All Time Legend *Gibson Les Paul Personal 1970*

This guitar was for sale on eBay recently. At first glance it appears to be a 70s-era Gibson Les Paul Recording model, but closer inspection reveals several distinct differences from that guitar. This is in fact a Gibson Les Paul Personal circa 1970 and the main differentiating feature is the XLR microphone input on the upper bout (see photo below).

I remember seeing Les Paul himself on television many years ago playing one of these complete with microphone, and I had always previously thought that it was a Recording model. Obviously it requires a mic with a rigid stem!

To borrow shamelessy from the eBay listing for the guitar offered for sale, the features of the model inlcude:

Low impedance electronics and pickups. Clear grain British Honduras Mahogany body with center crossband. Three piece laminated British Honduras Mahagony neck construction. The laminations are quarter sawn for maximum strength. Buffed and polished clear walnut finish reveals all the fine grain-line features of the basic wood. Ebony fingerboard with "fretless wonder" frets, mother of pearl block inlays, Gold Plated Deluxe design machine tuning heads with sealed gears, Gold Plated Tune-O-Matic Bridge, 18 1/4 inch long, 14 inches wide, 2 inches deep, 24 3/4 scale, 22 frets, neck joins body at 16th fret. XLR Microphone Input Jack, Microphone volume control next to pickup selector switch. Also Bass, Treble, Decade and Volume Knobs (with 0-10 levels each) and Tone Selector and Phase Switches.

It is believed that only 146 examples of this guitar were built.