Otherwise, this guitar is one to avoid because of its underpinnings. No - but only for the reason the circuitry is a nightmare to work on. On most models the headstock color matches the pick guard, the shape of the pick guard works much better with the all-vertical 3-pickup configuration and things just seem to have more symmetry to them. For the collector, given the choice between the S-1 and the Marauder, the Marauder seems to be the better investment - however I could understand if a collector wanted both the Marauder and the S-1 "just to have the set", so to speak. Pots have been replaced it seems through investigation.Serial 967930This was my fathers from the seventies. 1970 saw the introduction of the "Norlin" Les Paul. The Les Paul was originally offered with a gold finish and two P-90 pickups. The strings go straight from the nut to the tuning posts. Why? The old,...”Norlins Suck” adage really started because of the different building procedures Gibson adopted, that the so-called, Les Paul purists didn’t like. Norlin was some kind of beer and cement conglomerate from Equidor as I recall. Details about LOCAL PICKUP - 1980 Gibson Les Paul Custom - Black Beauty - Ebony (Norlin Era) 3 viewed per hour LOCAL PICKUP - 1980 Gibson Les Paul Custom - Black Beauty - Ebony (Norlin Era) Gibson still has a few good gems that are decent investments, but you have to shop carefully and wisely to find them. T his is a 1983 Gibson Les Paul Custom with a “Gibson” factory installed Kahler Tremolo System. Finally in 1986, the company was sold to Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman who bought Gibson for $5 million. No cracks or major dings expect what is pictured. During this time the corporate mucky-mucks running the Gibson show were blasting out that they wanted "NEW! The sunburst 1958–1960 Les Paul – today one of the best-known electric guitar types in the world – was considered a … Strangely enough, it doesn't command as good of a price as the Marauder does. In 10 years the guitar will probably be worth around $2,500 at most. Some of these '74 - '75 guitars actually say "Deluxe" on the back of the headstock, making it difficult to know whether or not the factory did the actual routing. What makes this guitar a nightmare is what you don't see - the circuitry. No. I have a '73 LP custom, it is just a thick mean sounding guitar . It's built well, can withstand gigging easily, plays easily and sounds proper. I've no idea. The Norlin period continued through until the 1986, when the company was sold to the current owner, Darth Juszkiewicz. Jun 2, 2010 ... For those that own Gibson Norlin era guitars, step on in, show us what you have. A The Paul was my first real guitar. It plays the best and sounds the best no matter what configuration you get it in, and does so for several reasons. First is how the tuners are set up. Oops, looks like you forgot something. The original Les Paul design returned to the Gibson catalog in 1968. I had a Norlin era 74/75 ES-335 (tobacco sunburst). I have one of those crappy DSL100's. After the near-total failure of the Norlin era, Gibson was put up for sale in 1984, and nobody wanted to buy the company for two years. 1980 Les Paul Deluxe...with Bill and Becky L-500 and L-560... FourT6and2 Active member. This super rare 'special order' (refinished in the eighties) three pickup Les Paul Custom Black Beauty weighs just 9.50 lbs. When the wiring is replaced with modern proper braided wire with proper shielding, and the pots are cleaned out proper, she'll sound like she's supposed to. The Bill Lawrence singles in the S-1 at least give the guitar some character, tone-wise. Once again, this guitar was Gibson's attempt to compete with Fender by using single-coil pickups to specifically sound like a Fender, but at the same time trying to keep traditional Gibson humbucking tones, and that's where the nightmare circuitry is involved in an attempt to make all that work. A 1978 Norlin price list indicates the price for the Les Paul Artisan was $1,039.00, with additional cost of $99.50 for a Protector Case. While Gibson tried like hell to get players to take notice of the new designs, nobody bought it. Three-piece mahogany neck with a very fast medium-to-thin profile. Get the best deals for 1980 gibson les paul at eBay.com. 1972 or 1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom with original hard shell case. |info=This page has a short description. Not really. In particular, if you're looking for iconic LP growl with the workhorse construction that made these guitars a legend in the first place, many guitarists and luthiers alike point to the late '70s/early '80s models as capstones of the era. Not happening. The whole thing is just cheap looking. From this point on the focus shifted to the bottom line and a great deal of cost-cutting occurred. Historic context. Also a yes - depending on color. The les pauls, (deluxe and custom) both played flawless, and the sg i played looked and sounded great also and i owned a j … However, pretty much any Corvus in good working order should double in value similar to the Marauder in 10 years. One such model is the Melody Maker Special. $4,200.00. Unfortunately, the Corvus was dead even before the first one got delivered just from that unbelievably ugly body shape. Oh, there was a reason for it. As a result, Corvuses with singles sound "Stratty" and ones with humbuckers sound "Gibsony". They bought Gibson Guitars in 1969 and didn't sell Gibson until 1987. You'd think it would but it doesn't. 7:10. In contrast, a Les Paul Custom of the same era listed for $949.00 for a three-pickup version and $849.00 for a two-pickup version. Changes included flatter tops, volutes on the neck, larger headstocks, and the dreaded "pancake bodies". Way too many beautiful pieces with people loving them. The end result is that Gibson delivered some seriously wacky junk the bean counters loved but guitar players absolutely hated. Vintage Guitar Head Stock Framed Print. Spread the love. We're doing a little (but not much) better here as the S-1 does look more proper than the Marauder does. Take a Les Paul Jr. body shape, stick a pointy Flying V headstock on it, replace the better trapezoid inlays with cheap dots, whack off two knobs, move the output jack stupidly to the front, apply a crappy finish (or no finish resulting in "natural" just to save a buck on manufacturing costs), put in pickups that have a sound that do not sound like a Gibson at all, and you've got yourself a Marauder. That's what happens when you let corporate idiots who aren't luthiers (or at least musicians) that know nothing about guitars run things. Posted on May 31, 2020 May 31, 2020 Author guitar73_wp. It was probably the nicest playing guitar I've ever owned (don't know the nut width). Most of them look like what you see above with the dots. Gibson Les Paul Norlin Era Special Edition Rare Guitars Collection #1 - Duration: 7:10. While made during one of the company's most controversial eras when many players saw a sacrifice of quality for profit margins, the Gibson SOLD Gibson Protector 3-Latch Case • Generation 1, 1978 - 1980 • For Norlin Era SG / Les Paul Guitars Up for sale is a very good condition Gibson Protector Case for the Norlin Era Les Pauls + SGs. The current Gibsons may not be quite matches for McCarty-era ones (which is the common wisdom, with no particular proof I've ever seen) but they are pretty damn good. And no, it's not worth it to gut the guitar either because of the lack of controls that a Les Paul or SG would have. Gibson remained under the control of CMI until 1974 when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments. Gibson was heavily pushing the Les Paul Deluxe and Les Paul Custom during the Norlin Era years, but full-sized humbucker Standards started making their way out of the factory via special order in 1974. In 1969 the Les Paul Deluxe was introduced and the pole piece version of the Epiphone-utilized Mini Humbucker was used. Comes with gold pickup covers and black pick guard. The Gibson Les Paul is considered to be one of the two most important electric guitar models of all time. Gibson electrics produced during the "Norlin era" are units produced from 1970 through 1983; these are considered by many Gibson fans to be the worst guitars Gibson ever made, and for good reason - they were in fact awful. However the vast majority of the rest of the line was just junk. If you can get past the body shape, yes. 41 votes, 12 comments. Wished I still had it for sentimental reasons. On December 22, 1969, Gibson parent company Chicago Musical Instruments was taken over by the South American brewing conglomerate ECL. Unfortunately, the Corvus was dead even before the first one got delivered just from that unbelievably ugly body shape. This is the first generation Protector case, with 3 latches. on Gibson Les Paul, sometimes incorrectly referred as "Pancake body". I’ve always kinda felt like it was not truly a Les Paul. First released in the early 1950s, the Les Paul has now been produced in thousands of variants over the years, with the core design spinning off into a vast constellation of Les Paul sub-models and families. Ive played about 6 norlin era instruments, to be honest, only had 1 bad experience and it was on a country western acoustic that needed a neck reset. This helps the guitar stay in tune a whole lot better compared to the pointy headstock where all the strings are at an angle after the nut to the post. To add even further insult to injury, the Corvus looks even worse when hanging on a wall, because then it looks like a dead bird. Body shapes go through many people before they're actually made, meaning an entire committee at Gibson thought a bird-shaped guitar where nobody could see the bird in it was just a wonderful idea. It's certainly a better buy than any new-model Norlin era Gibson, that's for sure. It was a factory second, not exactly sure why...probably a sunburst or a wine red that got resprayed in black. The Norlin era officially ended in 1986,...and some of the guitars that were produced in that era are some of the finest LPs made. Some of the guitars of the era were weird tinkerings on the old formula. However, even with that low unit production count, these guitars are easy to come by and aren't scarce because even to this day, nobody wants them. Inlaid pearl "Gibson" headstock logo and five-piece pearl split-diamond inlay. ️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOQqq-2C0sE?sub_confirmation=1 Welcome Troglodytes! For a USA-built, it's priced very well. Depending on which year of Marauder you get, you're either going to get a 3-way toggle switch or a 6-way toggle/blend knob. The first question on your mind is probably, "What in tarnation is up with that body shape?" The Corvus is a good "workhorse" guitar. I will list separate if you want to purchase. Your purchases help youth music programs get the gear they need to make music. I saved the "best" for last - the Corvus. There's also a very "woody" appearance, a weird leaning pickup in the bridge position that doesn't even match the pick guard's curve... it's like this guitar can't decide whether it wants to be a Les Paul or a Telecaster Custom, so it tried both and failed at both. If you can't see that in the shape, here, I'll help you: Nobody sees the bird in the design unless it's pointed out to them. While made during one of the company's most controversial eras when many players saw a sacrifice of quality for profit margins, the Gibson Les Paul Customs of the Norlin Era can be diamond-in-the-rough finds for players with a keen eye. guitars. Your purchases also help protect forests, including trees traditionally used to make instruments. Somewhat. Jun 2, 2010 #3 1979, here: A ~Abstract~ New member. As far as Gibson-USA models are concerned, they're almost all overpriced to an extreme level, and you won't get back your investment until a significant amount of time has passed. Aside from being a solid body, neck thru construction, with a single cut, and the same name as other Les Pauls, it has very little in common with any Les Paul outside of the Norlin Era. In December of 1969 Gibson was sold to ECL and "Norlin" was born. Anyone who has to work on the guitar under the pick guard without a schematic is in for a rough time trying to figure out how this thing does what it does. 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