Whitstable Guitars
A selection of good quality, used guitars and specialising in imports from Japan since 2008
1993 Orville Japan Les Paul Standard Tobacco Sunburst & new fitted hard case
£849.00 + shipping
Whitstable guitars will be closed for business from Friday 6th until Saturday 27th February 2026. All guitars will go into storage and I will be unable to handle any sales. Should you see a "must have" guitar on my website, please send me an email and I will be in touch on a "first come, first served" basis on my return to the UK.
Thanks for your understanding. Rob
JAPAN IMPORT
Here we have a 1993 Orville Japan Les Paul Standard. A beautifully made guitar from the Terada factory in Japan where they also made the Japanese Gretsch guitars. Orville guitars have domestic made PAF pickups installed whereas the Orville by Gibson models have PAF '57 Classic Gibson pickups. The Japanese pickups were made as copies of the Gibson pickups & they did a pretty good job. I read online that they were made by Japanese guitar parts maker GOTOH who almost certainly made the bridge parts & the tuners too. The reason they are so popular is that they are really well made guitars from either Fujigen or Terada factories in Japan. There is a table explaining the serial numbers at the end of the gallery photos.
Orville guitars were made in Japan from 1988-1998 when Yamano Gakki took over the distribution of Gibson guitars in Japan. They decided to expand the brand & so guitars were built in the above mentioned facilities for Gibson USA but were branded Orville, which was Gibson's christian name. Orville & Orville by Gibson guitars are very highly rated. They are really well made. In 1998, they changed the name from Orville to Epiphone Elite but essentially they are the same guitars
This guitar is now 33 years old and has been really well looked after. Even the original paper/silver sticker showing the serial number is still intact on the back of the headstock. Pretty impressive on a 30+ year old guitar, I think! There is the odd tiny dent around the body but this is minimal and nothing that my digital camera will pick up. There are signs of "misting" to the lacquer on the back of the guitar but once again, this is minimal. The chrome is really clean with no pitting. Areas like the stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge look in excellent condition. I believe that the pickguard might be a replacement as once again, the chrome bracket and screws look as good as new. It may be that they were removed by the previous owner when it was new & only put back on when it was sold but I have no real way of knowing.
I imported this guitar some time ago and had originally purchased it for myself but it has sat in its case for the last 2-3 years at least & only been played occasionally. I play a Telecaster in a covers band & whilst I might dream of playing like Gary Moore, it ain't going to happen any time soon!
This guitar comes with a new Thomann fitted hard case. This was supplied as the guitar arrived in an old unbranded gig bag.
The frets have no indents and the trussrod operates as it should. The guitar plays really nicely and the pickups sound excellent to my ears. It's quite a weighty Les Paul at over 10.5 lbs but it's a beauty and is definitely worth collecting as I don't see them very often & the prices are now quite high.
Orville Japan Les Paul Specifications:
Body Material: Solid Mahogany with Maple carved top. Tobacco Sunburst
Neck material: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Rosewood
22 medium frets with trapezoid inlays
Scale Length 24"
Width at 1st fret 42.5mm
Width at 12th fret 52.5mm
Weight: 4844 grammes (10lb 10.5oz)
Enclosed tuners (unbranded)
Tune-o-matic bridge & stop bar tailpiece
cream pickguard
2 x Orville Japan PAF humbuckers (Believed GOTOH)
3 way switch
2 x Volume & 2 x Tone Controls
New Thomann fitted hard case
Hard Case
As with all my guitars, a hard case is included in the sale. Alternatively, if you are collecting the guitar and, like some buyers have cases coming out of their ears, that's no problem, I'll adjust the price (usually around a £50 discount) and I can usually find you an old gigbag to take the guitar away in. The only hard and fast rule I have is that I won't ship a guitar in a gigbag.
If you are further interested in this guitar, you can either email me with any queries & I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours.
Or, you can buy quickly and safely using the PayPal "buy now" button and I will ship to most UK addresses the next working day. Highlands and Islands can be slightly dearer but I'll keep the cost as low as I can.
I can accept credit card payments by phone and will also offer a small discount to purchasers using bank transfer payments.
Overseas customers are very welcome but please email me first for shipping quotes.