Gibson 1959 Les Paul Standard VOS Electric Guitar, Washed Cherry

Gibson 1959 Les Paul Standard VOS Electric Guitar, Washed Cherry Review

Gibson 1959 Les Paul Standard VOS Electric Guitar, Washed Cherry Feature

• Carved maple top Solid, non-weight relieved mahogany back Single-ply cream binding
• Single-ply cream binding1959 rounded neck profile24-3/4" scale1-11/16 nut width Vintage tulip tuners BurstBucker pickups CTS pots and
• Bumblebee capacitors2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way selector
• Thin toggle switch washer and jackplate Nickel hardware ABR-1 bridge and
• Stopbar tailpiece1-piece mahogany neck with long tenon22-fret rosewood finger board Acrylic trapezoid inlays (accurate shape and color)

Gibson's Les Paul Standard model from 1959 is the most highly acclaimed, widely recognized solid body electric guitar in the entire world, coveted by both players and collectors as the ultimate example of playability, attractiveness and tone among all six-stringed instruments. In an industry filled with imitations and replicas, the iconic 1959 Les Paul Standard simply has no equal.

The most highly acclaimed, widely recognized solid body electric guitar in the entire world.

History

Gibson's legendary Burstbucker pickups and Tune-o-matic bridge.

22-fret rosewood fingerboard outfitted with acrylic trapezoid inlays matching the size of color of the originals.

Named after Lester William Polsfuss, aka Les Paul--legendary American jazz guitarist, and true pioneer in the development of recorded music--the Les Paul model guitar became the "Standard" in July 1958 after company president Ted McCarty and his staff decided to add the new designation and forego the guitar's traditional Goldtop finish for a new, brighter finish dubbed Cherry Sunburst, which allowed the natural beauty of the Les Paul Standard's maple top to be showcased. The company was hoping the changes would improve its sales of solid body electric guitars, which had been declining since 1953 when the Gibson shipped 2,245 Les Paul Model guitars.

Unfortunately, sales of the new Les Paul Standard continued to dip, and after shipping only 643 guitars in 1959 and another 635 during the early part of 1960, Gibson once again instituted another redesign of the guitar, abandoning the Les Paul design as we know it today and creating the SG Standard. No one could have imagined, however, that those 1,278 Les Paul Standard guitars--especially the 643 from 1959--would become the most sought after guitars in the world.

Body
While the full impact of the 1959 Les Paul Standard was still several years away from being realized, its influence on guitar design was already well underway. Besides its exceptional tone and playability, the 1959 version of the Les Paul Standard was renowned for its two "bookmatched" pieces of maple wood that made up the top of the guitar. While most of the Les Paul Standard tops in 1958 were considered "plain," some of the maple tops in 1959--and into 1960--were "flamed" or "figured," adding a three-dimensional, cosmetic element never before seen on any solid body guitar. The beautiful patterns, however, went largely unnoticed at the time, with Gibson paying no particular attention to selecting wood with distinct grain patterns. Other cosmetic changes on the 1959 Les Paul Standard included a slightly thinner neck profile, a smaller heel, and a change to larger "jumbo"-sized frets, which are still in use today.

Finish
The guitar's new Cherry Sunburst finish also saw its first full year of use in 1959, despite problems with the consistency of the red pigment used to paint it--a problem that wasn't corrected until late 1960. This caused the finish on many guitars to fade to some degree of amber, honey or yellow hue, further adding to the beauty and mystique of the instrument.

Famous Players
One of the first guitarists to recognize the potential of the 1959 Les Paul Standard was The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, who obtained a 1959 model in 1964 that had been outfitted with a Bigsby tremolo tailpiece. Around 1966, emerging British guitarist Eric Clapton--himself influenced by the early 1950s Les Paul models played by Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin--also recognized the Les Paul Standard's exceptional tone and playability, and began playing them almost exclusively. Before long, the Les Paul Standards of the late 1950s had found their way into the hands of future guitar legends Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, Peter Green and Michael Bloomfield, among others, eventually helping to reshape the sound of a worldwide musical movement, while forever changing the standard by which all other electric guitars are measured.

Near-perfect Recreation
The 1959 Les Paul Standard reissue produced today by Gibson Custom is true to all of the original instrument's features and characteristics, including Gibson's traditional hand-carved "figured" maple top and solid, non-weight relieved mahogany body. The headstock is made from Holly head veneer, as opposed to fiber, just like it was in 1959, and the vintage-style tulip tuners are mounted in a straight line, also as they were on the original. The 24 3/4-inch scale length neck is made from one solid piece of mahogany, and attached to the body using a long neck tenon--one of the Les Paul's more distinguishing characteristics of the 1950s. The neck is topped by a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard outfitted with acrylic trapezoid inlays matching the size and color of the originals. Of course, two of Gibson's legendary Burstbucker pickups deliver all the subtle variations of true, classic "Patent Applied For" humbucker tone by using historically "unmatched" bobbin windings and Alnico II magnets. Other historical appointments include CTS potentiometers, bumble bee capacitors, rolled creme-colored fingerboard binding, single-ply creme-colored binding around the body, and a period-correct thin toggleswitch washer and jackplate. The 1959 Les Paul Standard comes in either a V.O.S. or Gloss finish, and with the standard Gibson Custom case, custom care kit and certificate of authenticity. They are available in Faded Tobacco Burst, Washed Cherry Burst and Iced Tea Burst. In 1959, the Les Paul Standard made a change to wider, fatter jumbo frets which made it a more facile guitar. The significance of this change wouldn't be felt until the late '60s when Clapton, Bloomfield, Peter Green, and other emerging guitarists discovered its warm, thick BurstBucker voice and fast, smooth and easy-playing neck. Then the Les Paul began its ascent toward ultimate icon status. Like all VOS (Vintage Original Spec) Series instruments, the 1959 Les Paul Standard VOS is handcrafted for comfort and playability in the Gibson Custom Shop. The construction, neck profile, hardware, and electronics are period accurate, and a special nitrocellulose finish treatment gives it the patina of a gently aged vintage guitar. Includes Gibson Custom Shop case and a certificate of authenticity.

Gibson 1958 Les Paul Plain Top VOS Electric Guitar, Washed Cherry

Gibson 1958 Les Paul Plain Top VOS Electric Guitar, Washed Cherry Review

Gibson 1958 Les Paul Plain Top VOS Electric Guitar, Washed Cherry Feature

• 1-piece, solid mahogany backs
• Bumblebee capacitors (where applicable), and correct routing
• ABR-1 bridge and lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece

Objects of distinction are seldom recognized immediately, and this was certainly the case when Gibson introduced the newly renamed Les Paul Standard in July of 1958. Having already made several modifications to the base Les Paul Model guitar over the previous two years--the Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece being the most notable changes--the new Les Paul Standard introduced in 1958 hoped to correct Gibson's waning sales of solid body electric guitars, which had been on the decline ever since 1953 when the company shipped 2,245 instruments.

With a rich, rubbed appearance, this instrument is a true beauty.

Body
For the 1958 Standard Plaintop, Gibson decided to arrange the maple top in two "bookmatched" pieces glued together at the center seam, giving each guitar its very own distinct look and marking the beginning of the guitar world's fascination with figured maple tops, even though the majority of the tops used in 1958 were considered "plain" when compared to the tops used one year later and beyond.

Gibson's legendary Burstbucker pickups and Tune-o-matic bridge.

22-fret rosewood fingerboard outfitted with acrylic trapezoid inlays matching the size of color of the originals.

Finish
Legendary Gibson president Ted McCarty and his staff partly blamed the guitar's Goldtop finish as the main culprit for the sales slump and decided to forego the finish in favor of new, brighter finish dubbed Cherry Sunburst, which allowed the natural beauty of the maple top to be showcased--something that had previously been concealed by the Goldtop finish.

Additionally, Cherry Sunburst was the only color other than Gold that was used to finish the new Les Paul Standards in 1958, even though clear differences in the color of vintage examples would suggest otherwise. These variations were due mainly to the inconsistency of the red pigment used by Gibson to paint the sunburst finish, a problem that wasn't corrected until the early 1960s and which caused many of the guitars to fade to some degree of amber, honey or yellow hue. This "problem" inadvertently led to the creation of many of the finishes used today on numerous Gibson guitars, including Honey Burst, Tobacco Burst, Light Burst, Iced Tea Burst, Lemon Burst, Vintage Sun Burst and, of course, the original Heritage Cherry Sun Burst.

Near-perfect Recreation
The 1958 Les Paul Standard reissue produced today by Gibson Custom is true to all of the original instrument's features and characteristics, including Gibson's traditional hand-carved "plain" maple top and solid, non-weight relieved mahogany body. The headstock is made from Holly head veneer, as opposed to fiber, just like it was in 1958, and the vintage-style tulip tuners are mounted in a straight line, also as they were on the original. The 24 3/4-inch scale length neck is made from one solid piece of mahogany, and attached to the body using a long neck tenon--one of the Les Paul's more distinguishing characteristics of the 1950s. The neck is topped by a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard outfitted with acrylic trapezoid inlays matching the size and color of the originals. Of course, two of Gibson's legendary Burstbucker pickups deliver all the subtle variations of true, classic humbucker tone by using historically "unmatched" bobbin windings and Alnico II magnets. Other historical appointments include CTS potentiometers, bumble bee capacitors, rolled creme-colored fingerboard binding, single-ply thin binding around the body, and period-correct switchwasher and jackplate. The 1958 Les Paul Standard comes in either a V.O.S. or Gloss finish, and with the standard Gibson Custom case, custom care kit and certificate of authenticity. They are available in Faded Tobacco Burst, Washed Cherry Burst, Iced Tea Burst, Bourbon Burst, Lemon Burst and Sunrise Tea Burst finishes.

Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can't do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not "seal" wood in an airtight shell--as a poly finish does--and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.

All VOS (Vintage Original Spec) series guitars will use a proprietary process that includes unique steps for staining, wet-sanding, and hand-rubbing; subsequently the guitars reflect what a well-cared for 40-year-old guitar looks like. The result is a remarkable patina that will delight even the most discriminating enthusiast. In an effort to jump-start the steadily declining sales of the Les Paul Model, Gibson abandoned the familiar Gold finish and used a translucent Cherry Sunburst finish that brilliantly displayed the gifured Maple tops often used on Les Pauls. The renamed Les Paul Standard made its debut in 1958.