potting the black
I really enjoyed your feature on the iconic Gibson Les Paul Custom and thought you might like to hear my own Black Beauty story. I first saw one close-up in 2002 in a guitar shop in Bristol and fell instantly in love with all that gleaming black, gold and mother-ofpearl. I simply had to have one, but there was no way I could find the money. It was a case of ‘in your dreams, pal!’
Two years later my wife and I were on a cycling holiday with friends in Cornwall, but after two days of incessant downpours we decided to call it a day. That last night in the guest house I had a vivid dream of a Black Beauty – I could see it, feel it, smell it and play it. Later that day we started back on the long drive home, but as the sun was shining for once we decided to stop off at a Cornish village and take a look round. We came across a small music shop and inside I could see a familiar shape hanging on the wall and assumed it was a budget Les Paul lookalike. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be the real thing: a secondhand Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty. The serial number indicated a February 1986 model, which, according to the shop owner, had spent the preceding 18 years under a local’s bed; a quick rub with a soft cloth revealed pristine gold plate and an unmarked finish, apart from a few fine lacquer crazes.
The shop owner knew what it was worth, but hey, we’re talking Cornwall (not London) prices here and the gods were smiling on me as I’d had a bonus at work the previous week. I walked out of the shop with the guitar, complete with Protector case and original tags. It’s now a venerable 31 years old and through my Tiny Terror with all the knobs turned fully clockwise it sounds like an angel crying. It’s probably worth twice what I paid for it – but that’s irrelevant; I shall never sell it! David Boorman, via mail What a find, David – a vision from a dream indeed. It’s a shame the internet has made those kinds of finds even less common, but fate clearly smiled on you with that one. We wouldn’t be in a hurry to sell that one on, either!