Hi ,Heres a strange duck for you..

on sale at ebay (uk) - sorry can't post picture directly.

Description "RARE GIBSON LES PAUL model,made in 1988,carved top, thin body(L6 S thickness),belly cutaway on back of body, Steinberger tremolo,2 special designed mini humbuckers that can be switched into single coil mode,nice fat neck."


URL:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1402464882.

If it's really a Gibson i'd be surprised (were they all drunk at the factory that day??) and like to know a bit more about it, any help appreciated.

James.

Well, it is a weird one!!!
I've seen some new gibsons, that are thin, and have the belly cut in the back, they are made of rare wood, and they kind of look like this one... Was it a prototype?
As for the tremolo and the pickups, are they stock? Maybe the guy just put them on?

Les Freak, if it truly is a Gibson, it verifies my suspicions about crack smoking at the factory

The shape of the body, and its proportions, look right.

That dark smudge in the photo looks suspicious, and the controls don't seem to be quite where Gibson usually puts them, especially the small toggle switch (single-coil select?). The toggle switch next to the neck (PU select?) is missing the tip, and there's no arm for the tremolo.

Its not possible to be sure, because the black paint could be hiding some nasty patch-ups, but the pockets for the pickups and the bridge/tailpiece look to be made-to-measure.

There seems to be no adornement of any kind, which would support the theory that this is a prototype, rather than a custom made one-of-a-kind instrument. Then again, Gothic tastes dictate this kind of cosmetic approach.

Why is the picture cropped to avoid showing the headstock?

and hello (again) guys.


Yeah, it's very odd i'm afraid all that's posted is all i know about it. The Seller is a dealer in Germany and is apparently reputable -unless he's on crack as well..

Lordathestrings has hit it on the head - the controls dont seem right (well nor does the rest of the bugger).

Re: Why is the picture cropped to avoid showing the headstock - the guy usually takes photos like that! even with known guitars, and only posts one pic of each guitar.

Thanks all, i'll mail him and let you know if anything comes back.

Happy New Year!!

James.

I really don't think that is a Gibson, unless maybe the Gibson Les Paul mated with the Kramer Striker and that is what resulted.

But assuming it could be a Gibson, find out the Guitar's serial number and the year that the Guitar was made. Gibson has a specific way of listing the production year in their serial number. Also, the serial number should be located on the back of the headstock. If it's not, it's probably not a Gibson.

For further reference there is a guitar buyer's and pricing guide put out by Gruhn's Guitar store (a store based out of Nashville Tennessee) which usually lists all guitars made by many of the big guitar manufacturers and their feature characteristics which can help you verify that guitar's authenticity. Border's bookstore or Barnes & Noble usually have the book in stock.

That ain't no damn Gibson. I always find auctions for guitars kinda shady if they don't show me a picture of the guitar and headstock in the same picture. All i can say is that the guitar doesn't seem on the up and up. And gald that you know it too.

Just to let you know the fellow hasn't responded to my email..guess he's too busy with his pipe.TATA.