Home wrecker - Heart Breaker!
Gibson Custom Shop VOS 1957, 1958 & 1959 Les Paul Standards (according to Gibson)
Gibson is in the business of making the best possible guitars it can make, reissue or otherwise, as long as the company has been in business. So just what is it that makes the new Vintage Original Spec (VOS) 1957 Les Paul Goldtop and 1958 and ’59 Les Paul Standards from the Gibson Custom Shop the best production Les Paul reissues the company has ever made?
“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:
Gibson is in the business of making the best possible guitars it can make, reissue or otherwise, as long as the company has been in business. So just what is it that makes the new Vintage Original Spec (VOS) 1957 Les Paul Goldtop and 1958 and ’59 Les Paul Standards from the Gibson Custom Shop the best production Les Paul reissues the company has ever made?
“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
“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.
Features
This is a 2007 Custom Shop model. I've never had a guitar that came with so much kit including the reproduction Lifton case. Gibson have stopped shipping the Lifton style cases (the Lifton cases now trade for USD 600 on eBay). I like the Vintage Old Spec (VOS). I play my guitars and sweat a fair bit when playing so my guitars seem to age (especially nickel) pretty quick. I didn't want to be fussing over the finish, so I went with the pre-aged VOS.
It's supposed to be the same as an original '59 but back then there was a fair bit of variation back in '59. So exactly what 59 LP did Gibson copy this formal from for the reissue? Given the variation in the vintage LPs I think we are on a loser here.
Every year Gibson release an "even more" accurate recreation of the famous '59. The 2009 model even has "an authentic" slot head rather than Philips head screw holding the pickguard to it's bracket. I've never seen a slot head screw in the position! Even with the variation in the build, Gibson still don't produce an historically accurate '59.
On the other hand some features are just wrong. I can understand the Brazilian rosewood fret board not being available. However, omitting such details as vintage wiring, or non-wired ABR-1s, etc. The dial pointers are razor sharp and just plain dangerous. These issues detract from what is overall a fine guitar.
Body
- Top wood: Carved figured maple
- Back wood: Solid (Real Honduran) 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”
- Neck Pitch: 3°
- Headstock Pitch: 17°
The electronics should be faultless but alas the pots were stiff and two of them are scratchy. I swapped the original wiring for a RS vintage kit with correct "vintage" wiring. This modification gives much better control over volume and tone. The stiff / scratchy pots are gone! While Gibson uses CTS pots in this re-issue, they are nowhere near the quality of the original pots or the RS kit pots. On the other hand the Burstbucker PUPs are excellent.
- Pickups: Burstbucker 1(R) and 2(T)
- Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch
- Hardware color: Nickel
- Vintage-style tulip tuners
- Bridge/Tailpiece: ABR-1/Aluminum stop bar
- Lifton style guitar case, strap, cable, tools, case candy
So this is what it's all about. Other hum bucking Gibsons like ES-335 and SG can sound somewhat be never completely the same as a Les Paul Standards. They definitely have their own vibe. Apparently original 59s sound even better!
I always found it easy to get aggressive / overdriven / distorted / rock sounds from the guitar but clean / jazz tones was a struggle. The LP was too aggressive for clean / MOR / Jazz. So, over the past 15 years I have used the guitar for the heavy bands and songs finding a Stratocaster to be more versatile.
Recently, i've been studying Mike Bloomfield, after 15 years am now getting a great clean sounds. The guitars role is more of an all-rounder covering all material.
Action, Fit, & Finish
It's supposed to look old but there are some areas where it looks a little rough around the edges. Not sure whether:
- These rough edges are polished out during the "as new" polished guitars;
- Or Gibson have taken short cuts with the VOS finish;
- Or Gibson are trying to reflect of the standard of finish back in 1959 when (I'm guessing) production techniques where less exact (but luthiers more skilled). The advertising actually notes that the sides of the headstock are not polished smooth, as per original '59s.
- Or the Guitar is supposed to looked used (a la VOS).
Reliability/Durability
I shouldn't have had to but I've done a few mods:
- Swapped the original strap buttons for strap locks (Gibsons don't bounce)
- Swapped out the wiring harness for a vintage correct RS kit
- Replaced the finger shredding dial pointers and
- Changed the PUP selector nut for a coarse groove one - a la original style.
Customer Support
- No problems with repairs
- Gibson (our the dealer in Australia) have offered to fix the problem with the scratchy pots but I chose to fix it myself.
- A wonder what a Life time warranty means in Australia?
I didn't know I wanted a Les Paul until I played one. I just went to see what a Light Burst colour looked like and ended up buying a "Made In USA" when . I shouldn't have played it. Somebody offered to buy this guitar so I started looking around at other LPs. While the deal feel through I was in the market for a Custom Shop R9. While the R9 was similar to the Made In USA model the R9 was lighter weight, more accurate features and dramatic figure on the maple cap.
It's most expensive new guitar I have bought, although it's a bargain compared to an original 1959 model. Is it worth the money? It's worth what people are prepared to pay. Is it worth at least double the price of a regular Made in USA Standard? The '59 reissue is a better guitar but not twice as good.
There are a couple of issues:
There are a couple of issues:
- Well it's a median weight guitar at just over 9 lbs. I guess 8.75 lbs would be ideal but it's not that heavy and certainly no problem to hold up all night.
- I would have preferred a straight rather than chevron flame but it's not unattractive.
- The original pots shouldn't be scratchy. They're just cheap.
- Non-original features: wiring, pointers and the ABR-1
- And scratches during transportation / handling scratching shouldn't be there.
