DISC Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Reissue VOS Guitar, Faded Tobacco

Full Description

Birth of the Burst

By 1958 the Les Paul had already evolved through several modifications including the arrival of the Tune-o-matic bridge and humbucking pickups. Despite this sales started to slow a little and president, Ted McCarty decided that the model's flashy Goldtop finish could be to blame. The elegant and traditional sunburst finish was introduced and has been a favourite ever since.

This new finish displayed the grain of the guitar's carved Maple top so Gibson now used bookmatched two-piece tops glued together with a center seam, giving each guitar its very own distinct look and marking the beginning of the guitar world's fascination with figured maple tops. The majority of the tops used in 1958 were considered plain when compared to the stunning figured tops used just one year later in 1959.

Classic Les Paul

While the 1959 Les Paul Standard retained the classic Les Paul ingredients - its solid Mahogany body and carved Maple top - the guitar also evolved slightly from its specs of the previous year. Les Pauls made in 1959 also acquired a slightly thinner, though still comfortably rounded, neck profile, which many players consider the sweetest feeling neck shape of all time, along with a smaller neck heel.

The guitar also benefits from Gibson Custom's 20th Anniversary Specifications including a one-piece Rosewood fingerboard, Kluson™ Deluxe machine heads, hot-hide glue neck fit, a Historic Truss Rod assembly with no tubing, accurate body and fingerboard binding color, new Custom Buckers created in the image of the original PAFs and period-correct Aniline dye.

True Vintage Tone

The new Custom Bucker on this guitar is an accurate representation of the original PAFs around in the late 50s using Alnico III magnets and unequal turns of 42 AWG wire in each coil for that characteristic bite. These pickups clean up beautifully at the guitar's volume controls, while Bumble Bee tone caps assist in that warm, singing tone when you roll back the tone controls. This Les Paul plays superbly right out of its Custom Shop hardshell case thanks to a trip through one of Gibson's state-of-the-art Plek machines before it leaves the Custom Shop floor.

Specifications

Body & Bridge

• Top: Carved Maple Top
• Back: Solid, Non-Weight Relieved Mahogany Back
• Binding: Single-ply Cream Binding on Top
• Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
• Finish Sealer: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Treatment: Period-Correct Red Aniline Dye
• Finish: Faded Tobacco VOS
• Bridge Type: ABR-1 bridge
• Plating: Nickel
• Tailpiece: Lightweight Aluminum Stopbar Tailpiece
• Plating: Nickel

Neck & Fingerboard

• Neck Species: 1-piece Mahogany Neck with Long Neck Tenon
• Profile: Early '50s Rounded
• Truss Rod: Historic Truss Rod Assembly (No Tubing)
• Joint Angle: 4° (+/- 15 seconds)
• Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
• Inlay: Holly Headstock Veneer w/ Pearl logo
• Truss Rod Cover: Vintage Black and White
• Angle: 17 Degrees
• Neck Joint: Mortise & Tenon
• Neck Adhesive: Hide Glue
• Neck Joint Angle Tolerance: +/- .005"
• Nut: Nylon
• Nut Width: 1.687
• Slots: Gibson PLEK System
• Fingerboard: One-piece Rosewood
• Radius: 12"
• Scale Length: 24.75"
• Binding: Single-ply Cream
• Inlays: Cellulose Trapezoid
• Nut/E.O.B: 1.687/2.062

Electronics & Hardware

• Neck Pickup: Custom Bucker
• Bridge Pickup: Custom Bucker
• Potentiometers: 2 Volume Controls, 2 Tone Controls
• Capacitors: Bumblebee
• Toggle Switch: Three-Way with Amber Toggle Cap
• Output Jack: Traditional ¼"
• Tuners: Kluson™ Deluxe
• Tuning Ratio: 12:01
• Plating: Nickel
• Knobs: Gold Top Hats with Dial Pointers
• Toggle Switch Washer: Cream with Gold Silkscreen
• Pickup Mounting Rings: Cream
• Control Plate Cover: Black
• Strings: .010 - .046
• Strap Buttons: Aluminum

Accessories

• Certificate of Authenticity
• Adjustment literature and documentation for the guitar's limited lifetime warranty
• Gibson Custom Shop Hardshell Case