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1996 Gibson Les Paul Custom Florentine Custom Shop model with a Gibson chainsaw style hardcase. For the people who follow my auctions you know I pride myself on finding those rare and interesting pieces and this guitar is right up there for rare since this is the first time I have ever seen anything like this. Earlier in the year I did auction off another Florentine to a lucky Bostonian winner and I didn't think Gibson could ever make a better designed semi-hollow.......but check this out. No f-holes, birdseye maple root beer top, and one piece bees winged mahogany back. I spoke to Gibson for a while about this model and the notes weren't the best that they kept. I do remember Gibson putting out a real limited number of rare colored Florentines to the big chains, maybe 200 of each color total. However I don't remember if that limited run had the f-holes or not. The other possibility is that this is a one off custom Florentine that Gibson did. I know some of you older players might have some info so feel free to message me (Les Paul forum members same goes for you since you guys often are better than Gibson with info sometimes).
The previous owner was a player around the New England area and used it as his main guitar for about 5-6 years. After that he didn't play it much and sat in it's case until I got it. When we first got it in it was a bit of a free for all of who got to play it first. Luckily I had the pleasure to try it out first and I got to tell you Gibson knocked this one out of the park. My biggest complaint against semi-hollows is that sometimes you can fight with them to balance overdrive with the extra noise you can get sort of like playing a 225/335 out of a powerful amp. I actually had one of the 335 studio models with no f-holes and dirty finger pick ups and it is still one of my favorite guitars because you don't have to be afraid of extra noise. Same with this model, we tried it with a Fargen JCM 800 clone and an Orange 2x12. It sounded so sweet with an over all bigger tone profile than a LP custom and not as tight. Playing it clean you get these really warm and big jazzy lows, more of an old school type of sound all around. Add some gain to the mix and it comes to life for the rock players. With the semi-hollow design it just resonate like crazy and gives it a pretty vintage sound and the sustain is as amazing as you think it would be on this guitar (check the video at 35 seconds and you will see what I mean). Highs and mids are perfectly balanced. The video is not the guitar for auction but it is the closest one I could find to the sound of this one. The pictures are of the actual guitar for sale.
Condition is good but remember it was a players piece so it does show wear. Headstock is clean but has some checking in the finish on the back and it has the usual little lines around the logo that I see on almost all LP customs, ebony board is excellent with nothing to report, original frets look great and have very light superficial wear so they do not need any maintenance, front of the body has checking and it has the normal players guitar pick scratches and tiny dings, if you check out the pictures of the front of the body you can see two small finish chips on the bass side near the binding, hardware has faded in spots and the neck pick up has a small indentation, back of the one piece neck looks mint, back of the body has some checking with buckle rash but no real worming and I can make out one tiny ding, sides/bottom have scratches and dings. Overall I would give it a 7 out of 10. My suggestions is of course throw some new strings on it, I think it could use some light lemon oil on the board, and since it is winter in New England I would give it a basic set up when you receive it (assume you will need to do this just from shipping).
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International Buyers – Please Note:
Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.
Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.
I will ship worldwide but please make sure the country you reside in will accept a box that is 46",19",7". Also for international buyers outside N. America, I will only ship with a carrier that will insure it for its full value. You can go on the USPS/UPS site for a quote or email me. Pictures are the actual guitar for auction and the video is not but is so you can get an idea of the tone. Assume neck will need some adjustment after shipping.
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