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The Later Reissues:

     This is the final 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 Later Reissues (LR) are great guitars. Although they exhibit nearly completely un-50's design, they are increasing collectable and have producted many famous recordings in the 1970's. The final stage reissues design continues with few changes til nearly 1975. Their bodies are exclusively the 3-pc, sandwich design. (Also known as "pancake"). The necks are 3-pc construction throughout. The headstocks gain a little bump on the back known as a "volute" at some point in this period. This is also the era that Gibson chose to base their "1969 Les Paul Deluxe" reissues on. They are covered in the "Modern Reissues" section. Note the reissues arent very accurate for whatever that's worth. :)

Note the major changes to body construction.

Note the minor change in headstock construction (volute).

The defining features of this era are the sandwich body (pancake) and the volute.

Date of Construction: Mid-late 1969 through Early 1970. (These dates are CONJECTURE. An educated guess. Please take them with a grain of salt and certainly try not to pass them as fact. They are based on pots codes and other facts.)

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

BASIC CONSTRUCTION: Honduran Mahogany as stated in the flyer released in 1968. Maple top. Three-piece mahogany neck (with two little seperate wings to form the holly shaped headstock) throughout this category. Multi-pieced, non-center seamed maple tops. Let it be noted that many, if not nearly all 50's Goldtops had non-center seamed tops. Genuine, sandwich (pancake) body appears. Pure transitional tenon route that barely extend into the pickup cavity. (AKA, not under the pickup's center like a LT.) This shorter route probably comes into the neck cavity by about a quarter inch whereas the long tenon route was about 3/4 of an inch. The pancake body consists of a piece of what appears to be maple (not sure) sandwiched between two approximately 3/4" thick mahogany slabs. Only the mahogany layer on the back of the guitar is one piece. The internal layer can be several. Basically, these two slabs of mahogany and the "maple" add up to the same dimension that previous eras used only a single piece of mahogany for. This feature continues into the mid 1970s.

HEADSTOCK: Volute added to the back of headstock behind the nut. The 1970's Gibson volute began as a barely distinguishable bump in 1969. It later became a sharply carved ridge. (Search Ebay for any 1970's Les Paul to see a picture of one. Ill have images here asap.) Precise serial number range for addition of volute is unclear with existing data.

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

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