Randy's les paul

[BowTie29]

Yeah, Im just looking to get one from the 70-80s that is naturally aged if I choose a white one plus it will be under 3G unlike the outrageous price of the Randy one

[randy will never die]

you could always get on from the 70s sand in down to bare wood and then paint it cream or white but on ebay those from the 70s and 80s are gonaa cost ya some $$$$$$

[BowTie29]

id just leave it how I got it, I like all of the colours of those old ones but Id look other than ebay cause they are pricey there

[Stiltzkin]

you could always get on from the 70s sand in down to bare wood and then paint it cream or white but on ebay those from the 70s and 80s are gonaa cost ya some $$$$$$

why sand it down? If you get a 70's LPC in white, the finish is
most likely naturally aged

[randy will never die]

were other than ebay

[camdenlp]

I have to butt in...his Les Paul wasn't bone stock. He changed the tuners to Schaller M6 tuners, other than that, yes. Stock pups and hardware

[BowTie29]

And I think the strap locks were changed

[Stiltzkin]

how do you know?

[meadsie]

Randy's Les Paul was stock apart from the following:-

Brass pickup selector
Strap locks
Schaller Machine heads
Name engraved on the pick guard.
The hardware was gold - however, over time the finish goes / worn away hence it looking like nickel


I also agree that the Gibson "Replica" should have been the aged white it was when Randy was using it - not as mentioned before - 30 years on. To me it doesn't look like Randy's Trademark - Randy's was a lovely cream colour, the replica is an awful Yellow/ gold colour.

But as Paul Mentioned - it is down to personal preference!

[TAB]

poofters

[BowTie29]

He must have really played that thing hard and smoked lots around it for it to have tarnished and yellowed in under 10 years as I see customs from 15 years ago that are still white and the hardware is untarnished.

[Stiltzkin]

He must have really played that thing hard and smoked lots around it for it to have tarnished and yellowed in under 10 years as I see customs from 15 years ago that are still white and the hardware is untarnished.

I guess playing outdoors or a few hours in the California sun helped things too

[twm]

just some insight into Les Paul's from that era, as I had a '74 Black Custom with Gold hardware WHICH I SOLD before I knew Randy played a '74 too.

What I learned in my research into authenticating my Les Paul, because I originally wanted to get one in my birth year of '69, so I looked in the old Tradin' Times I recall back in 1995 or 1996 and found what was advertized as a black 1970 Gibson Les Paul with Gold hardware, so I bought it. Like many back in 2008, I was having some tough times financially and decided to let go of my Les Paul as I have several others and in the process of accurately dating Les Paul's here it what I learned.

The proper way to do it is to pull off the back cover where the volume/tone etc. knobs are and look at the pressed codes on the metal of the potentiometers as they will contain the month and year that the potentiometers were used by Gibson to make the Les Paul. The Les Paul that I had had potentiometers dated 12/73, so my Les Paul was either a late '73 or more than likely, an early '74. Also and MOST IMPORTANTLY, 1974 was the last year that Gibson made Les Paul's with a solid mahogany neck. So in order to check that the neck is solid mahogany and not a three piece maple neck, you need to pull the cover off the headstock and examine the wood grain where the nut to tune and align the neck are at. It's very easy to tell the difference between mahogany and maple as Gibson never used any stain under the headstock tuning covers.

This is the exact and ideal method to properly date a Les Paul as I think most here know, there are a lot of copy and clones out there and if you're in the market for a Les Paul, this is what I can share. And yes I am very torn that I sold my 73/74 Les Paul Custom but in a way, I was not happy with the Black one as they are practically impossible to keep clean and free of visible fingerprints. But I know one day I'll find another one. I don't want to get an exact one as similar as possible to Randy's because of the noted mods he did to his, plus you'd have to duplicate his effects board as well, with all of the old old hard to find in good condition MXR pedals and get his marshall heads and cabinets as well.

Right now I am aiming at finding a good condition 68-74 Sunburst with a solid mahogany neck or another non-solid color Les Paul and I know that patience will pay off.

Lastly, Ozzy did put out an earlier autobiography back in 1985-1986 which details A LOT of what they did in recording Blizzard and Diary and how they set up Randy's amp's and the recording equipment. This book cover looks a lot like the Speak of the Devil album cover.

Basically what they did to record Blizzard and Diary were to put Randy's Marshall's all the way down in the basement of that recording studio in England and faced the amps about 6 feet away from a solid brick wall, then they put the recording mics between the amps and the walls and turned the volume knobs ALL THE WAY UP and that is why the studio releases of Blizzard and Diary sound so fucking awesome. I had a Marshall 800 series head and a Sun 4x12 cabinet when I was in HS and one day when my folks weren't home I gradually turned up the volume knob to only THREE before the windows in our house began to advisably vibrate. Imagine how loud Randy's were when they turned the volume knobs all the way up to record Diary and Blizzard!

[Stiltzkin]

The proper way to do it is to pull off the back cover where the volume/tone etc. knobs are and look at the pressed codes on the metal of the potentiometers as they will contain the month and year that the potentiometers were used by Gibson to make the Les Paul. The Les Paul that I had had potentiometers dated 12/73, so my Les Paul was either a late '73 or more than likely, an early '74.

I have to disagree here.
Just because your pots were marked 12/73 doesn't mean the whole guitar was made in 1973/74.
It could very well be younger than that seeing as pots are interchangeable

[Paul Wolfe]

I don't want to get an exact one as similar as possible to Randy's because of the noted mods he did to his

I've never understood why people want exact replicas of anybody's guitar. Same make, model & color I understand, but same year, same knobs, same silly little brass thing on the pickup selector... I don't get that.

As for the '74, the necks on those had a volute at the base of the headstock, did they not? You are correct, though, checking the dates on the pots is one of the main ways used to date a guitar. Sure they can be replaced, but the only time people check is when placing a value on a 'vintage' instrument. If someone tries to sell you a '74 Les Paul and your check of the pots shows them to be from '95, either the guitar is not a '74 or the pots were replaced, either way the value of the guitar changes at that point.