1968 Les Paul and 1969 Les Paul Serial Number Information

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(Serial Range: 506xxx-561xxx)

The Early Reissues:

This is the first of three major categories for late sixties Les Pauls. As we progress through these three sections, the construction of the guitars will get further and further away from the 1950's style (and will descrease in value). It is important to remember to make up ones own mind about the merits or pitfalls of these changes. A guitar from any one of these sections could easily be perfect for you. Also, unofficial production numbers from this era indicate that production increases as we progress. This implies that each succeding era becomes more common.

The Early Reissues (ER) are fantastic instruments with thoroughbred heritage to boot. They are the most sought after of LSLPs by far. They display decidedly 50's construction throughout and offer a great alternative to an older example. When you hear the blanket term "1968 Les Paul" in guitar nerd conversation, it generally refers to this era even though a good bit of these guitars were made in 1969. This is the era that Gibson chose to base their "1968 Les Paul Custom Reissues" on. They are covered in the "Modern Reissues" section.

Note the one minor change to the headstock logo, the body design, and cavity construction as 1969 began.

Note the headstock size of Standards change in early 1969. Update: I have good data on a small headstocked GT with a serial of 53920x, and I recently saw high quality images GT 53924x with a large headstock. It appears that this is the serial range that delineates the small/big eras. Cool!

The defining features of this era are the long neck tenon and the 1-pc neck.

Date of Construction: Mid-late-ish 1968 through around April 1969. (I know of a Custom with a high serial for this range that is confirmed with Gibson to have shipped Apr. 3rd. 1969.) A high 530,xxx number (a GT ) is the first 1969 serial number according to an excellent source. A 3pc necked, 565xxx shipped around May 19th, 1969. (565 is part of the next era.)

For serial references, see the "Serial Number Database".

PICKUPS: Concerning Standard models only, P-90 pickups exclusively.

BASIC CONSTRUCTION: Honduran Mahogany as stated in the flyer released in 1968. Maple top. One-piece mahogany neck (with two little seperate wings to form the holly shaped headstock) throughout this category. Center seamed maple top throughout. One-piece mahogany back throughout.

NOTE: In early 69, a sixteenth of an inch laminate of maple appears above the standard depth mahogany back. It is very difficult to see, but can be observed in the neck pickup cavities of Customs and Standards alike. This is the mysterious "cross-banded layer". No one has a good explanation for it, and it does not seem to alter the value of the instruments as significantly as it once did. Certainly, the entire era of 'Early Reissues' is more desireable than the rest of the subdivisions of 1969.

NECK JOINT: These guitars exclusively have a long tenon neck joint. The long tenon is commonly considered the superior technique for attaching a neck. These examples bring the most money and are accurate to 1950 specs. (Although, 1950's guitars have a rounded tenon end vs. the 1960's examples having a beveled edge). A long neck tenon will extend most of the way underneath the neck pickup. The neck pickup of a early reissue GT will be directly connected to the neck tenon. (NOTE: The middle era reissues can appear to have a long tenon. I seem to remember a few transitional tenoned guitars with a long tenon route body having a block of wood to fill the gap. Be careful to make sure what you are buying as the trans tenon can look like a long tenon with this block in place.)

IMAGE ---> Image Comparison of three types (LPF)

HEADSTOCK: The most sought after Goldtops of this era will have a 50's headstock. Around serial number 542xxx, Goldtops jumped to a larger sized headstock. Remember, this ONLY affects GT's. Customs have had the larger headstock since the 50's to accomedate the multi-ply binding they exhibit. NOTE: GT's will now have the traditional 'Les Paul Model' silkscreen over the finish on the headstock. Wood veneer. Not sure what kind, but I'm certain its wood and not plastic. No 8xxxxx series guitars will have a small headstock. (EXCEPT, possibly the extremely rare "First Reissue" guitars. They may have serials in the high 899xxx range.)

GIBSON HEADSTOCK LOGO: Earlier guitars in the run will have a dot over the "i" in Gibson, whereas later guitars will NOT have a dot. An open 'b' and 'o'. Certainly not the smooth, all closed lettered 70's logo. The dot seems to disappear around serial 539,xxx in GT's. For Customs, the cutoff is less clear. I would guess it to be around 539,xxx, but I have heard of a 558,xxx Custom with one. Ill clarify Customs at a later date.

CAVITY ROUTING: Guitars actually built earlier in the run (aka, shipped in 68) tend to exhibit routes with straight walls and a flat maple floor. (EDUCATED GUESS FOLLOWS: Basically the earlier guitars had their cavities routed BEFORE the maple cap was applied. Later guitars were routed in the traditional 50's style AFTER the maple cap was applied. This leaves a little shelf at the bottom of the cavity.) IN SUMMARY, earlier guitars (1968) will have the inaccurate cavity route, whereas the later ones (early 1969 and on) will be more accurate in this respect. This change occurs in early 1969 and remains in place for the remainder of LSLPs. The wiring channel from the pickups will be the small square route typical of 50's guitars. The square is about 3/4 of an inch on each side. It emerges in the cavity slightly further down from center between the pots than a 50's guitar will. (As observed on a early 69 example.)

Ill add more content at a later date as I learn more.