Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop (1952)

The 1952 Gibson Les Paul model is quite literally the gold standard when it comes to Gibson-made solidbody electric guitars. It revolutionized Gibson's position in a booming industry and paved the way for some of the most iconic guitars ever produced. It's no surprise that some of these original examples carry some of the best foundational qualities of what was to come, even in their infancy.

This late 1952 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop left the factory in its first-version configuration, which featured a long trapeze under-wraparound tailpiece. A common issue that plagued many of these first-year examples was a shallow neck set from the factory and the use of a bridge that wasn't ergonomically friendly. By the middle of 1953, Gibson had corrected this with a new neck set angle/pitch and the introduction of the wraparound tailpiece, greatly improving playability, tuning, and sustain.

This particular guitar has been carefully converted from its original trapeze bridge configuration and outfitted with a Music City Studfinder wraparound bridge. While it still retains a relatively shallow neck set, the combination of a well-performed conversion and a pro refret has resulted in about as smooth playing of a '52 LP as you'll find. The nice full early 50s neck carve is a total joy to play, and it's got an incredible amount of resonance, too. 

Plugged in, the original P90 pickups deliver a truly sweet and warm tone with great fundamental response. Midrange is not as bold as it seems to get later into the decade as well. That being said, this LP can still deliver some Mike Tyson level punches if you need it to. Paired up with a great old Marshall or Tweed Bassman? Look out!

Paired up with its original brown 4-latch case which is in great condition, this makes for a performance-ready vintage Goldtop that needs nothing more than a great amp to be paired up with.