Gibson Les Paul Standard

Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitars ( 1958 - Present)

In 1952 gibson introduced the first gibson les paul model which were and are better known as gibson les paul goldtop guitars due to the gold top finish .

In mid 1958 gibson replaced the goldtop finish with a sunburst finish with the grain of the maple top visible until 1960 and renamed it the gibson les paul standard sunburst . ( 59 models had a thick style neck , the 60 models had a thinner neck )

From mid 1958 to 1960 under 2000 gibson les paul standard sunburst guitars were made , all in "flame" or "tiger stripped" maple tops with cherry red back finishes . Some tops were highly flamed while others were low flamed.

Although the gibson les paul standard sunburst was an attractive and probably the best built overall sounding guitar of its time. In the late 50s , archtop guitars were " the in thing " for jazz guitar players and fender stratocasters dominated the rockn' roll market because of its thin brighter sound .

In the late 60s when rock music became more bluesy and raunchier , gibson les paul standard guitars became extremely popular because of its heavy sustain and mellow tone . From then on it became not only an historic gibson guitar but part of americas music culture as well .

Famous guitar players of today and yesterday such as jimmy page , eric clapton , mick taylor , slash and so many 100s of other popular rock guitarists have played and cherished the warm tone of this guitar .

The gibson les paul standard guitars (sunburst ,flame top finish) were in production from mid 1958 to 1960 .

In 1961 to 1963 gibson changed the body of the gibson les paul standard to an sg type body with 2 symetrical pointed cutaways and was renamed the gibson sg les paul standard ( made in cherry red finishes ).

In 1968 gibson reintroduced the gibson les paul standard but with a goldtop finish and called it the gibson goldtop les paul standard, also considered by many as the first goldtop reissue of the original 56 goldtop models .

In 1969 these guitars were renamed the
gibson les paul deluxe .

In 1971 to 1975 the gibson les paul standard guitars were made only on special orders , some guitars were made with p-90 pickups and some had humbuckers , these guitars were made in goldtop or sunburst finishes .

In 1976 to present the les paul standard kept its name and were made in various colors such as red wine , cherry sunburst , tobacco sunburst, black ......

In 1983 to present gibson also introduced the the gibson les paul flametop reissue , renamed the 59' les paul flame top in 1991 (see pic), these guitars have a flame maple top finish,

they have the original 1959 thick style neck specs , 2 humbuckers , and are part of gibsons' historic collection .

In 1991 to 1999 they also introduced the 60' les paul flame top , same specs but with a thinner neck much like the original 1960 gibson lespaul standard .

Vintage Guitar Price Value For 2007 :
1958 - 1960 > $240 000 to $420 000 ( les paul standard flame top )
1961 - 1963 > Renamed : gibson sg les paul standard
1968 - 1969 > $7000 to $11000 ( first goldtop les paul standard reissue )
1971 - 1975 > $4200 to $5000 ( special orders sunburst or goldtop )
1976 - 1989 > $2200 to $3000 ( les paul standard various colors )
1990 - 1999 > $1700 to $2200

1958 - 1960 > Avg Upward Trend Of 32% a Year since 2000
1968-1969> 15% -1971-1975> 15% -1976-2000> 7%

You can find used or vintage gibson les paul standard guitars for sale on ebay , however I strongly recommend you read the descriptions carefully before you buy .