Gibson Les Paul Standard 1957 Gold Top
17/07/08 16:26
The Gibson Les Paul Standards from the late fifties are easily the most desirable guitars for collectors of fine vintage instruments, due to the rarity, beautiful looks and stunning sound. With prices of these guitars haviong soared in the last few years they are all but out of the reach of most collectors.
However, there is an even rarer Les Paul, and this Gibson Les Paul Standard from 1957 with a Gold Top and Black Parts, is one of the finest examples you are ever likely to see.
This guitar which featured many years ago as a centerfold in Guitar World magazine as well as in the very rare book “Rare Guitar Museum” by John Peden, is in truly superb condition with all of the gold top in near new condition, and the most stunning flamed maple just showing through in the right light.
Playing the guitar, you realise why the late fifties Les Pauls are so sought after, the sound of the instrument acoustically is amazing,s plug it in and it is like no other guitar you have ever played.
With all of the usual appointments a late fifties Les Paul has, it is the black parts that set this particular guitar apart from other Gold Tops of this era. No one can really say how many were made in this configuration, but it is significantly low. Finding one of these instruments is difficult enough, finding one in this condition is amazing.
If you are a serious collector looking for a master piece to add to your collection, you simply have to visit our store to see this instrument, a true classic and a superb investment.
Click here to visit our main web site for this instrument.
However, there is an even rarer Les Paul, and this Gibson Les Paul Standard from 1957 with a Gold Top and Black Parts, is one of the finest examples you are ever likely to see.
This guitar which featured many years ago as a centerfold in Guitar World magazine as well as in the very rare book “Rare Guitar Museum” by John Peden, is in truly superb condition with all of the gold top in near new condition, and the most stunning flamed maple just showing through in the right light.
Playing the guitar, you realise why the late fifties Les Pauls are so sought after, the sound of the instrument acoustically is amazing,s plug it in and it is like no other guitar you have ever played.
With all of the usual appointments a late fifties Les Paul has, it is the black parts that set this particular guitar apart from other Gold Tops of this era. No one can really say how many were made in this configuration, but it is significantly low. Finding one of these instruments is difficult enough, finding one in this condition is amazing.
If you are a serious collector looking for a master piece to add to your collection, you simply have to visit our store to see this instrument, a true classic and a superb investment.
Click here to visit our main web site for this instrument.
1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard
09/07/08 15:59
Commonly referred to as the ‘Holy Grail’ of guitars, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, is easily the most desirable guitar on the planet, with values rising into the stratosphere in recent years. It all began with the introduction of the model in 1958. A fact that seems unthinkable now, is that the Les Pauls of the late 1950s were not all that popular.
Here is the guitar when we first saw it, shot using a flash which highlights the stunning birdseye top!
As a result Gibson only made about 1700 Sunburst Les Pauls between 1958 and 1960. The reason for this was the humbucking pickups and solid mahagony body with maple top produced lots of sustain and a mellow tone. This was good for a jazz player, except jazz players tended to use archtop electric/acoustics, and not solid body guitars.
So the Les Paul's smaller solid body should have appealed to rock players, but the rock guitar sound of the 1950s was brighter and the Stratocaster made a better choice. It was not until the British blues/rock invasion of the mid to late 1960s that the Les Paul became popular, thanks to the likes of Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and others.
All original sunburst Les Pauls have a two piece maple top with a center seam. However there are some early 1958 Sunburst Les Paul examples that have maple tops with an off center seam. Those outside the circle of guitar collectors often wonder at the reasoning behind the values of these instruments, but to play one is to understand what all the fuss is about.
These guitars were produced when Gibson were hand crafting their guitars, and using fine woods in most cases. The end result of which were guitars that played exceptionally well, and sounded like nothing else produced since.
With fifty years of aging these guitars have tone like no other guitars, the guitar simply ‘sings’ when played acoustically and positively howls when plugged into a classic valve amplifier. This amazing tone is in part due to the PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups, which over the years changed from having two white bobbins, to two black bobbins with many guitars featuring what is commonly referred to as ‘Zebra’ bobbins, because they have one of each colour.
For the most part these guitars (70%) were made with relatively plain tops, it is therefore those guitars with highly flamed fiddleback maple tops that are sought after. The guitar shown here has very light birdseye maple top (which is difficult to photograph) and is also highly desirable.
Here is the guitar when we first saw it, shot using a flash which highlights the stunning birdseye top!
As a result Gibson only made about 1700 Sunburst Les Pauls between 1958 and 1960. The reason for this was the humbucking pickups and solid mahagony body with maple top produced lots of sustain and a mellow tone. This was good for a jazz player, except jazz players tended to use archtop electric/acoustics, and not solid body guitars.
So the Les Paul's smaller solid body should have appealed to rock players, but the rock guitar sound of the 1950s was brighter and the Stratocaster made a better choice. It was not until the British blues/rock invasion of the mid to late 1960s that the Les Paul became popular, thanks to the likes of Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and others.
All original sunburst Les Pauls have a two piece maple top with a center seam. However there are some early 1958 Sunburst Les Paul examples that have maple tops with an off center seam. Those outside the circle of guitar collectors often wonder at the reasoning behind the values of these instruments, but to play one is to understand what all the fuss is about.
These guitars were produced when Gibson were hand crafting their guitars, and using fine woods in most cases. The end result of which were guitars that played exceptionally well, and sounded like nothing else produced since.
With fifty years of aging these guitars have tone like no other guitars, the guitar simply ‘sings’ when played acoustically and positively howls when plugged into a classic valve amplifier. This amazing tone is in part due to the PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups, which over the years changed from having two white bobbins, to two black bobbins with many guitars featuring what is commonly referred to as ‘Zebra’ bobbins, because they have one of each colour.
For the most part these guitars (70%) were made with relatively plain tops, it is therefore those guitars with highly flamed fiddleback maple tops that are sought after. The guitar shown here has very light birdseye maple top (which is difficult to photograph) and is also highly desirable.