1960 Gibson Les Paul Custom
The 1960 Les Paul Custom 'Black Beauty' — Gibson's luxury solid-body. Ebony fingerboard, gold hardware, and exquisite binding.
Current Market Value
* Prices are estimates based on recent market data. Actual value depends on originality, condition, and provenance. Pricing methodology
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Specifications
| Body Wood | Mahogany (body), Maple (carved top) |
| Neck Wood | Mahogany (5-piece on some years) |
| Fingerboard | Ebony |
| Scale Length | 24.750" |
| Frets | 22 |
| Pickup Config | HH |
| Bridge | ABR-1 Tune-o-matic with stop tailpiece |
| Tuners | Kluson Deluxe |
| Finish Options | Black ('Black Beauty') |
| Est. Production | 380 |
Pickups & Electronics
Two (or three on some years) PAF humbucking pickups. Three-pickup versions are rarer and more valuable.
What Changed in 1960
Final year of the single-cutaway Custom before SG body transition. Thinner neck profile.
Collector's Notes
Three-pickup versions command higher premiums than two-pickup. Verify PAF stickers, gold hardware originality, and binding condition. Ebony fingerboard should be jet black.
How to Authenticate a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Gibson serial numbers from this era are ink-stamped on the back of the headstock. Cross-reference with known Gibson serial tables — numbering was not strictly sequential. Potentiometer date codes are critical: look for CTS pots (code 137) with two-digit year codes matching 1960 or up to 18 months earlier. This is the most reliable dating method for Gibson guitars of this era. The finish should be nitrocellulose lacquer showing age-appropriate checking (fine crazing). Under blacklight, original nitro fluoresces a distinctive green-yellow — refinished instruments lack this characteristic. Verify original PAF humbuckers — Les Paul Customs from 1960 should have the correct number of pickups. Check baseplate stickers, magnet type, and DC resistance. Multi-ply binding on body, neck, and headstock is a key authentication point — verify correct number of layers. Ebony fingerboard should be genuine (deep black, tight grain). Gold hardware should show consistent aging. Original Kluson Deluxe should be present with no evidence of replacement (no oversized bushing holes). Original hardshell case adds provenance value.