Gibson is set to release its new Randy Rhoads 1974 Les Paul Custom, an instrument crafted in the image of Rhoads’ renowned instrument.
The guitar’s body is crafted from a three-piece maple top attached to a three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany body, just like the great "sandwich" Les Pauls of the early ’70s. It is hand-finished in nitrocellulose with minimum buildup, in an effort to produce a finish that breathes with the guitar and enhances natural resonance. Once this is complete, the guitars’ finishes will be aged in two distinct ways, to present worn finish textures: 100 guitars will be aged by hand, while a further 200 will be aged in Gibson Custom’s VOS process.
The guitar’s neck is a three-piece mahogany laminate and is carved to a "small D Rhoads profile," with a 12"-radius ebony fingerboard and mother-of-pearl block inlays.
Its pickups are Gibson Custom’s new Super ’74 Humbuckers, which use Alnico 3 magnets and are designed to replicate the sound of Gibson humbuckers of the early/mid 1970s. Both are wound with 42 AWG wire and measure approximately 7.4k to 7.6k ohms. Both are wax-potted.
It also uses Schaller M6 tuners, a Tune-o-matic (ABR-1) bridge made from zinc and plated in gold, "stopbar" tailpiece,historically correct amber "speed knobs," "antique bell" truss-rod cover, Schaller GP strap locks, three-ply (black/white/black) plastic pickguard.
Learn more at gibson.com.
