Gibson Les Paul '59 Custom, Art & Historic Collection

This guitar was built in 2003 and is from the Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division of builders. It has only been used in a smoke-free home. This guitar has been babied. It has a beautiful flame maple top in Iced Tea Sunburst, a really nice Madagascar rosewood fingerboard, and weighs 8 pounds and 7.6 ounces. This guitar has been upgraded with an RS wiring kit and Seymour Duncan Seth Lover Model pickups. It also has a Lifton case. All of the original parts and paperwork are included in the case.

Quote from the Certificate of Authenticity: "The instrument bearing the serial number above was handbuilt by Gibson's Custom, Art & Historic Division, where highly skilled artisans are committed to carrying on the company's century-old tradition of creating exquisite, investment-quality instruments. Like all Custom Shop instruments, this guitar boldly reflects the highest standards of imaginative design and masterful craftsmanship."

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.

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 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 it's sales of solid body electric guitars, which had been declining since 1953 when Gibson shipped 2,245 Les Paul Model guitars.