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(More customer reviews)I personally own 4 Gibson Les Pauls and the 1957 Goldtop VOS is head and shoulders above the others. When looking for a Goldtop, I spent 3 hours at a Gibson retailer playing nearly every Gibson LP they had in stock. I played the Slash signature, the Standard, the Traditional...I played them all through a Marshall 100 watt tube amp through a Marshall 1960 4 X 12 Cabinet. When I picked up the '57 VOS, I could feel the quality immediately. I played a few chords, ripped a quick pentatonic lick and did a tone and a half bend at the 12th fret on the second string...the sustain was amazing! My wife, who had been sitting there the entire time looking completely bored, looked up and asked, "what guitar is that?" The vintage sounding PAF humbuckers sound absolutely great! The 50s neck feels like a Louisville Slugger and the top is perfectly done. The only thing I've changed about the guitar is adding Dunlop straplocks to make sure I don't drop this beauty. This guitar is made to play and will not disappoint. Worth every dime!
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Gibson 1957 Les Paul Goldtop VOS Electric Guitar, Antique GoldBy 1957, Gibson's evolving Les Paul model guitar had already undergone several key modifications that would remain as the foundation of the iconic version known around the world today as the Les Paul Standard. But while the addition of the new Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece one year earlier had greatly improved the overall functionality of the Les Paul, nothing would compare with the addition of Gibson's pioneering humbucking pickup in 1957.
A truly magnificent instrument, gleaming in gold.
History"A truly magnificent instrument with its natural mahogany back and neck, while the top is in gleaming gold with contrasting ivory trim." --Original Gibson advertisement, circa 1955
By 1957, Gibson's evolving Les Paul model guitar had already undergone several key modifications that would remain as the foundation of the iconic version known around the world today as the Les Paul Standard. But while the addition of the new Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece one year earlier had greatly improved the overall functionality of the Les Paul, nothing would compare with the addition of Gibson's pioneering humbucking pickup in 1957.
At the direction of legendary Gibson President Ted McCarty, Gibson engineer Seth Lover began working on a tone circuit with hum-cancelling capabilities sometime in 1954, applying for a U.S. design patent--hence the name "Patent Applied For," or "PAF"--on June 22, 1955. By early 1957, the standard double-coil version of the humbucker pickup had begun to appear on Gibson ES-175s and ES-350Ts, and eventually on the Les Paul Model Goldtops of the same year.
Body Aside from the pickups, the basic specifications of those 1957 Les Paul Model Goldtops remained the same. There were, however, several minor cosmetic variations that made the 1957 version significant in the development of the Les Paul, the most noteworthy of which was the placement of the inlaid, pearl-cut Gibson logo, which was moved closer to the top edge of the headstock. Additionally, 1957 was to be the last full year of production for a Gibson model with a Goldtop finish. The popular color would not adorn another Gibson guitar until 1968.
Famous Players The 1957 Les Paul Goldtop was also the model used famously by Duane Allman during the formative years of the Allman Brothers Band and his early session work, including his work with Eric Clapton (Layla sessions), the Allman Brothers Band's legendary Fillmore recordings, as well as their first two albums--a body of work considered by many to be one of the most important in the history of rock and roll.
Near-perfect Recreation Today's 1957 Les Paul Goldtop from the Gibson Custom Shop is a near-perfect recreation of the original instrument, in all of its original brilliance and historical magnificence. The body features Gibson's traditional hand-carved maple top and solid, non-weight relieved mahogany body. The headstock is made from Holly head veneer, as opposed to fiber, just like it was in 1957, and the vintage-style tulip tuners are mounted in a straight line, also as they were on the original. The 24 3/4-inch scale length neck is made from one solid piece of mahogany, and attached to the body using a long neck tenon--one of the Les Paul's more distinguishing characteristics of the 1950s. The neck is topped by a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard outfitted with acrylic trapezoid inlays matching the size of color of the originals. Of course, two of Gibson's legendary Burstbucker pickups deliver all the subtle variations of true, classic humbucker tone by using historically "unmatched" bobbin windings and Alnico II magnets. The guitar's Antique Gold finish also matches the hue of the original model, giving this Custom Shop model the accurate and distinct appearance of this traditional Les Paul. Other historical appointments include CTS potentiometers, bumble bee capacitors, rolled creme-colored fingerboard binding, single-ply thin binding around the body, and period-correct switchwasher and jackplate. The 1957 Les Paul Goldtop comes either a V.O.S. or Gloss finish, and comes with the standard Gibson Custom case, custom care kit and certificate of authenticity.
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