“There are a lot of details,” Historic Program Manager Edwin Wilson says, “and they all add up to this: the most accurate reproductions of the original ’50s Les Paul specifications that it’s possible to build today.” And as any guitarist who’s a stickler for superlative tone and unparalleled playability will tell you, the magic is in the details.
In addition to the specs that so many Gibson players demand—such as the one-piece mahogany neck with long tenon, Burstbucker PAF reproduction pickups, solid non-weight relieved mahogany backs, and accurate rounded ’50s neck profiles—other critical but lesser-seen details mount up thick and fast:
- Vintage-style, vintage-profile fret wire
- Historically accurate thin fingerboard binding that’s only .040-inch thick (which contributes greatly to the comfortable, vintage-feeling, “rolled” fingerboard edges)
- Historically accurate carved arch on the guitars’ maple tops
- Correct height of the binding in the cutaway
- Accurately sized back control pocket route
- Historically accurate 1/2-inch wire channel from toggle switch to control pocket
- 5/8-inch heel with accurate heel shape
- Correct distance between pickups
- Historically accurate bridge, tailpiece, and control holes
- Correctly tapered headstock with tuner holes in a straight line (rather than following the headstock edge)
- 3/8-inch back-edge radius
- Holly Headstock Veneer (as opposed to a wood composite fiber)
- Silk Screened “Les Paul” signature on headstock (as opposed to a decal)
- Correctly tapered headstock
- Push in bushing tuners are in a straight line (as opposed to following the headstock edge)
- 3/8 inch back-edge radius
- Historic Spec Truss Rod Cover
- Historically accurate thin 0.04 inch thick Fingerboard binding with “Rolled” edges to give a more comfortable playing area
- Vintage profile fret wire with computerized “perfect” nut cutting
- Tortoise Dot Markers on the side binding of the neck
- Historically accurate Trapezoid Inlay shape with sharp points and authentic “swirl” patterns
- Accurate Truss Rod Route with rounded end for easier adjustment
- Long Thick Neck Tenon extends to a point under the neck pickup cavity
- Historically Accurate Carved tops with a flat level center plane which allows bridge and tailpiece to be mounted closer to the body for increased resonance
- Correct height of the binding in the cutaway exposing a slim piece of maple top
- Solid one piece NON-weight relieved mahogany backs (not bookmatched)
- Thinner Nitro-cellulose lacquer finish which is applied, sanded and buffed much the way it used to be done.
- Period correct stain and filler
- Strict weight limits on mahogany backs and select maple tops
- Faded Sunburst finishes to reflect natural aging colors
- Accurately sized back control pocket route
- Historically accurate ½ inch wire channel from toggle switch to control pocket
- 5/8 inch heel with accurate heel shape
- Correct distance between neck & bridge pickups
- Historically accurate thin switchwasher and jackplate that conforms to the shape of the body
- Silk-screened “Rhythm and Treble on the switchwasher
- Historically accurate bridge, tailpiece and control holes
- Historically accurate reproductions of the original PAF Humbuckers (Burstbucker 1 & Burstbucker 2) “with Patent Applied For” stickers
- CTS Pots
- Bumblebee Capacitors
- Vintage style ABR-1 bridge is screwed directly into the top as were the originals
- Historic Spec Lightweight Aluminum Tailpiece
- Volume & Tone Indicators (where applicable)
- All hardware is chemically aged to replicate years of tarnish
- Custom Shop Reissue Lifton Style Case
- Certificate of Authenticity, Custom Care Kit, Hang Tags
While plenty of these are primarily for historical accuracy and appearance—all determined by closer examination and measurement of vintage original ’50s Les Pauls—many of the fine details of the VOS models do indeed affect their tone and performance.
“The guitars have also been given a lower neck pitch,” Wilson sites as an example, “so that the bridge is closer to the body, rather than up high like a ’70s guitar, which in turn improves the tone. We have also changed the actual location of the trussrod—we x-rayed some ’50s Les Pauls and found where the trussrod was in relation to the top and the back of the neck, and have repositioned the VOS trussrods accurately according to this.”
Further details also very obviously impact sound and performance. The VOS Les Pauls receive a nitrocellulose lacquer finish like many other Gibson Custom Shop and Gibson USA guitars, but the process on the VOS models has been revised to reflect the way Gibson finished these guitars back in the day. They receive a thinner lacquer finish, which is applied, sanded, and buffed differently—which is to say, more accurately. This not only gives the instruments a look more like a gently aged and well-cared-for vintage Les Paul, but helps the guitars “breathe,” and therefore to resonate more freely.
Add to all this the strict weight limits on and careful selection of mahogany and maple wood stocks, accurate hardware, wiring and electronics, and of course impeccable Gibson Custom Shop craftsmanship, and the result is a range of Les Pauls that feel, look, and sound as close as you can get to an original late 1950s Gibson Les Paul, without recourse to a time machine. For musician or collector, the VOS models are the best and most accurate Les Paul reissues Gibson has ever made. A pure pleasure to play, a total delight to behold.
1959 LES PAUL STANDARD
Body
- Top wood: Carved figured maple
- Back wood: Solid mahogany
- Binding: Single-ply cream on top
- Colors: Washed Cherry, Faded Tobacco, Iced Tea
- Neck construction: 1-piece mahogany w/long neck tenon
- Fingerboard: 22 fret rosewood
- Inlays: Vintage trapezoid
- Binding: Single-ply cream
- Profile: 1959 rounded
- Scale length/nut width: 24 3/4”; 1 11/16”
- Pickups: Burstbucker 1(R) and 2(T)
- Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch
- Hardware color: Nickel
- Bridge/Tailpiece: ABR-1/Aluminum stopbar
