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

 (47 comments) display by
UsernameComment
snotboy
on 05/09/2013 		Mention a 1970s deluxe, and the '59 conglomerate will tell you how heavy they are. Sure, anything made from 1974 on with maple necks by nashville rookies was. But ill put my 9 pound fat 73 deluxe against any 59 for sound, feel, looks, smell, probably taste the same. i found my ultimate 'blood shot bitch', and ill never buy or play anything else. thanks gibson. i love you
dickface
on 03/25/2013 		I got a couple of shaws put in the standard 82. HOLY SHIT. Im like a robot shootin fire in space. That fn guitar will be the holy grail. got the direct screw/no anchor bridge. Its quilted, but also with right amount of tiger stripes. No ink serial# that can be rubbed off, but stamped right in sayin forever 'this mofo was made in kal by the masters'
Julia
on 02/04/2013 		MY HUSBAND JUST PASSED AND i HAVE A 59 STANDARD AND A 68 GOLDTOP. HENRYJULIA@GMAIL.COM
bayou self
on 01/03/2013 		I play the radio a lot better than the custom shop edition Les Paul s/n 83 146. Just wondering if anybody knows any thing about this model.
wiredawg
on 11/14/2012 		No Wonder they Call You Dick Face. You are such a cinical ol ass hole aren't you. Owning 4 Guitars (2 old 2New surely doesn't make you a expert on the subject. Once you have owned 50 - 60 guitars and know what each of them sound like and every little tone it can or will not create on it's own with out 10 different pedals at your feet. Once you have owned and played a number of Vintage Guitars Come back and comment. Till then Take care of your ears so you can hear it when or if you make it that long. And Yes I lost some of MY Collection in New Orleans. I still have a few and at this time I am selling a 55 Gold Top with a Factory Bigsby for $35.K
dickface
on 08/09/2012 		money for nothin was recorded with a '84 59reissue, probly with shaws
snotboy
on 08/08/2012 		Yeah. was there any music recorded with tim shaws? t-tops throughout the 70s, and 490s since the 90s. the 80s shaw era was flyinvs, kramers,jacksons,strats. was there any shaw records, or were they all shipped to japan
dickface
on 08/07/2012 		58-60 pafs were inconsistant with the wiring, and time is warping them. tim shaws are worse, made with cheap wire. The hype about these old pickups is just old hippys sellin their garbage as they replace them, convincing all the younguns they need the real authentic stuff
snotboy
on 08/01/2012 		i have a theory about brazilian fretboards vs regular fretboards. ITS THE SAME WOOD. regular fretboards, the grains run the LENGTH of the board. 'brazilian', the grains go across the WIDTH of the board, so instead of the same 10 or so grains, you see a hundred or so.
dickface
on 07/30/2012 		I play the same stuff on my 4 gibsons; '70 sunburst custom sounds like smooth butter melting in a new orleans jazz club. standard 82 sounds like fires exploding from hell. '05 flyin v sounds like red lazers through nebulas.'08 standard sounds like drinkin tang on the moon. except for puttin fralin paf in standard82 bridge ( i got it cheap with a scratchy symour duncan), i wouldnt change any of them.



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