• Model: Les Paul Custom
• Era: Late Norlin
• Finish: Alpine White, Naturally Aged to Cream / Banana Pudding Hue
• Body: Mahogany with Carved Maple Top
• Neck: Mahogany
• Fingerboard: Ebony
• Scale Length: 24.75"
• Frets: 22
• Inlays: Mother of Pearl Block Inlays
• Headstock: Bound Custom-Style with Split-Diamond Inlay
• Pickup Configuration: HH
• Pickups: Gibson Tim Shaw Humbuckers
• Controls: 2 x Volume, 2 x Tone
• Switching: 3-Way Toggle Pickup Selector
• Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
• Tailpiece: Stopbar
• Tuners: Gibson / Period-Correct Style
• Hardware: Gold
• Pickguard: Black
• Case: Period Gibson “Chainsaw” Hardshell Case
• Country: USA
• Year: 1986

This is a fantastic late-Norlin Les Paul Custom with exactly the sort of natural ageing collectors love to see. The original Alpine White has mellowed dramatically over the years into a rich cream / almost banana-pudding colour, giving it a brilliant Randy Rhoads-style look that would be impossible to replicate convincingly with a modern finish.

The ebony board, black plastics and gold hardware work perfectly against the aged finish, and visually it has all the classic Les Paul Custom presence you would hope for. There is a real sense of age and authenticity here, with the finish having developed naturally rather than through artificial relic work.

The Tim Shaw humbuckers are another major highlight. These early PAF-inspired Gibson pickups have become highly sought after in their own right, with a clear, open and comparatively vintage-voiced response that works brilliantly in a Les Paul Custom. They tend to have more articulation and harmonic detail than many later high-output Gibson sets, while still delivering the thickness and sustain expected from the model.

This is also a particularly evocative period piece. The naturally ambered finish, gold hardware and original-style Gibson Chainsaw case make the whole package feel unmistakably mid-’80s. A very cool vintage Custom with loads of character, desirable pickups and far more personality than a pristine modern reissue.

Very good condition. The original Alpine White finish has naturally aged significantly over time into a deep cream / yellowed hue, giving the guitar a strong vintage appearance. There are various minor impressions, marks and signs of use consistent with age, along with natural hardware ageing and finish patina.

Overall, it presents very well for a 1986 instrument and retains a wonderful aged character rather than looking abused. Supplied with its period Gibson Chainsaw hardshell case.

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