“Opening the case, we find ourselves transported back in time some 54 years”: How Gibson made the ultimate tribute to David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson

The first time this writer saw the original guitar that this latest Gibson Custom Collector’s Edition model replicates was watching David Bowie on Top Of The Pops on 6 July 1972.

Even by the standards of the emerging glam-rock scene, Bowie and the Spiders from Hull – Mick Ronson, Woody Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder – looked otherworldly, but my eyes were glued to that guitar.

As Ziggy exploded, that 1968 Les Paul Custom was everywhere and pretty much the only guitar Mick used throughout his time with Bowie – and beyond with the numerous artists he worked with and produced. It only fell out of use after a headstock break and repair. Hey, it’s a Les Paul!

In The Spider With The Platinum Hair book (by Weird & Gilly, the pen names of Eric Demattio and Karen Laney) it’s suggested that Ronson got the black Les Paul Custom in 1968 while working with the Hull‑based pro band, the Rats.

They supported Mick’s idol Jeff Beck in March of that year, then stood right in front of Jeff and recorded the gig so they could learn the songs from the as-yet-unleashed Truth album.

Building quite a local reputation in Hull by this time, Mick had met folk singer-songwriter Michael Chapman (who asked Mick to play on his second album, Fully Qualified Survivor, released in 1970), whose roadie Pete Hunsley saw Mick as a local hero and wanted to work for him.

Apparently, Pete told Mick that Michael had stripped the front of his Gibson J-200, and Pete did the same to the Les Paul Custom. “Whether Mick actually wanted him to or not is open to debate!” Chapman is quoted as saying. “Mick finished up with the only natural Les Paul around.”

The other mods aren’t documented, although if you were a fan of Clapton and Beck – as Mick was – you’d obviously remove your pickup covers, and losing the pickguard and swapping the volume control knobs for gold reflectors is done in minutes.

Opening the case of this latest repro, we find ourselves transported back in time some 54 years: it’s that guitar looking like it’s already been on a few world tours and played hard.

The two-piece plain maple top has some attractive wavy grain, not a conventional figure, and there’s plenty of wear and ‘age’ to the top, especially by the controls where the multiple edge binding feels bumpy to the touch. The cracked, yellowed nitrocellulose probably isn’t what was on the original, but it does add to the illusion here.

The back and sides are a worn-looking black (or Ebony, as Gibson prefers) with relatively little wear; there’s certainly no bare wood from a belt buckle. It feels like an old Custom, too, not least the weight, a relatively manageable 4.24kg (9.4lb).

Admittedly, it’s collector’s money, but this guitar is an evocative reminder of the man and the music he made. Mick Ronson, who was born in 1946 and passed away in 1993, would have been 80 this year.

• The Gibson Mark Ronson 1968 Les Paul Custom Collector's Edition is priced £8,990/$9,999. See Gibson for more details.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.