DISC Gibson 1958 Custom Les Paul V.O.S, Free BOSS TU1000

Full Description

Click on the link below to watch a guide to the Gibson custom shop VOS guitars

History

"This guitar now has a rich, rubbed appearance that cannot be equaled at any price - this instrument is a true beauty." - Gibson Gazette, December 1958

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.

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 ¾-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 crème-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.

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.

• Body Type: Solidbody

• Neck Wood: Mahogany

• Neck Shape: '50s rounded profile

• Top Wood: Maple

• Back Wood: Mahogany

• Machine Heads: Vintage "tulip" tuners

• Scale Length: 24.75-inch

• Fingerboard: Rosewood

• No. of Frets: 22

• Original Truss Rod Routing

• Position Markers: Trapezoid

• Pickups: Two BurstBucker

• Controls: Two Volume, Two tone

• Pickup Switching: Three-way toggle

• Bridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic with stop tailpiece

• Hardware: Nickel

• Case: Custom Shop hardshell

• Finish: Ice Tea

BOSS TU-1000

The Boss TU-1000 Pro-Calibre Stage Floor Tuner has large, high-intensity LED meter provides perfect visibility on dark stages or outdoors, while the ultra-smooth and accurate motion of the tuning meter makes tuning fast, easy, and accurate.

Floor Control

The high-visibility design makes the TU-1000 a perfect choice for the performing guitarist. Positioned on the stage floor near your pedals or in your pedalboard, the TU-1000 can be easily seen and operated in the darkest stage environment. And from the audience's point of view, the glowing blue BOSS logo on the TU-1000's rear panel is an eye-catcher as well.

Tuning Modes

The TU-1000 offers a variety of tuning modes. In Cent mode, the LED meter functions as a needle-type meter, with BOSS pinpoint accuracy. In Stream mode, the stream-like motion indicates when notes are out of tune. The Pitch indicator illuminates when the target pitch is met.

Drop-Tuning Support

For guitarists who drop-tune, the TU-1000 offers a special Flat Tuning mode, which lowers the pitch one or more semitones below the note shown in the display. The display changes according to your choice, from lowered one semitone down to lowered six semitones.

Connectivity

There's plenty of I/O on the TU-1000's rear panel. The INPUT jack also doubles as a power switch. Connecting your guitar turns on the tuner's power; disconnecting from the plug turns the power off. The OUTPUT jack is for connecting to an effects processor, guitar amp, or other such device. Typically the output is muted while the tuner is on, however, you can specify whether the signal is output regardless of whether the tuner is on or off. The PARALLEL OUT jack lets you split the signal from the input jack and send it to a connected effects processor or guitar amp. The TUNER ON/OFF lets you connect an external footswitch (FS-5U; sold separately) for powering the tuner on and off remotely.

Features/Specifications:

• Ultra-smooth, accurate motion and superior visibility with the meter's large LED
• Accu-Pitch uses the motion of the meter's lights to show when tuning is complete
• Two display modes: Cent (LED functions like a needle-type meter) and Stream (fluid light motion indicates when notes are out of tune)
• Powering up the tuner automatically mutes the output signal, allowing you to tune without outputting sound
• Handles open tunings, DADGAD, and other alternate tunings, as well as dropped tunings up to six semitones below standard

• Tuning Range: C0 (16.35 Hz) - C8 (4186 Hz)
• Reference Pitch: A4=436 - 445 Hz (1 Hz step)
• Tuning Accuracy: ± 1 cent
• Power Supply: AC Adaptor (Roland PSB-1U)
• Current Draw: 350 mA
• Accessories: AC adaptor (Roland PSB-1U), 7-pin Parallel DC Cable, Owner's Manual, Leaflet ("USING THE UNIT SAFELY" and "IMPORTANT NOTES," and "Information")
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 414mm x 160mm x 61mm
• Weight: 2.2kg