Up for sale, a 1988 Orville by Gibson Les Paul Custom in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Differentiated from the standard Orville-branded instruments, the "Orville by Gibson" guitars represented the highest tier of Japanese construction, outfitted from the factory with USA Gibson pickups (in this case, a pair of Tim Shaw PAFs). Made exclusively for the Japanese market and uncommon outside its country of origin, this Orville is an official Gibson-licensed guitar and a result of a partnership between Gibson USA and their Japanese distributor Yamano Gakki. Named after Gibson's founder, Orville Gibson, this long-since discontinued Orville model was crafted at the Terada factory.

Weighing 10lbs 1oz, this Les Paul Custom features the classic tonewood complement of a solid mahogany body and neck, carved maple top, long tenon neck joint, and rosewood fretboard. Extremely rare for this model and only seen on the earliest examples, this Orville was outfitted from the factory with a pair of Gibson's "Tim Shaw" PAF humbuckers. These pickups represent Gibson's first attempt at recreating the magic of their late '50s humbucker design. Offered for only a few short years in the '80s, the Shaws are designed with unoriented, rough cast Alnico V magnets, plastic spacers, and poly-coated wire, achieving the harmonic complexity, power, and tonal clarity of the original PAF. This Les Paul Custom has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Mahogany
-Shape: ‘60s-style slender C, measuring 830” 1st fret, .915” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Bound rosewood, block inlay
-Frets: Medium jumbo, light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-6
-Scale Length: 24 3/4”
-Nut: 1 11/16”, bone
-Tuners: Gotoh, gold-plated tulip buttons
-Serialization: Inked on back of headstock, G88-prefix

Body Specs:

-Pickups: Tim Shaw PAF x2
-Harness: Full-size 500K pots date to April, ‘88, one replacement pot
-Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, three-way pickup selector
-Hardware: ABR-1 bridge, stopbar
-Plastics: Black speed knobs, four-ply black pickguard

The gloss Ebony finish is framed by multi-ply binding, and cosmetic wear includes scuffing along the pick path, light buckle rash central to the back, and a number of minor dings on the body as a whole, largely relegated to the back and lower bout perimeter. The neck profile retains its smooth gloss, with a few shallow nicks along the profile length that have no impact on playability.

The original Orville by Gibson-branded padded gigbag is included.