October 2007 \ Vintage & Upkeep \ Vintage Vault \ 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Serial #9 1942

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Serial #9 1942

Dave Rogers and Jeff DePetro
 Premier Guitar October 2007


Imagine answering the telephone and the person on the other end says, “We have an old guitar we would like to sell.” When asked to describe the guitar, they answer, “It’s a Gibson electric bought new around the late ‘50s. It’s yellow in color with a red outside edge, and it’s a Les Paul model.” After a road trip through the countryside, we were soon in front of a well-known vintage brown case about to be opened.

Inside was an all-original, one-owner 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (#9 1942) with a flame-maple top and sunburst finish. This guitar was originally purchased for $260, including the hardshell case, from a music store in Iowa on July 1st, 1960. All of the original purchase agreements, strap and adjustment instructions were also included. The Lifton-style five-latch case had a “Stone case company in Brooklyn, NY” badge on the inside neck pocket. The Gibson nameplate was not on the outside of the case near the handle.

This guitar weighs nine pounds, with a slightly slim C-neck profile, while the PAF humbucking pickups have double black bobbins. The neck pickup measures 8.6 Ω while the bridge pickup measures 8 Ω. Many of the late 1950s cherry sunburst Les Paul finishes faded over time, and this one is no exception, fading to an iced tea color with a dark hue located near the toggle switch. Gibson offered the Les Paul model in sunburst finish from 1958 thru 1960, switching to the SG body style in 1961. Today, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul is considered to be one of the most highly collectable guitars in the vintage market. The Les Paul can be heard on some of the most historically significant and popular recordings, and many highly informative books and online forums have studied this instrument down to the smallest detail. As often as we walk through our vintage collection room, it’s almost impossible not to glance at the 1959 Les Paul and remember how excited we were on the return trip back to the guitar shop. We still feel very thankful to have experienced this rare purchase opportunity and are proud to display this iconic instrument in our vintage showroom.





Dave's Guitar Shop
Daves Roger’s Collection Is tended to by Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullally
All photos credit Tim Mullally
Dave’s Collection is on dispay at:
Dave's Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-7704
davesguitar.com

     

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Comments

 (23 comments) display by
UsernameComment
MoonieQ 32
on 01/16/2012 		I've had the rare privilege to play one of these, an original - not a modern reissue. I'd say they're not so much over-rated, it's more like over-hyped. Yes, they're fantastic guitars but there's just too much near-religious hysteria about these instruments. Unfortunately, most original examples are locked away in collectors' vaults never to be played or handled by anyone, let alone a musician who could appreciate the beauty of playing one of them. The ridiculous monies involved with these guitars, now considered 'art', like a Rembrandt or Van Gogh, has all but removed them from ever being used to make music again. Sad (and stupid) but very true.
freddy
on 06/16/2011 		In a hundred years, the chambereds will be more securely attached to the maple tops. but unless you really want to keep a dry, woody, hot sound, id find some real hide glue, cook it, and smear it inside, on the maple/mahogony creases. it could only make it more secure, and you get some 'glass'. i wouldnt mess with the fretboard. give the 59s one thing to still feel superior about. but maybe look into the trussrod.
blare johnstone
on 06/12/2011 		i guess ill have to feed my fire-breathing dragon some horse glue. and ill probably need the exact same brand they used in kalamazoo in 59. and ill have to heat it up in the same damn kettle they used, and smear it in with the same brush. no, ill have to rip off the maple top and the fretboard and do it right. im sure ill get lots of encouragement and expert advice on those gibson threads. another destroyed burst; yaahhhh
john kynas
on 06/12/2011 		The horse glue used in these guitars dried to a solid glass-like consistancy. So with the old-growth mahogony and all that, your not only playing one great guitter, your playing a second guitar made of glass, being strum by angels simultaneously. And the sad thing is, these angels are all locked up in vaults and showrooms. Insure them, rent them out in controlled studio environs, or pay-per-play pub settings. get a return on your investments, because when all the old hippies start dropping, so will the demand. I live in a large wealthy city, im willing to drop a hundred or so to plug one of these in my portastudio for an hour, but the opportunities not there.
blare johnstone
on 06/05/2011 		a faded, chambered les paul with lindy fralin pure paf'(uncovered) feels better(lighter), smells better (wood, not laquer), looks better(honeyburst brown fades red), and SOUNDS clearer with better note seperation, than any old, rotting, fade-to-pee yellow, horse glue stinking, vintage sounding 59.
A Person
on 01/04/2011 		If this guitar was mine, anyone touching it without permit would have his/her arm chopped off by me. For making a dent I would kill. Slowly. Painfully. This (or one of its 58-60 brothers(Especially a well figured-topped one)) is the second on my list of most wanted guitars in the world (After a cherry 80's SG). Wish I had a time machine, so I couldgo to 1958, buy ten of these, return to today, and sell 5 of them. I'd become a millionaire. From the other 5, two I'd give to friends, one I'd trash (just for fun), one i'd put to flight case and lock in safe, one I'd send to my Solid Gold Castle on the dark side of the moon, and the last one I'd play.
PRS
on 09/17/2010 		Over-rated. I played a 58 Goldtop at 12th Fret...closed my eyes and you know what...it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be. I plugged in a McCarty PRS and that was it for me. It's a historical piece that's all.
Guitar Hero
on 06/24/2010 		I knew les paul. he said that he had some jap firm make the 1959 version. Les also told me that he liked Yamaha products better than any others. When les and I would sit back and do some cola, he often lamented that most, if not all, guitar players picked the guitar because they couldn't play a REAL musical instrument such as the piano.
chap
on 06/10/2010 		Apparently Mike Campbell bought it. It's the featured guitar on TPaTH's new album, MOJO. Mike is just plain righteous.
tommy
on 05/14/2010 		will 70,000 buy it



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