Gibson Custom Shop 1954 Les Paul

Gibson Custom Shop 1954 Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar Ebony

A first generation Black Beauty; aged like a fine wine.

Les Paul wanted two colors used on the Gibson guitar that would forever bear his name: gold (for its connection to all things fine) and black (because a player's hands would be easily visible against a dark background). Les got the gold in 1952, but had to wait for the black. The Les Paul Custom was introduced in 1954 and featured elegant appointments like gold hardware, multiple binding, and an ebony fretboard. The '54 Custom was also the first solidbody Gibson guitar to use the ABR-1 bridge, the familiar piece of hardware we've all come to know as the tune-o-matic.

Underneath it's luxurious inky finish, this historic re-creation of the original 1954 Custom features a carved mahogany top, a solid mahogany back, one-piece mahogany neck with long neck tenon, an early '50s rounded neck profile, 24-3/4" scale length, and a 1-11/16" nut width. It also has multi-ply white/black binding on the body and headstock, with white single-ply binding on the fingerboard. Its finer appointments include gold hardware, an ebony fingerboard, large pearl block inlays, pearl headstock inlay, and kidney bean tuners. The original circuitry is preserved with the use of CTS pots and bumble bee capacitors in the signal path and the unique pickup array of a vintage P-90 pickup at the bridge and a rare Alnico V pickup at the neck.

The Alnico V pickup was designed in 1952 by Seth Lover and Walt Fuller for Gibson to succeed the P-90 pickup on several of Gibson's distinguished archtop jazz hollowbodies, most famously the L5 CES, ES-5, and Byrdland guitars. Similar to the P-90 in appearance, the Alnico V is easily recognized by its distinctive rectangular pole pieces. It gets its name from the stronger Alnico V magnets, while each coil has 10,000 turns of 42-gauge wire to achieve its clear, round, ringing sound. It made its debut on a solidbody Gibson in the Fretless Wonder of 1954; the Les Paul Custom, or Black Beauty.

Vintage Original Spec series instruments receive a special nitro-cellulose finish treatment yielding the patina of a gently-aged vintage guitar while handcrafting enhances comfort and playability. Each VOS model has a solid mahogany back; historically accurate long-neck tenon for strength and sustain; and period-correct neck profile, hardware, and electronics.

Gibson Custom Shop 1954 Les Paul Custom VOS Electric Guitar Features:

* Carved mahogany top
* Solid mahogany back
* Multi-ply white/black binding on top and back
* Ebony finish
* VOS aging treatment
* Gold hardware
* ABR-1 bridge
* Lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece
* 1-piece mahogany neck with long neck tenon
* 22-fret ebony fingerboard
* Pearl block inlays
* Single-ply white fingerboard binding
* Early '50s rounded neck profile
* 24-3/4" scale length
* 1-11/16" nut width
* Holly headstock veneer
* Kidney bean tuners
* Alnico V neck pickup
* P-90 bridge pickup
* CTS pots and bumble bee capacitors
* 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way selector switch
* Vintage Reissue .010 strings
* Includes Custom Shop case, certificate of authenticity, and custom care kit