1954 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop

A beautiful vintage Les Paul from the golden era of electric guitar building! This 1954 Les Paul Model Goldtop is the second iteration of Gibson's flagship solid body, featuring the much-improved wraparound tailpiece. Coupled with an improved neck angle, the 1954 spec is widely considered the first usable version of the carved top Les Paul.

The classic features of this model include a mahogany body, mahogany neck, carved maple top, rosewood fingerboard, trapezoid inlays, single ply neck binding, single ply top binding, two volume controls, two tone controls, 3-way toggle switch, dual P-90 pickups with cream covers, and Kluson tuners.

This guitar, serial number 4 1351, is all original except for a changed nut, reproduction jack plate, and the volume pot for the neck pickup. Beyond the volume pot, all other electronics are correct and original. There are no breaks or other repairs. The guitar retains its original smaller vintage frets which have been re-crowned at some point.

It is 8 lbs 15oz and has been played but not abused. Most of the surfaces show dings and chips, though nothing extreme. The neck shows play wear to the wood in the cowboy chord area as well as some finish dings, most likely from leaning against an amp. The neck feels good overall without any of the blemishes notably standing out while playing, it has a depth of .91" at the first fret to .99" at the twelfth fret. The back of the body has light buckle wear, some barely down to the wood, along with a number of dings.

Overall it has an excellent tonal quality that is warm, clear, and punchy like you'd expect from a carved top Les Paul. Being closer to 9lbs it's not quite as loud acoustically as a lighter one may be, but it's still resonant and lively with a nice tight attack and good top end clarity. It's quite dynamic under the picking hand thanks to the wraparound tailpiece, and the neck is easy to navigate even with smaller frets.

This '54 Goldtop just looks right, and it's a ton of fun to play. Ships in a period correct Lifton brown and pink "Cali Girl" case.