Finding the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard vintage guitar

Many people consider The 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard to be the electric's ultimate, solid-body guitar design. The vintage guitar is famous for its exceptional tonal quality and its unique playability. With time it has risen to become a legend in itself, and an icon of the music industry. As one of the highest priced vintage guitars, The 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, often valued between $ 225,000 and $ 375,000 depending on its condition. In the 1950’s Gibson’s guitars were hand-crafted, and constructed from the finest woods. As a result, the guitar has an exceptional sound, superior to almost anything else that has been produced since. The sound of this unique vintage guitar has only improved with time as the wood materials that 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standards were made from have aged. Many guitar legends, such as Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Mike Bloomfield have performed with this vintage guitar.

But, despite the iconic status that this vintage guitar enjoys today, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard was not all that popular when it was first introduced. Its humbucking pickups and solid mahagony body with a maple top created a mellow tone that was ideal for jazz players. But, jazz players at that time tended to use rather than solid body guitars, archtop. The 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard’s smaller body would have been a good option for rock players, however, the rock sound of the 1950’s made the Fender Stratocaster a better option. As a result, Gibson only manufactured 1700 Sunburst Les Paul guitars between 1958 and 1960, thereafter ending production. This ultimately contributed to its incredibly high value as a vintage guitar today. In fact, it wasn’t until British blues- and rock music invaded the air waves in the mid- 1960’s that the Les Paul Standard became well-known with musicians. The result was, Gibson resumed production of its Les Paul Standard in 1968. But, these vintage guitars do not compare in value compared to the original 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

It goes without saying that original 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standards are difficult to get your hands on. Even so, the price tag on one of these vintage guitars is beyond the reach of most people. Nevertheless, later versions of the vintage guitar can be found for sale on the internet, at more reasonable prices. For one of the largest online collections of vintage guitars and vintage Les Paul’s, visit www.vintageandrare.com. They have over 10,000 vintage instruments from more than 400 of the world’s best dealers and builders. 

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