Gibson Custom Shop Historic Select 59 Les Paul in Believer Burst

Following on from our "Inspired Series" of Made to Measure Les Pauls and our 2015 visit to the Gibson Custom Factory in Nashville. Andertons are proud to offer, completely unique to us, five Historic Select 1959 Les Pauls.

Building on from Gibson's new True Historic range introduced in 2015, this Historic Select range of Les Paul's features all the hard work, blood, sweat, tears, research and develop that Gibson have put into their guitars since the start of the custom shop in 1991.

The Concept

The True Historic range allows the player to get the closest guitar, not only in looks but feel, hardware and sound to the original 1959 Les Paul guitars. These guitars were only released in three original colours limiting your options. Seeing an opportunity to give our customers something they won't find anywhere else and truly inspired by the amount of work that goes into each guitar, we decided to take five of the best ever finishes ever seen on a Les Paul.

The Materials

We would use five of the best pieces of maple hand selected from Gibson's special selection of wood. No these aren't tops from any pile, these come hand selected by Gibson Customs head builder. They are part of a selection of maple billets reserved for only the best looking Les Pauls, kept separate from everything else, reserved only for the right guitar, this is the private stock of Gibson's wood bank.

The flames on these tops are so special only a hand full of guitars worldwide will have anything close to these. Featuring a range of tight flames, wide grains and deep sweeps allowing for a full three dimensional carve. Each Historic Select Guitar comes featuring all the new Gibson Plastics and pickups for that authentic fit and finish. Crafted with new hand finished, wet-sanded bodies it looks just as it would have coming out of the case new in 1959. You will not find tops like this on any other run of Les Paul's. Each mahogany body was hand picked from a pile of light weight woods, glued with hide glue on body and neck join allowing for the perfect marriage of materials to give the player a completed guitar that was of a good, light weight with plenty of punch, resonant and sustain. Just how they should be.

The Final Product

Each colour has been hand selected to match the top and uses the same finish from Gibson huge range of their best loved Collectors Choice models. This range allows you to get something truly stunning and not found anywhere else. An exact replica of a '59 Les Paul (even down to the same tooling marks on the plastics) but in colour never before used in 1959!

The Andertons Touch

This is what really separates this guitar from all the other Custom Shop models you will find. Not only does it use Gibson's knowledge coming from 100+ years of building instruments but also Andertons' 50 years of being in the music industry. They know how to make some of the best guitars in the world and we know what makes a guitar special for you. It is the combination of these two forces that have made this guitar a possibility as this is not your normal Custom Shop guitar. You will not find this anywhere else as this is part of an Andertons special run just available here.

Specifications

Top
Wood Species: Figured Maple
Pieces: 2
Binding: Single Bound, True Historic Reissue Cream
 
Back
Wood Species: Mahogany
Pieces: 1
Binding: Top Only
Weight
Weight Relief: None
Average Weight (body only): 2.95 kg / 6.5 lbs average
 
Materials Used
Glue: Hand Applied Hide Glue
 
Body Contour
Carve: Original 1959 Les Paul
 
Neck
Wood Species: Mahogany
Pieces: 1
 
Details
Truss Rod: Historic Reissue-No Tubing
Profile: 1959 Les Paul
Thickness at Fret 1: 2.26 cm /.900"
Thickness at Fret 12: 2.54 cm / 1.0"
Average Weight: .453592 kg / 1.25 lbs
 
Peg Head
Type: 1959 True Historic Thin Head Veneer
Inlay: Pearl
Peg Head Binding: None
Logo: "Gibson"
Silkscreen: "Les Paul"
Headstock Angle: 17 Degrees
Tonal, Resonant, and/or Technical Effect: Holly head veneer has been re-tooled, reproducing the original thinner specification of the late 1950's
 
Neck Fit
Joint Angle: 4 Degrees
Type: Reissue
Adhesive: Hot Hide Glue
Gauges Used:
Pitch and Alignment Gauge

Nut
Style: 6/6
Material: Nylon
Width: 4.28 cm / 1.687"
Slots:
E: .13716 cm / 0.054"
A: .10414 cm / 0.041"
D: .04826 cm / 0.019"
G: .0381 cm / 0.015"
B: .03556 cm / 0.014"
e: .03048 cm / 0.012"
 
Fingerboard
Wood Species: Solid Indian Rosewood
Pieces: 1
 
Fingerboard Details
Radius: 30.38 cm / 12"
Frets: 22
Nut/End of Board: 4.28498 cm / 1.687" @ nut, 5.6896 cm / 2.24" @ end of board
Scale: 62.865 cm / 24.75"
Binding: .040 True Historic Reissue Cream
Side Dots (Color): Tortoise Shell
 
Fingerboard Inlays
Style: Trapezoid
Material: Aged Nitrocellulose
Dimensions: Large: 2.921 cm x 1.7018 cm / 1.150" x .670", Small: 3.937 cm x .6096 cm / 1.550 x .240"
Average Weight: .75 lbs / .340194 kg

Hardware
Tuning Keys Style: Reissue Kluson Deluxe Green Keys, Single Band
Material: Nickel Plated Steel
Weight: 3.6 oz
 
Tuning Keys Details
Tuning Ratio: 12:01
Gear Type: Closed
What is allowable turn: 1/4
Plating specs: Nickel Plated Stamped Steel
Part numbers: 130-430-14889/90
 
String Dimensions
E: .11684 cm / .046W
A: .09144 cm / .036W
D: .06604 cm / .026W
G: .04318 cm / .017P
B: .03302 cm / .013P
e: .0254 cm / .010P
 
Bridge
Style: ABR With Thumbwheels
Material: Zinc Surrounded by a die casting alloy for casting flow
Plating Specs: Nickel Plated
Part number: 130-430-10161
Weight: .0637 kg / 2.25 oz.
 
Dimensions of String Slots
E: 0.1778 cm / 0.070"
A: 0.13716 cm / 0.054"
D: 0.1016 cm / 0.040"
G: 0.0635 cm / 0.025"
B: 0.0508 cm / 0.02"
e: 0.0381 cm / 0.015"
 
Tailpiece
Style: Reissue Lightweight Aluminum
Compensated: No
Material: Aluminum
Plating Specs: Nickel
Part number: 130-430-11738
Weight: .0311845 kg / 1.1 oz
 
Output Jack
Style: 1/4"
 
Jack Plate
Style: 59 True Historic
Material: True Historic Reformulated
Part Number: 130-430-19299C
Weight: .0056699 kg / .2 oz
 
Strap Buttons
Material: Aluminum
Plating Specs: None
Part numbers: 130-430-19150
Weight: .0141748 kg / .5 oz

Plastics
Pick Guard Style: 59 True Historic
Part Number: 130-430-12768
 
Truss Rod Cover
Style: True Historic
Part Number: 130-430-19784
 
Knobs
Style: True Historic Gold Top Hats
Part Number: 130-430-19778V
 
Dial Pointers
Yes/No: Yes
Control Plate(s) (Backplate Cover)
Style: Reissue Les Paul .09 Black Royalite
Part Number: 130-430-19808
 
Control Plate(s) (SwitchPlate Cover)
Style: 2015 Die Cast Gibson Custom Medallion
Part Number: 130-430-19016
 
Switch Washer
Style: True Historic Cream Replica
Part Number: 130-430-19292C
 
Trim Rings
Style: True Historic Cream Replica
Part Number: 130-430-13891V/130-430-13892V

Accessories
Case Style: Reissue Les Paul
Color: Reissue Brown with Pink Fur Lining
 
Strap Locks: None
Tools: None
 
Manual: None
COA/Other: Custom Shop True Historic Certificate of Authenticity in Binder, Extra Black Plastic Treble/Rhythm Switch Cover Plate