Gibson Custom Shop 1968 Les Paul Custom

The Black Beauty with the '68 upgrades: maple top, 14-degree headstock, and the most accurate reissue of this legendary model

The Gibson Custom Shop 1968 Les Paul Custom is a historically accurate replica of the original '68 LP Custom, also known as the Black Beauty. And that nickname is no exaggeration. While the original Les Paul Custom models from the 1950s featured a solid mahogany body, the '68 variant was equipped with a maple top on a mahogany back, giving the guitar more presence in the highs, including that delightful bite that almost every guitarist loves. Two humbuckers instead of three provide more space for the picking hand, and the 14-degree headstock angle reduces string tension for a more comfortable playing feel.

All these historically accurate details have been incorporated into this reissue: the witch-hat knobs, the Kluson Waffleback tuners, the authentic '68 Medium C-Shape neck profile, and the nitrocellulose VOS finish that makes the guitar truly feel like a product from the sixties. The 68 Custombuckers deliver the warm, rich tone that makes the Black Beauty so beloved, controlled by a hand-wired harness with Black Beauty capacitors and CTS 500K potentiometers.

Specs: 2-piece figured maple top, solid mahogany body, mahogany neck with Authentic '68 Medium C-Shape, solid ebony fingerboard with Mother of Pearl block inlays, 22 frets, No-Wire ABR-1 bridge, Kluson Waffleback tuners, and gold hardware. Delivered in a Custom Shop hardshell case.

The Black Beauty in its most accurate form. This is the '68 Les Paul Custom as Gibson intended it.