Vintage Gibson Les Paul Jr: Is it in YOUR Collection Yet?
Todays vintage Gibson Les Paul Jr. was created in 1954. The reason Gibson gave birth to this guitar was to market towards the novice guitarist with a reasonably priced solid-body guitar that look like its higher end models. After major design changes over the years it has sealed its value in collections and even gets professional use.
Gibson Les Paul Jr. may have looked like its upper models, but it had distinct marks to separate them from the rest of the family. They were noted for its flat-top “slab” mahogany body, finished in traditional Gibson Sunburst. Other mechanical features would include a single P-90 pickup, simple volume/tone controls, and the unbound rosewood finger board bore plain dot-shaped markers. The well noted feature of the guitar had to have been its stud bridge/tailpiece it resembled the Gold-Top model.
A year after its release the Gibson Les Paul Jr. already received changes. The Jr. was remade with a natural finish and renamed the Gibson Les Paul TV. The Gibson Les Paul TV had a translucent yellow finish that showed off its detailed wood grain, almost like a Fender butterscotch yellowish color. They created this guitar specifically for TV, go figure? Since when black and white television was still in its infancy white guitars would produce a nasty glare for its viewers. The Gibson Les Paul Jr. was much more TV friendly and more pleasant to view.
1958 was another year of major changes to feed the novice guitar need to have improvements made to the Gibson Les Paul Jr. A majority of Jr’s in collections today are of the 58′ variety. Players demanded more access to the top frets, double-cutaway body shape, and multiple cosmetic changes. All of which were answered and placed this guitar at record high sales.
If you ever have the opportunity to own one of these wonderful guitars don’t hesitate to do so. They are hard to find on the internet and guitar shops. It was made in mind of the novice guitarist and now it could be in mind of the novice collector. A great first to your collection!
