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Michael A. Slubowski
Gibson Les Paul Spotlight Special
Unlocking the Mystery
It was 1983, and Gibson was in the throes of its darkest days. Norlin Industries had incurred excessive debt, sales were down, and the Gibson name for sale. Amidst the chaos, an idea was borne for a limited run of Les Pauls. Those set on collecting them know just how limited their production was.
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Michael A. Slubowski
Gibson’s First Reissue Les Pauls
On the Road to ’59
Strings and Things Les Paul Many articles have been written about how guitarists and dealers in the mid/late 1970s and early ’80s were asking Gibson to build a Les Paul that more closely conformed to ’59 specs. The following is not an attempt to rehash any of them, but rather to provide an overview of…
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Michael A. Slubowski
Gibson Les Paul Spotlight Special
Unlocking the Mystery
It was 1983, and Gibson was in the throes of its darkest days. Norlin Industries, Gibson’s parent company at the time, had incurred excessive debt, sales had fallen 30 percent the year before, and the Gibson name was for sale. By that summer, all of the large runs of Gibson models, including the Les Paul,…
