Gibson Custom Shop LPR-8 Left-Handed - USA 2014

The 1958 Les Paul. The first year of the most iconic shape, spec and colour combination in the history of Gibson solid body guitars. 1958 was the year. It was the year that Gibson moved away from the gold finish on their Les Paul model, in favour of the supremely beautiful sunburst finish. This, combining with the cream binding and pickguard, and subtle brilliance of the nickel plated hardware (not to mention the PAF pickups) made this arguably the most beautiful guitar to ever come out of the Gibson factory.  

The ‘burst, PAF loaded Les Paul was ahead of its time. So much so, that it was somewhat a commercial failure at the time. That’s right – the holy grail of electric guitars was a commercial failure. As such, only 434 of these instruments were made in 1958. Those lucky enough to have one are well aware of their value today. Many hundreds of thousands of dollars! That said, one can enjoy the feel, sound and looks of one of these instruments for a lot less thanks to the craftsmanship of the Gibson Custom Shop – creating incredible reproductions of this iconic design.  

This ‘58 Reissue is one such reproduction. Built in 2014, this instrument has had exquisite attention to detail, not only in the construction, but also in the subtle ageing of hardware to create a timeless piece of art. These do not come up often, especially in the left-handed iteration. They tend not to stick around, so do not hesitate to inquire! 

The presentation of this guitar is accurate to the original. Binding bleed on the neck (the red bleeding onto the off-white neck binding) is reminiscent of original examples, though some experts say that this fades with playing and exposure to UV light.  

There is a reason original examples of these are the most valuable factory production guitars in the world. In the 1960s guitarists such as Jimmy Paige, Eric Clapton, Dicky Betts, Mike Bloomfield among many others all came to revere the burst Les Paul, at more or less the same time, without much knowledge of what was happening across the pond. They all independently came across the instrument and fell in love with it. The monstrous PAF tone, and effortless playability took these guitarists to new heights. Playing one live it all makes sense. With seemingly endless sustain, power and harmonic content, these guitars almost play themselves.  

This guitar is in exceptional condition – with minimal play wear. There are some cracks on the volume and tone knobs and some tasteful light tarnishing on the nickel-plated pickups and hardware. There are no chips, or cracks in the finish or binding. The neck is a chunky, confidence inspiring ‘58-profile with a depth of 23.3mm at the first fret, with enough heft to give a vintage feel (and sustain) without it being overbearing. The center seam burst figuring is subtle, which is accurately reminiscent of the ‘58 models. Only the faintest hint of marks on the back of the instrument to show this guitar has been played, enjoyed and taken care of. All in all, this is an excellent guitar, looking for the right (or should I say left?) person to come along! 

Specs: 

Scale length: 24 ¾" 

Fretboard Radius: 12” 

Action at 1st fret: 0.75mm 

Action at 12th fret: 2mm 

Neck depth at 1st fret: 23.3mm 

Neck depth at 12th fret: 26mm 

Nut Width: 43.4mm 

12 fret width: 52.8mm 

Neck material: Mahogany with Rosewood fretboard 

Fretboard inlays: Trapezoid pearloid 

Body: Mahogany with figured maple cap 

Total guitar weight: 4.03kg / 8.9lb 

Body size at lower bout: 333mm 

Front Pickup: reproduction PAF 

Bridge Pickup: reproduction PAF 

Tuners: Kluson deluxe single line tulip 

Pickguard: Cream (clear included in case) 

Bridge: ABR-1 with stop tail 

Electronics: CTS mid 2014 500k pots with bumble bee (2200f) capacitors 

Hardware: Aged Nickel 

Case: OHSC + case candy