Gibson Les Paul R9 "Real Feel" #13 of 25 2003, Iced Tea Sunburst

This is a rare gem from the Gibson Custom Shop from 2003. The Music Machine was one of the largest Gibson Custom Shop dealers and they commissioned a limited run of 25 of a very special R9 reissue guitar to match the specs of one of Dave Carpenter's personal 1959 Les Paul Standards. This run was made in conjunction with their MM Stinger series from 2003 that are more widely known. The tops, backs, necks, and fingerboards were hand-picked by Edwin Wilson at Gibson for this run in early 2003 to include "vintage correct" highly flamed Eastern Maple, Honduran Mahagany, select fingerboards, and a custom shaped neck to match Dave's 1959 Standard. This neck has a distinctive and comfortable shape with no shoulder. This shape is a favorite for many owners of original Les Paul’s produced in the mid to late 50's and was tagged "Real Feel" for this limited run. The back of the headstock is stamped RF #13 under the serial number. The guitars were all targeted at 8.5 lbs. or less for the finished weight. This is #13 of 25. It is very resonant, has a stunning wide flame top, and just under 8.5 lbs. These guitars did not come with a pickguard to better show off the flamed Eastern Maple tops. This guitar has a killer fingerboard that exhibits all the characteristics of Brazilian but does not fall under the "official" Brazilian board serial numbers and therefore it is only speced as "Rosewood" by Gibson. 

The guitar has all the original parts. Replaced parts are in the case with the guitar. The Corian nut was replaced with a 50’s accurate Nylon 66 nut, the pots and caps were replaced with the latest Gibson Custom Shop 500K + pots and real Bumblebee caps. The taper and clarity is much improved over the original harness from 2003. The Knobs are replaced as well with Gibson Custom True Historic gold ones that fit the shafts without breaking.

The condition of the guitar is excellent. There are some minor signs of play wear, some light worming on the back from buckle or Jean rivets, very minor fret wear, and a few minor dings, but nothing through the finish. The guitar has the original 2003 Lifton 5 latch case, all the original case candy from 2003 plus ads from Music Machine, and all the original parts that were replaced.