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1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Burst'

The Blues Parlor

A mint-condition 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Burst,' considered the holy grail of electric guitars. Serial #9-2847.

Les Paul Gibson 1959 Sunburst Holy Grail

The Story

I need you to understand something before I tell you about this guitar. A 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard in this condition — with this top figure, this fading on the burst, this all-original hardware — this is the most sought-after electric guitar in the world. Gibson only made 643 of these in 1959 before discontinuing the Les Paul model entirely in 1960. They had no idea what they had. Collectors discovered them in the late 1960s when Clapton, Page, and Bloomfield started playing them and achieving sounds nobody had heard from any other instrument. The prices have gone from a few hundred dollars in 1960 to, well... let's just say a guitar like this would cost more than most houses today. This particular example — serial 9-2847 — has spent most of its life in a climate-controlled case. The flame maple top is extraordinary, the original PAF pickups measure out perfectly, and the frets show less than 10% wear. I spent eleven years chasing this guitar. When it finally became available, I didn't hesitate for one second.