| When first introduced in 1952, the
Gibson Les Paul was an instrument like none that had come before it and
in a very real sense it was still a guitar in development. Over the next
few years the model would undergo several key cosmetic and technical alterations
that would truly set it apart from other six-stringed instruments. The
first modification made by Gibson was the improvement of its rudimentary
trapeze tailpiece, which was swapped for a wrap-over bar bridge in 1953.
Gibson’s revolutionary Tune-o-matic bridge and separate stopbar tailpiece
followed in 1955, and gradually the model was poised to reaching its zenith,
but two major developments yet to come — one a quantum leap in sound and
performance, the other a sweet upgrade in appearance — would serve to crystallize
this classic.
The first of these arrived on the 1957 model.
As great as the Les Paul Goldtop played and sounded by 1956, Gibson was
still chasing a full yet noise-free performance from its electric guitars.
Noted Gibson engineer Seth Lover answered Gibson President Ted McCarty’s
call and created one of the greatest tone icons of all time: the “Patent
Applied For” (PAF) humbucking pickup. In addition to reducing hum in Gibson
guitars, the new pickup also optimized the fuller, warmer and more sustaining
tone that has come to be known as the inherent voice of the Les Paul.
The second development arrived in 1958,
and finally heralded the arrival of the most legendary incarnation of the
Les Paul Standard. In order to maximize the potential beauty of the carved
maple tops being applied to Les Pauls, which often revealed highly figured
quilted, flamed or tiger-striped maple, Gibson applied a lush, semi-transparent
cherry sunburst finish to the model. The “Burst” had been born, and not
only did it look fantastic, but with its carved top, powerful humbucking
pickups, versatile Tune-o-matic bridge and super-comfortable, hyper-fast
set neck with full access to its 22 frets, it was the most advanced solidbody
electric guitar the music world had ever seen. A year later, with the arrival
of a somewhat slimmer, faster neck profile in 1960, the Les Paul had truly
reached its zenith.
All of the stunning features that made the Les
Paul model great, are present and accounted for in this 1960 Classic model.
With its 496R neck pickup and powerful 500T bridge pickup, this versatile
instrument really kicks out the tone ... and the carved maple top on mahogany
body, amber top hat knobs, nickel plated hardware, rosewood
fretboard, trapezoid inlays and oh-so-comfortable slim taper '60s
neck profile make this instrument easy on the eyes and a pleasure to play! |
