1959 Gibson Les Paul Special
There’s a good chance guitars don’t get any better than this 1959 Gibson Les Paul Special; particularly so if P-90s are your kind of thing.
This early double-cut Les Paul Special was acquired from its owner of the last 60 years here in Southern Ontario. It was bought used in 1961 and given to him when he was just 10 years old. We’re told that he played it for a few years until he met a girl who was more ‘special’ to him than his guitar, and almost never played it again. It got pulled out from under the bed every few years at family gatherings. It looks like it’s not been played much, and it’s 100% original. Same can be said of the original 5-latch Les Paul case it’s housed in. If you have a ’59 Standard you know how hard it is to find one of these cases in this kind of condition.
Mahogany body with set-neck, TV yellow finish, bound rosewood fingerboard, and 5-ply pickguard. Every detail of this guitar is factory original – every screw, every solder joint, and every bit of finish. The original frets show only slight playwear, the nut has never been out, the tuner buttons are not shrunken, and the black paint is still intact on the truss rod nut. The original hangtags are still with the guitar, too, of course.
Neck angle and playability are excellent, and the guitar has been set-up in-shop with a string action of 4-5 64ths at the 12th fret with 11-49 strings. The pickups are tremendously good sounding, and this guitar seriously rocks. The neck angle sets the strings at a perfect height relative to both pickups, which is more than often not the case with a Special or a Jr.
7.4lbs. Pickup DC values of 8.2 (neck) and 8.3 (bridge). Neck thickness of .932” at the 1st fret and .972” at the 12th. Pots are dated 35th week of 1959.
Needless to say, this guitar’s flaws are few: There is discoloration of the lacquer on the back of the neck where it made contact with the case’s neck support for 63 years, and there are stress-marks in the side finish caused by the neck pickup cavity’s proximity to the guitar’s perimeter. We glued the typical minor crack that happens through the pickup rout’s top side. This properly stiffened the area and will prevent this issue (endemic to the design of these first double cut Specials) from becoming a concern. For more details on this repair, click HERE. There are no breaks anywhere in the neck.
This is among the finest TV Specials we’ve ever seen.
With original 5 Latch case and original tags and strap.
This early double-cut Les Paul Special was acquired from its owner of the last 60 years here in Southern Ontario. It was bought used in 1961 and given to him when he was just 10 years old. We’re told that he played it for a few years until he met a girl who was more ‘special’ to him than his guitar, and almost never played it again. It got pulled out from under the bed every few years at family gatherings. It looks like it’s not been played much, and it’s 100% original. Same can be said of the original 5-latch Les Paul case it’s housed in. If you have a ’59 Standard you know how hard it is to find one of these cases in this kind of condition.
Mahogany body with set-neck, TV yellow finish, bound rosewood fingerboard, and 5-ply pickguard. Every detail of this guitar is factory original – every screw, every solder joint, and every bit of finish. The original frets show only slight playwear, the nut has never been out, the tuner buttons are not shrunken, and the black paint is still intact on the truss rod nut. The original hangtags are still with the guitar, too, of course.
Neck angle and playability are excellent, and the guitar has been set-up in-shop with a string action of 4-5 64ths at the 12th fret with 11-49 strings. The pickups are tremendously good sounding, and this guitar seriously rocks. The neck angle sets the strings at a perfect height relative to both pickups, which is more than often not the case with a Special or a Jr.
7.4lbs. Pickup DC values of 8.2 (neck) and 8.3 (bridge). Neck thickness of .932” at the 1st fret and .972” at the 12th. Pots are dated 35th week of 1959.
Needless to say, this guitar’s flaws are few: There is discoloration of the lacquer on the back of the neck where it made contact with the case’s neck support for 63 years, and there are stress-marks in the side finish caused by the neck pickup cavity’s proximity to the guitar’s perimeter. We glued the typical minor crack that happens through the pickup rout’s top side. This properly stiffened the area and will prevent this issue (endemic to the design of these first double cut Specials) from becoming a concern. For more details on this repair, click HERE. There are no breaks anywhere in the neck.
This is among the finest TV Specials we’ve ever seen.
With original 5 Latch case and original tags and strap.
