that red gunk gibson uses to buff the finish, out of the cavity edges, pretty tenacious stuff once dried up.
On VOS finishes it looks like it's exactly the same stuff, but then all over the guitar.

 

[MeHereNow]

I cant post more pics in this thread as the site says i reached my max quota regarding pics.
I'll post a new thread

 

[MeHereNow]

kinda ressurecting an oldie, but thought i post this as well:

 

[El Gringo]

I am most impressed with your technical skills in "working" on your Les Paul which is a most awesome Alpine White Custom which is so beautiful , my compliments !

 

[MeHereNow]

I am most impressed with your technical skills in "working" on your Les Paul which is a most awesome Alpine White Custom which is so beautiful , my compliments !

Thnx alot!

Most of my "technical skills" are derived from knowledgeable people willing to share their experiences over the years.
A lot from the forum members here actually :salude