One of The Last of the  Les Paul Custom "Fretless Wonders"

1963 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom.

This 1963 'Polaris White' Les Paul SG Custom weighs just 7.80 lbs. Solid Honduras mahogany body with contoured edges. One-piece mahogany neck with a fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches, a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches and a very fast thin-to-medium profile. Single-bound ebony fretboard with 22 original "Fretless Wonder" thin frets and inlaid pearl block position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl five-piece split-diamond inlay. Serial number "122341" stamped in blind on the back of the headstock. Two-layer black over white plastic bell-shaped truss-rod cover with two screws. Individual Grover Roto-Matic Tuners with half-moon metal buttons. Three-layer, white over black plastic cover with two screws at end of neck engraved in black "Les Paul / Custom". Three original Gibson (double-black) 'PAF' humbucking pickups with balanced outputs of 7.59k, 7.63 and 7.61k. All three pickups with a black label ("Patent Applied For") on the underside. Three-layer white over black plastic pickguard with five screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch, all on lower treble bout. The potentiometers are all stamped "134 6232" (Centralab July 1962). Black plastic bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and Gibson sideways Vibrola tailpiece. All hardware gold plated. Complete with the original Gibson hang-tag. Housed in the original Gibson five-latch shaped black hardshell case with orange plush lining (9.00).

We purchased this guitar earlier in the year and whilst in transit to us the neck joint came 'unglued'. We sent the guitar to our expert luthier, Scott Lentz and he has re-glued the neck and done a remarkable job of touching-up the white paint around the neck joint. It has to be emphasized that this was purely a glue failure and not a break. This was one of the cleanest (9.25) examples that we had ever seen but of course its 'collector' value has now been compromised and so we can only give the guitar an (8.75) excellent plus rating - but for a player this is an opportunity to get an original Les Paul Custom with three original PAFs at a reasonable price.

"Players call it the "Fretless Wonder" for its extremely low frets and fast action. Now it's more wonderful than ever with new body design and new features. Ultra thin, hand contoured, delicately balanced, it adjusts into a natural comfortable playing position for any guitarist, with or without strap. With three humbucking adjustable pickups, Tune-O-Matic bridge, and the new Vibrato (operates in direction of pick stroke; swings out of way for rhythm playing) with increased power, greater sustain, and a clear resonant sparkling tone, the "Custom" provides the widest range of tonal colorings and effects. Three-way toggle switch provides a unique method of tone mixing; top position selects top pickup for rhythm; center position activates center and lower pickups simultaneously for extreme highs and special effects; lower position operates lower pickup for playing lead. Finished in gleaming white for smart contrast with gold-plated metal parts… $425.00 + $47.50 for Faultless gold plush-lined case." (1962 Gibson Guitars - Amplifiers catalog, p.10).

"In early 1961 the Custom began to be shipped with the double cutaway body style pioneered on the Les Paul Standard. The third variant, commonly nicknamed SG/Les Paul Custom, was put into production in late 1960 but this author has yet to come across one with a 1960 serial number." (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 203).

"The restyled LP Standard pioneered the ultra-thin SG body-style which was gradually fitted to most Gibson solid bodies during the early 60s, hence the commonly accepted SG/Les Paul Std moniker. The earliest samples were built in the latter part of 1960 and therefore display inked-on serial numbers on the back of the headstock…No less than four different vibrato tailpieces can be found on the SG/LP Standard. The original 'sideways' Vibrola with a mechanism cast in light alloy was phased out in early 1963 and is primarily associated with 1960-62 models. Before 1963, however, the model was also available with either a short Bigsby unit or Gibson's short Vibrola… (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 209). "Approximately 950 SG/LP Customs were made until the Les Paul markings were abandoned in late 1963, including nearly 500 guitars in 1961 alone." (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 204).