1962 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom Ebony Block + OHSC

Here’s a rare,1962 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom in original polaris white with the super rare (for an Custom) ebony block, short Vibrola trem. It is just sheer beauty on strings in our opinion and in this near mint condition, it would be prime contender to top any vintage guitar pageant out there…

According to LP forum gossip, only approximately 20-25 of these were ever made - the LP/SG Standard with the ebony block is quite a bit more common and we have had a few of those, but this is the first LP/SG Custom we have had the privilege to offer for sale, fitted with that cool ebony block Vibrola. It is lightweight, has the original small frets that actually play real well, all three pickups are lovely and strong with the classic, original Les Paul three pickup, out of phase sound in the middle position.

The condition this amazing guitar is quite breathtaking. It is not totally mint as this particular colour does not usually take too kindly to age so there is some minor checking and a little bit of clearcoat yellowing but this is really being picky as overall, it is one of the cleanest, original Les Paul SG Customs we have seen and to describe it as near mint would not do it an injustice… Even the gold plating, save for a few of the usual wear marks, is in exceptional shape. It is one of those guitars that pop out at you as soon as you open the case.

Serial number, like on a lot of these white 60’s SG’s, is very difficult to make out but under a strong light and loupe you can just about see 79573 which is 1962. I would hazard a guess at early 1962 as it still has the 1961 type SG neck join without the lip.

Someone, somewhere down the line decided for some silly reason to replace the original Grover tuners with Schallers but seems like he/she soon realised the folly of his/her ways and the original Grover tuners were put back on with no lasting visible impressions, either on the back, or the front of the headstock. It did however leave 6 small screw holes on the rear of the headstock that my luthier has expertly filled in and touched up. You will struggle to see these and I cannot even photograph them. There are also signs of small touch up areas in the fretboard binding and nut region.

In addition to this, the covers for the 3 x original Patent Applied For pickups have been off/on but they have not been disconnected from the pots so no rewinds or repairs. All three PAF’s have their stickers on the underside with one having most of the sticker worn off yet by the spacing of the letters left, you can tell it is a PAF.

I believe a couple of the screws in the pickguard have been replaced too and judging from the wear pattern, the middle pickup may have been played with the pole pieces facing the bridge for a while. The wiring harness inside the LP/SG Custom is long enough to allow you to do this without disconnecting the pickup and some people prefer it this way.

Original or correct case is also in very nice shape and has the correct wide pebble grain and orange interior with the brass Gibson logo still attached.

This is a very rare guitar and what’s more it is in exceptional condition. If you are after one of these, I think you will struggle to find a finer condition example and in the unlikely event it does not sell, I will have no problem at all holding on to it as it looks just far too perfect in our brand new showroom/lounge. It even matches the decor…!