By 1983, Gibson finally released a "Les Paul Reissue"; model. For whatever reason, they were careful not to call it a 1959 reissue. The Reissue was an immediate hit with Les Paul lovers, since it had features that were closer to a 1959 Les Paul, such as the thin binding in the cutaway, nickel hardware, ABR-1 bridge, vintage-style knobs, and highly figured tops. None of the reissues had a long neck tenon. The reissues did not have serial numbers starting with an "8";, "9";, or "0"; to denote 1958, 1959, or 1960. Rather, the first digit of the vintage-style (Y XXXX format) serial number represented the year of manufacture, so a 1983 started with "3";, 1984 started with "4";, and so forth. This numbering scheme has confused many collectors who have purchased Les Paul Classics that, starting in 1990, carry a similar serial number format. While the Reissue carried an almost 50% premium price above a Les Paul Standard at the time, at $1,500 it was within the realm of possibility for many collectors and players.
The Les Paul Reissue varied in features as the 1980's progressed, and there does not seem to be a logical pattern to the changes. As noted in the following descriptions of actual instruments from that era, these guitars varied considerably in weight (lightest at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and heaviest at 10 lbs. 8 oz.), style of "Gibson"; logo (open or closed "b"; and "o";, position of the logo, and some with a dot and others with no dot over the "i"
, color of backplates (black or brown), and color of tops. All except the 1984 described below had a deep red painted mahogany back versus the use of cherry color pore filler, which was reintroduced with the Historic reissues. Some years had no markings of any kind in the pickup cavities; others have an "HCSB"; ("heritage cherry sunburst"
designation. Reissues were made from 1983 until early 1993, before the Les Paul '59 Historic Reissues with the long neck tenons were released. The neck sizes on Reissues varied somewhat, but were generally of medium thickness. All Reissues were shipped with brown cases with pink lining, although the case style changed in 1986
