1996 Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop (1959 reissue) Herritage Darkburst

This is a 1996 Gibson Les Paul R9 Heritage Darkburst with a Darkback. It has minimal wear for being a 28-year-old guitar. It is 8.5 lbs. The neck is a medium chunky neck. There are some light buff marks and a few scratches attributed to buckle rash (hard to photo). The black backplate took the brunt of the rash and can be replaced. There is one check line in the horn. It has excellent sustain and is fun to play. It has clearly been babied its whole life. The original 57 classics were replaced with SD Antiquities. The originals do not come with the guitar.

Personally, I feel the SDs are much better pickups. Tonely, the SDs are subjectively comparable to the Dave Stephen’s Vintage Wire pickups I have in my number one guitar. They possess a nice glassy PAF tone. The bridge posts were replaced with Soft Brass Faber posts, helping to avoid bridge leaning issues that many of these older reissues experienced with the hard steel posts used. Before I received it, the bridge saddles were replaced.

It comes with case candy that is not specific to this guitar. The case candy is stamped for a different 1996 Historic R9, leading me to believe the original owner had multiple 96s and mixed up the original pamphlet that came with this guitar. Please note that this is a 1996, and COAs did not exist until 1999. This is a SWEET guitar with a beautiful top.

When I bought it, I sent it to my luthier, Daniel Carneglia. He professionally set it up, dressed the frets, and added a bone nut, which was a significant upgrade for this guitar, and really opened it up. The action can go as low as a Jackson! You will be hard-pressed to find a clean, great playing and sounding example! It comes with its black Customer Shop OHSC. I will ship fully insured via UPS. Please message me with any questions or concerns or if you want to submit an offer.

Shipping rates will change with current rates. Please message me with any questions or concerns. I take PP F&F since I am not a small business and will not pay taxes associated with PP G&S on this personal sale. This guitar is also available via Reverb, and the price there reflects the fees associated with Reverb. If you would prefer to pay via Reverb, please let me know, and I can send you the link.