Gibson Historic Collection 1957 Les Paul Custom ‘Black Beauty’ reissue + OHSC
Gibson Custom Shop Historic reissue from 2007 of the classic 1957 Les Paul Custom ‘Black Beauty’. Killer playing and sounding LP Custom with upgraded LeoSounds hand wound PAF clones and bags of mojo.
*Gallery below. Click on thumbnails to view in full screen*
Not to be confused with the regular CS series of Custom Shop Les Paul Customs, this is the Historic series reissue of the 1957 Les Paul Custom which features period correct specifications including solid mahogany body with carved top (no separate maple cap), ebony fretboard, one-piece mahogany neck with long tenon, correct 50’s C profile neck, 50’s wiring with bumblebee caps and correct hardware.
Originally released in 1954 as a more upmarket top of the range version of the Les Paul Standard, there is nothing that looks, sounds or plays quite like a Les Paul Custom. With it’s high gloss black finish, gold hardware, ebony fretboard, mother of pearl inlays and impeccable build quality the Les Paul Custom was soon to be known simply as the ‘Black Beauty’. In 1957 the pick ups were changed from the original P-90 bridge and Alnico 5 ‘staple’ neck pick up to Gibson’s new PAF Humbucker pick ups. The majority of 57-61 Les Paul Customs had 3 pick ups but there were a small number which came with the more user friendly 2 pick up configuration. This reissue is of the two pick up version.
This guitar is in very good shape but has been well played (for good reason) and shows signs of wear. Upon close inspection there are a number of small dings on the front and back of the body, wear marks on either side of the bottom strap button as well as some buckle rash on the back. There is also some play wear on the back of the neck and the gold plated hardware is taking on an aged patina. But all in all this adds to the mojo of the guitar. This is not a case queen but a guitar that has been played a lot and demands to be played even more.
The neck profile and low action make this an effortless playing guitar. The two hand wound LeoSounds PAF clones sound fantastic especially when cranked up a bit. This is a killer Les Paul Custom make no mistake.
Comes with the original hard shell case and the Certificate of Authenticity.
