Johnny Marr’s 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Sometime before or during the recording of The Smiths’ third studio album, The Queen is Dead, Johnny acquired a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom. He used it on the album, though not exclusively, and it became one of his main touring guitars for the 1985/86 tours.
In 1994, Marr gave this guitar to Noel Gallagher after Noel broke the 1960 Les Paul that Marr had previously lent him.
Specs, Mods
Marr’s Les Paul is a Custom model, finished in black, dating back to 1978. Based on photos, he made some minor visual modifications, such as removing the metal pickup covers and taking off the pickguard.
In terms of more extensive modifications, the original stop-bar tailpiece was replaced with what appears to be a Gibson TP-6. While the TP-6 was an option on some Gibson models after 1978, Marr definitely had it installed later, as his guitar predates that feature. The TP-6, designed by Rendall Wall, featured small tuners on the back that allowed for precise fine-tuning.
Additionally, Marr’s Les Paul had an extra switch (see photo below), which was a coil tap. It was basically the same thing he did on his red Les Paul, and it enabled him to get a more “single-coil” sound out of his pickups.
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