Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass (1973, Tobacco Sunburst)

Here a rare bass, a Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass in Tobacco Sunburst, made 1973. The Signature model was designed by Les Paul himself and only put forward for production in the early 1970s. Prototypes of guitar and bass started in 1972 and full production not until 1973 and finished in the late 1970s. Researching the various sources and literature shows the guitars were made in 3 finishes, Most common were the Goldtop, then the Cherry Sunburst, and rarest the Tobacco Sunburst version. Apparently the bass was only issued in Goldtop or Tobacco Sunburst. This bass model only had one pick up. These were low impedance Pickups, and were often removed as they were considered ineffective and only suitable for clear sound with no distortion. This bass still has the original Low Impedance pick up, and it also still has a 50KOhm, 250 and 500 kOhm selector rendering the sound from clear to a bit growly. Like the guitar equivalent, the Tobacco Sunburst bass version is quite rare too.