While all late-’50s Les Paul Standards are coveted today, most aficionados consider the 1959 Les Paul the “Holy Grail” of ’Bursts, the most desirable of all electric guitars. The Les Paul had already evolved a long way over the course of the ’50s, but by 1959, with the arrival of wider frets that allowed smoother and more dramatic bends, the Les Paul Standard had evolved into the epitome of the world’s most revered electric guitar. Because the cumulative effect of these minor but significant alterations to the design weren’t truly appreciated until the mid ’60s, when blues-rockers started to make the most of the fat, warm, sustaining voice of this magical guitar, the Les Paul Standard as we know it vanished from the catalog after 1960, with fewer than 2,000 examples of the Sunburst model having been produced in its three-year run. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this archetypal model, Epiphone introduces the Limited Edition 1959 Les Paul Standard, a tribute both to the legendary Gibson solidbody, and to Les Paul the man, who would visit the Epiphone company in New York back in the 1940s to work on his famous prototype of the solidbody electric guitar, the “Log.”
Premium Components and Authentic Features
Epiphone's Les Paul Standard has been a favorite of players for many years. Starting with the same successful recipe, Epiphone significantly "steps it up" on this Limited Edition "1959" reissue. True to its heritage, the neck features an authentic, 1950's rounded neck profile. Often referred to as "the baseball bat," this neck feels beefy yet comfortable in your hands while adding warmth and sustain with its greater mass, factors that are further increased by its back-angled headstock. Epiphone hand-fits this solid Mahogany neck into the body with a historically accurate "deep-set" long neck tenon that extends well into the neck pickup cavity, simultaneously enhancing strength, tone and sustain. As is traditional with Les Paul Standards, the back of the body is solid mahogany while the top is a carved hard maple cap. To make this great Les Paul Standard more affordable, a premium AAA grade flame maple veneer is attached to the arched top to capture the true "beauty of the burst."
Premium Components and Authentic Features
Epiphone's Les Paul Standard has been a favorite of players for many years. Starting with the same successful recipe, Epiphone significantly "steps it up" on this Limited Edition "1959" reissue. True to its heritage, the neck features an authentic, 1950's rounded neck profile. Often referred to as "the baseball bat," this neck feels beefy yet comfortable in your hands while adding warmth and sustain with its greater mass, factors that are further increased by its back-angled headstock. Epiphone hand-fits this solid Mahogany neck into the body with a historically accurate "deep-set" long neck tenon that extends well into the neck pickup cavity, simultaneously enhancing strength, tone and sustain. As is traditional with Les Paul Standards, the back of the body is solid mahogany while the top is a carved hard maple cap. To make this great Les Paul Standard more affordable, a premium AAA grade flame maple veneer is attached to the arched top to capture the true "beauty of the burst."
