Gibson Les Paul Standard # 9 0435 (1959)

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Vintage

Gibson Les Paul Standard # 9 0435 (1959)

Regular price $450,000.00
/

Weight

8lbs 12oz
Nut Width
1 11/16"
Scale Length
24 3/4"
Condition
Very Good

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THE electric guitar by which all others are measured.


Imagine, if you will, trying to put into words just what we've been experiencing here for the better part of three years. A legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul - A BURST - comes into our shop and completely shatters even our wildest of collective expectations. It's everything you hope it's going to be. It's also more, somehow. Is that hype? Years, no...DECADES of building up a reputation as being the pinnacle electric? It's all of it, really.

After about 40 years of living in a private collection in Massachusetts, # 9 0435 has resurfaced - this time, in our hands.

This early 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard is, simply put, a marvelous example of the heralded single-cut. It has one of the most unique Maple tops we've seen on a Burst, straddling the line between some of the plainer flat-sawn looking Maple associated with '58s and the more figured and flamey '59 look we often see through this year. It shows its age gracefully, with clear evidence of having been played consistently throughout the years and yet well-maintained. The original Cherry Sunburst finish has faded to a lovely mix of Iced Tea and somewhat of a Dirty Lemon, while still showing off some of that original red aniline dye under the pickguard and beneath the original M69 pickup rings.

The PAFs are the star of the show, putting out some smooth yet clear tone that has that "Big Tele" thing happening in spades. The neck pickup has all the warmth and bloom you'd ever want in that position, mixed with the perfect midrange response that doesn't ever feel too bloated fatiguing. The bridge pickup is wound a little hotter - just about 8.3k - and has that magical top end chirp with a low mid response that is addictive to say the least. Duane Allman in the front, Billy Gibbons in the back.

Don't discount that middle position - both pickups together is pure harmonic bliss. The bite and immediacy of the bridge pickup with the pillowy and sweet dynamics of the neck pickup bring forth a tonal dimension that isn't always easy to achieve with an LP. We find that this is where you hear the really dynamic response of the guitar - it has a bounce to each note that is unlike anything else we've experienced.

A measure of vibe, feel, and response is critically linked to the neck profile of these guitars. This '59 has what we'd consider a true period profile; it measures at .86" at the 1st fret and tapers comfortably and evenly to .96" at the 12th fret. Some might look at those numbers and think that the carve could be somewhat tough to navigate, but the lean, soft shoulders of a nicely broken-in '59 profile makes the depth fit so perfectly that it almost eliminates the thought of it within a few minutes of playtime.

We could continue to gush ad nauseam about this beast of a guitar, but we thankfully had the hands of Duke Levine wrapped around this thing to give the public a taste of what it really sounds like. Of course, we explore the cranked vintage Marshall sound (who wouldn't?!), but this LP is proof that the transcendently good ones can really do it all. Clean tones are mind-bogglingly good! We urge to listen to that video with some headphones or through your favorite set of monitors for the ultimate playback experience!

Now let's get into some of the 'nuts and bolts' of this historic guitar...

While it has survived in what we'd consider Above Average condition, it wears its years proudly, with natural play and handling wear throughout. The prior owner acquired this guitar c. 1981, where it had gone through a few changes. We highlight some of these in the detailed forensic photos in the listing, but explaining them sometimes helps to add a level of context.

Most notably is the change in tuners. The guitar had been "Grover'ed" prior to the early 80s - a quite common modification done to the likes of Bursts, ES-335s, and SGs throughout their lives, predominantly starting in the late 60s and continuing through the 70s at a seemingly steady pace. Thankfully, the original Kluson single-line tuners remained with the guitar, and are still with it today. As does happen with the older Klusons, the buttons have shrunken and degraded beyond their useful life. The buttons still remain on the tuner shafts, but they've been boxed up for preservation, and a nice functional pair of Historic Makeover spec Klusons have been installed in their place. What's leftover from the old Grover conversion is the presence of some small Maple collar inserts in the bushing holes of the headstock, as well as a half-dozen screw holes from the change in mounting style.

Another common modification particularly common in the 1970s was the removal of the original nickel-plated pickup covers. This LP had its covers removed at some point in its history, but they'd been reinstalled, and very cleanly at that. Whoever reinstalled them used as much of the original solder as possible, and kept distortion of the cover to a minimum. Again, we point to some of the photos to show the quality of that work. The pickups themselves show no evidence of modification beyond having their covers removed.

The more obvious alterations are the addition of the strap button on the back of the heel and the replacement of the original input jack plate. While the strap button relocation is a bit puzzling, it's not totally unheard of. The input jack plate replacement, however, is about as common as you'll find any modification on a vintage Gibson that shared this part. The replacement clearly happened very early on, and the work is clean without modification to the body. Instead of sourcing a proper vintage (or vintage-correct) replacement, we decidedly to leave that bit of history intact. To be honest, it's a lot sturdier than the plastic!

There's some evidence of what might be a small amount of overspray on the back of the body in the buckle rash area, but it also presents as old work to the point where it blends in quite cleanly with the original finish on the guitar.

The M69 pickup surrounds, pickguard, knobs, ABR-1, stopbar tailpiece, and studs are original to the guitar. The wiring harness is as well, with a full set of original Centralab 500k potentiometers showing the 44th week of 1958 for their manufacturing dates. Original bumble bee tone capacitors also remain.

Another cool feature about this Burst is the fretwire. This guitar was completed early enough in the year to be outfitted with the smaller fretwire found on LPs from 1952-1958. While they show some wear over the years, there's still enough wire to work with. We felt it was important to leave these intact and let the next owner decide what works best for them. There's no doubt that the guitar plays well (queue up that Duke Levine video again!).

Celebrating our first Burst in the store's 56-year history is quite a feat, and that's not lost on us. It's been an incredible honor to steward such an iconic piece of guitar history back out into the world. Now that we've had a taste, we look forward to a future where the opportunities to continue those celebratory experiences only increases.


Body

Style
Solidbody
Body
Mahogany w/ Maple Cap
Finish
Nitrocellulose
Color
Sunburst | Iced Tea / Lemon fade

Hardware

Pickups
Original PAF pickups (7.27k Neck / 8.33k Bridge)
Electronics
Original Centralab pots w/ '134844' date codes
Controls
Volume (x2) / Tone (x2) / 3-Way Toggle
Bridge
Original no-wire ABR-1 and stopbar tailpiece
Tuners
Original Kluson Single Line | Historic Makover tuners installed
Pickguard
Original
Knobs
Original Amber bonnet

Neck

Neck
Mahogany
Binding
White
Carve
59 C .86-.96"
Fingerboard
Brazilian Rosewood
Radius
12"
Inlays
Trapezoid
Frets
Original pre-59 fretwire
Nut
Nylon
Scale Length
24 3/4"

Other

Condition
Very Good - Light/Moderate play wear / Covers removed from PAFs / Replaced input jack plate
Serial #
9 0435
Weight
8lbs 12oz
Case
Original 5-Latch Lifton | Good (Replaced lining)

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