Les Paul TV Special (serial no. 37330)
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Steve Miller received this guitar from Leslie West of the Vagrants and Mountain in 1967 or 1968. It was originally painted a pale yellow that Gibson developed to appear white on black-and-white television. Miller had the guitar repainted with intricate psychedelic designs by surfboard artist Bob Cantrell and changed the pickup covers, tuners, and controls to match the new color scheme. He used it extensively in recordings and live performances through the 1970s, including on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in 1973 and The Midnight Special in 1974.
Technical Description:
Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard; 24¾ in. scale; intricate psychedelic painting on front and back of body; set neck with dot inlays and off-white binding; inlaid mother-of-pearl Gibson logo on headstock, truss rod cover with Les Paul signature; two P-90 soapbar pickups, three-way selector switch, two volume and two tone controls; nickel wrap-around tailpiece and Kluson tuners, clear and gold plastic knobs; original mahogany or cherry red finish stripped and repainted with custom psychedelic design, pickup covers, tuners, and knobs replaced to match finish
Technical Description:
Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard; 24¾ in. scale; intricate psychedelic painting on front and back of body; set neck with dot inlays and off-white binding; inlaid mother-of-pearl Gibson logo on headstock, truss rod cover with Les Paul signature; two P-90 soapbar pickups, three-way selector switch, two volume and two tone controls; nickel wrap-around tailpiece and Kluson tuners, clear and gold plastic knobs; original mahogany or cherry red finish stripped and repainted with custom psychedelic design, pickup covers, tuners, and knobs replaced to match finish
Artwork Details
- Title: Les Paul TV Special (serial no. 37330)
- Artist: Gibson (American, founded Kalamazoo, Michigan 1902)
- Artist: Bob Cantrell
- Artist: Steve Miller
- Date: 1961
- Medium: Mahogany, rosewood, metal, plastic
- Dimensions:
Length: 39 1/8 in. (99.4 cm)
Width: 13 in. (33 cm)
Depth: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Weight: ~7-8 lbs. - Classification: Electrophone
- Credit Line: Promised Gift of Steve Miller, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments