1952 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top

Gibson Les Paul Gold Top 1952 full front view

Gibson Les Paul Gold Top 1952 full rear view

Comments	And here it is, needing little introduction – an all original 1952 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top. Gibson introduced the Les Paul model in 1952, and produced it as seen here for only a short time. The combination trapeze tailpiece and bridge, coupled with the shallow neck angle, proved to be impractical from a player’s perspective. By 1953, the trapeze was replaced by a stop-bar tailpiece and in late 1953 the neck angle increased. This example is from later 1952; the fingerboard has binding, but the Kluson tuners have hex-shaped (rather than round)bushings. It plays quite well. There are really not a lot of 1952 Gibson Les Paul models left in original condition. Many were converted for playability reasons, and in this case it looks like at one time, an attempt was made to use a post-mounted TOM bridge and trapeze tailpiece, but these have been removed and the original parts restored.
Serial Number	No serial number, this is an early model and only has ‘Made in the USA’ stamped on the back of the headstock. Built during 1952 at the Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Pricing	$16,999.99 with original brown case. SOLD
Neck	Mahogany neck with bound rosewood fingerboard, black headplate with mother of pearl Gibson logo, Les Paul Model decal.
Frets	Original narrow frets with some wear.
Body	The original Les Paul design – a mahogany slab body with a carved maple top, providing rich midrange and a bright, tightly defined top end. Bound top.
Finish	Original nitrocellulose lacquer finish in decent condition – lacquer naturally checks and yellows with age, and there is some play wear. The gold top has taken on the slight greenish tint so characteristic of this finish.
Hardware/electronics	All original – Kluson Deluxe tuners with plastic ‘Keystone’ buttons, no Kluson logo and hex bushings, two P-90 pickups, pickup selector, individual volume and tone controls, creme plastic trim parts, gold hatbox knobs, and of course the distinctive 1952 Les Paul trapeze bridge. It looks like at one time, an attempt was made to use a post-mounted TOM bridge and trapeze tailpiece, but these have been removed.
Playability/Action	This guitar plays like a 1952 Les Paul. The action, with the strings as they are, is fine and the guitar plays cleanly.
Case	Original brown case included.