Full Description

A Near Perfect Recreation

The 1957 Les Paul Goldtop from Gibson Custom is a near-perfect recreation of the original instrument, in all of its original excellence and historical magnificence. The guitar features Gibson's traditional hand-carved maple top and solid, non-weight relieved mahogany body. Like it was in 1957, the headstock is made from Holly head veneer. The vintage-style tulip tuners are mounted in a straight line, also like the original. This Les Paul features a 24 ¾-inch scale length neck, made from one solid piece of mahogany, and is attached to the body using a long neck tenon, which was one of the Les Paul?s more distinguishing characteristics of the 1950s. The neck is topped by a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, which has acrylic trapezoid inlays that match the colour and size of the originals.

The guitar has an Antique Gold finish which matches the hue of the original model. Other historical appointments include CTS potentiometers, bumble bee capacitors, rolled crème-colored fingerboard binding, single-ply thin binding around the body, and period-correct switchwasher and jackplate.

This guitar is equipped with two of Gibson's legendary Burstbucker pickups to deliver all the subtle variations of true, classic humbucker tone. This is done by using historically 'unmatched' bobbin windings and Alnico II magnets.

An Interesting History

At the direction of legendary Gibson President Ted McCarty, Gibson engineer Seth Lover began work on a tone circuit that had hum-cancelling capabilities sometime in 1954. By early 1957, the standard double-coil version of the humbucker pickup started appearing on Gibson ES-175s and ES-350Ts, and eventually on the Les Paul Model Goldtops of the same year.

Aside from the pickups, the basic specifications of those Les Paul Model Goldtops from 1957 that remained the same. There were, however, several minor cosmetic variations which made the 1957 version significant in the development of the Les Paul. For example, the placement of the inlaid, pearl-cut Gibson logo. This was moved closer to the top edge of the headstock. 1957 was to be the last full year of production for a Gibson model with a Goldtop finish. This popular colour would not feature on another Gibson guitar until 1968.

Another 1957 variation was Gibson's occasional use of a darker mahogany back. Most, if not all, of the ?darkback? Les Pauls that left Gibson during this time also had all black parts, including the pickguards and pickup rings. Over time, however, many owners of these guitars have changed the black plastic parts to the more common crème color. This 1957 Les Paul Goldtop Darkback reflects this detail.

Several key modifications made in 1957 would remain as the foundation of the iconic version, the famous Les Paul Standard. There was the addition of the Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece one year earlier and then Gibson?s pioneering humbucking pickup.

Gibson Custom Case Included

This guitar comes with the standard Gibson Custom case and certificate of authenticity.

Features/Specifications

Body & Bridge

• Top: Carved Maple
• Body: One Piece Mahogany without Weight Relief
• Binding: Single Ply Cream Binding on Top
• Bridge: ABR-1 Nickel Plated Bridge
• Tailpiece: Lightweight Aluminium Stopbar

Neck & Fingerboard

• Neck: One Piece Mahogany
• Profile: Early 50s Rounded
• Joint: Long Neck Tenon
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Frets: 22
• Scale Length: 24 ¾-inch

Hardware & Electronics

• Pickups: Burstbucker pickups
• Pots: CTS Potentiometers
• Capacitors: Bumblebee
• Knobs: Gold Top Hats with Dial Pointers

Accessories

• Case: Gibson Custom Case inc Certificate of Authenticity