NEW! Original 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard

1958 GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD BURST This guitar is an original 1958 Gibson Les Paul "sunburst", serial no. 8-5737. I have owned it Since 1981. It has been heavily restored. At the time I acquired it the headstock had been rebuilt, and it had been refinished poorly. Also the control cavity had been modified, with three extra holes put through to the top for extra controls, and the cavity itself had been enlarged. The original PAF pickups were missing. I patched the holes in the top with maple, and restored the wood missing from the control cavity with mahogany. Then I refinished it. Lastly I restored the missing pickups with original PAF's, a very rare set of "reverse" zebra PAF's that were originally in a 1960 es345. That is the condition it is in today, very nicely restored. The guitar is light, weighing 8.4 lbs. The pickups rate 7.8k ohms resistance for the neck, 8.1k for the bridge. The instrument is very resonant, with a very clear, bright, complex treble tone, a smooth and recessive mid tone, and a rich, complex bass. Overall a "scooped" tone acoustically. The instrument is quite loud acoustically, and very sensitive, responding very dynamically and with great liveliness to pick attack. I have compared the guitar to two Gibson historics, a 2001 Murphy, and a 2009 historic. Both of these guitars were considered exceptional instruments among historics. My '58 has a significantly slimmer neck profile than either instrument, particularly than the 2001, which had very pronounced "shoulders". It is lighter than both of these guitars, especially the 2001 guitar. It is significantly louder and more delicately and complexly toned acoustically than either of the historics, brighter and "sweeter". Electronically, it has much more "bloom" in the tone, with a much longer lasting, more nuanced sustain than either historic. Also its response to variations in picking is more sensitive, yielding a broader range of shades of tone depending on how the pick strikes the strings. The 'burst is also more alive feeling, and vibrates in the hands quite a bit more strongly than either historic. Both historics have a thicker somewhat more muddy electronic tone than the 'burst, which has a significantly more "open" tone to it, with an amazing range of upper harmonics in the treble extending way into the supersonic range. The '58 also has a much clearer note separation in complex chords than either historic, even at higher gain. Overall this guitar is an exceptional very lively instrument, and a joy to play.

I have compared the guitar to two Gibson historics, a 2001 Murphy, and a 2009 historic. Both of these guitars were considered exceptional instruments among historics. My '58 has a significantly slimmer neck profile than either instrument, particularly than the 2001, which had very pronounced "shoulders". It is lighter than both of these guitars, especially the 2001 guitar. It is significantly louder and more delicately and complexly toned acoustically than either of the historics, brighter and "sweeter". Electronically, it has much more "bloom" in the tone, with a much longer lasting, more nuanced sustain than either historic. Also its response to variations in picking is more sensitive, yielding a broader range of shades of tone depending on how the pick strikes the strings. The 'burst is also more alive feeling, and vibrates in the hands quite a bit more strongly than either historic. Both historics have a thicker somewhat more muddy electronic tone than the 'burst, which has a significantly more "open" tone to it, with an amazing range of upper harmonics in the treble extending way into the supersonic range. The '58 also has a much clearer note separation in complex chords than either historic, even at higher gain. Overall this guitar is an exceptional very lively instrument, and a joy to play.