HISTORIC LES PAUL STANDARD REISSUE SPEC CHANGE HISTORY (1993-2007)

Gibson have gone to a lot of trouble to recreate every last detail of the Historic Les Pauls. Todays build standards are much more consistent than they were at the time. It starts based on a guitar which is pre-historic Les Paul standard reissue (1983-1992) with larger Kluson type tuners (but not exactly Kluson replicas). Then...

1993

• Deep neck joint
• Holly headstock veneer
• Silk screened les paul logo
• Correct pickup routing
• Les Paul classic aged inlay
• 57 classic pickups
• Kluson replica tuners
• Vintage letter styled serial#
• "historic collection" decal on the headstock
• Indian rosewood fingerboard
• "AAAA" grade soft maple top
• Regular Gibson USA brown case
• Regular early 90s style cherry sunburst
• Cherry sunburst and heritage darkburst

1994-1996

• Historic parts, only pickguard, pickup rings, trussrod cover
• Regular Gibson USA white pearloid inlay
• AAAA grade soft maple top
• Darker transparent orangy cherry sunburst

1997-1998

• ID micro chip in the neck joint
• Brass bridge saddles instead of steel bridge saddles
• AAAAA grade soft maple top
• Brighter transparent orangy cherry sunburst. (1997-1998)
• Unknown space between pickguard and bridge pickup ring
• Brighter cherry color on back of body
  

1998

• AAAAA plus grade soft maple top
• Butterscotch finish (R8 only)
• No volume/tone knob washers
• Custom shop black case

1999

• "40th anniversary" unofficially nicknamed the 1959-1999
• First Tom Murphy aged finish model
• COA began
• Thin body binding
• Thin lacquer finish
• AAA hard maple top
• New vintage taste cherry and darkburst
• Vintage style back red filler color
• Refined parts positions and neck shape

2000

• Vintage Lifton style brown case for R9/R0. (Made In Guatemala)
• Lemon burst, tri burst

2001

• Thin neck binding
• Tortoiseshell color side dots
• Round edged pearloid inlay (2001-2002 only)
• Vintage style mid jumbo size frets
• Thick jack plate (2001-2002 only)
• Aluminum tailpiece
• Very bright red sunburst
• Custom authentic finish
• faded tobacco, iced tea, washed cherry

2002

• Burstbucker type 2 & 3
• Non wired ABR-1 bridge for the early units
• Genuine kluson tuners for the early units
• Vintage taste aged inlay (only R9/R0, later for all models)
• Vintage style thin jack plate (only R9/0, later for all models)
• Vintage style thin toggle switch washer (only R9/0, later for all models)
• Vintage color toggle switch knob (only R9/0, later for all models)
• Vintage style CTS pots and oil caps. not bumblebee (only R9/0, later all models)
• Vintage style tuner bushings
• Dark deep cherry sunburst

2003

• Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (only on the unit from JAN to MAY)
• Madagascar rosewood fingerboard
• Eastern hard maple
• Burstbucker type 1 & 2
• AA grade eastern hard maple top
• Gold knobs instead of previous vintage amber knobs
• Corrected tuner positions. "V" intead of "l l" way
• A space between the trussrod cover and nut
• Vintage style CTS pots and BUMBLEBEE caps
• Transparent orange to regular red cherry sunburst
• " i "dot on gibson logo moved to the correct position
• Refined parts positions and neck shape

2004-5

• New custom shop black case
• AAA eastern hard maple top
• Silk screened logo moved to the correct location

2006

• VOS finish
• Plek'ed treatment neck
• Vintage looking maple top grains/figures

2007

• Brighter back red filler color
• Honduran Mahogany
• Correct size pickguard

2008-XXXX

• ?

2009

• Improved ABR-1 bridge (no-wire, tighter tolerances)
• Historically correct nickel-plated brass bridge saddles
• Correct alloy saddle adjustment screws
• Bridge height adjusting thumbwheels now steel, rather than brass and are thinner
• Neck profile changed - now has less "shoulders"
• Audio taper CTS pots
• 50's wiring
• Pickup routes adjusted so that pickups will be parallel to the strings
• Top carve changed to be closer to several original '59s that were scanned
• Body perimeter change - slightly tighter in waist, cutaway area refined to be more like originals
• The maple cap is very slightly thinner, the mahogany body is very slightly thicker
• The fingerboard is slightly thinner
• The step from neck heel to back of body is taller and more correct
• The taper of the "maple window" under the binding in cutaway is more accurate
• The maple spline (filler strip) in the tenon is more accurate
• The edge radius on the backside of the body is tighter (less rounded)
• The "mustache curve" of the headstock top has been flattened slightly
• The control cavity plate has been relocated, has the correct side taper, and now uses the correct ABS plastic
• The pickguard shape has changed slightly
• The pickguard bracket and screw have been changed
• The truss rod cover has been reshaped to be more accurate
• The serial number location is slightly lower and more correct
• Dial pointers are less sharp
• The strap button screws are longer
• The jack hole is now the correct 1" diameter
• The toggle switch nut has more correct knurled pattern

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