One of the Earliest of "Leo's Les Pauls"

One of the earliest of approximately 800 guitars produced. Weighs 10.50 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid mahogany body with carved flamed maple top, one-piece medium profile mahogany neck, and white-bound rosewood fretboard with 22 wide jumbo frets and inlaid pearl trapezoid position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and "Les Paul Model" silk-screened in gold. Individual "Gibson" Kluson Deluxe tuners with single-ring Keystone plastic buttons. Special 'Leo' Serial number "LI 0035" inked-on in black on back of headstock. Actual 'Gibson' serial number "80892007" impressed on rim of control cavity. Two P.A.F. reissue half white Shaw PAF humbucker pickups (with the numbers "198 581" and "199 581" stamped in black, with cream surrounds and outputs of 7.52k and 7.33k. Inside the neck pickup cavity is stamped "Made in USA". The potentiometers are stamped "137 8001", "137 8008" and "137 8045" (CTS January, February and November 1980). Cream plastic pickguard. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch. Gold plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge with retainer and the back and a few tiny marks on the edges of the guitar. Housed in the original Gibson five-latch brown hardshell case with purple plush lining (9.25).

"Leo's Les Pauls, promoted as a 'limited edition series' were made from approximately 1980 through 1985. Approximately 800 were made, with at least half going overseas. The Leo’s that were built in Kalamazoo, which have the eight digit serial number inside the control cavity like the Guitar Traders, are considered a bit more collectible, but production was shifted to Nashville in 1983, and the Leo’s from there are very nice guitars as well (Nashville-made Leo’s can be identified by small black side dot markers and no serial number in the control cavity). All had breathtaking flame tops, most in cherry sunburst although some were done in honeyburst and a gold top was available as well. The Kalamazoo-made Leo’s have large tortoiseshell side dot markers, a medium size one piece mahogany neck, P.A.F. reissue 1³2 white Shaw PAFs, and single collar Kluson style tuning gears with no writing on the back, and thin binding in the cutaway. The Gibson logo on a Leo’s has the closed 'b' and 'o' with a high dot above the 'i', and the 'Les Paul Model' is usually higher on the headstock than on the Guitar Trader Les Paul. The back plates for the control cavity and switch are black. These guitars are of medium weight, play very well, have excellent fit and finish, and great tone. Leo's can be easily identified because the first digit of their serial number is an 'L'" (Mike Slubowski, "Gibson Les Paul Late 70’s/Early 80’s 'Pre-Reissues':
On the Road to ’59?," reprinted from the February 2004 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine at http://www.lespaulforum.com/slubarticle/59reissues/59reissuearticle.html).

“In the late 1970s Gibson started producing limited runs of sunburst Les Paul reissues, custom-ordered by specialist dealers like Jimmy Wallace [of Texas], Guitar Trader [of New Jersey], or Leo’s Music [of Oakland, California]. These instruments usually feature an inked-on number on the back of the peghead, meant as a cosmetic replica rather than a proper Gibson number. Thus the inked on number may suggest a 1959 (9-xxxx) or a 1960 (0-xxxx) pattern but also sometimes a bespoke number like a birth date. These early Les Paul reissues can usually be dated thanks to the ‘real’ eight-digit number stamped into the outer rim of the control cavity” (A.R. Duchossoir, Guitar Identification, p. 29).

On this guitar, the eight-digit number stamped into the outer rim of the control cavity is "80892007" (made in Kalamazoo). The serial number on the back of the headstock is "L1 0035" ("L" for Leo, "1" for 1981, and "0035" for the 35th guitar made, out of limited run of 800). The pots are dated "137 8045" (November 1980), "137 8008" (February 1980), and "137 8001" (January 1980).