The Les Paul Deluxe
The Les Paul Deluxe was among the new 1968 Les Pauls. This model featured “mini-humbuckers”, also known as “New York” humbuckers, and did not initially prove popular. The mini-humbucker pickup fit into the pre-carved P-90 pickup cavity using an adaptor ring developed by Gibson (actually just a cut-out P90 pickup cover) in order to use a supply of Epiphone mini-humbuckers left over from when Gibson moved Epiphone production to Japan. The Deluxe was introduced in late 1968 and helped to standardize production among Gibson’s USA-built Les Pauls. The first incarnation of the Deluxe featured a one-piece body and three-piece neck in late 1968. The “pancake” body (thin layer of maple sandwiched by two layers of Honduran mahogany)came later in 1969. In late 1969, a small “volute” was added. The 1969 Deluxes feature the Gibson logo without of the dot over the “i” in Gibson. By late 1969/early 1970, the dot over the “i” had returned, plus a “made in USA” stamp on the back the headstock. By 1975, the neck construction was changed from mahogany to maple, until the early 1980s, when the construction was returned to mahogany. Interest in this particular Les Paul model was so low that in the early 1980s, Gibson cancelled the line. However, in 2005, the “Deluxe” was reintroduced with more popularity due to its association with Pete Townshend.
