TOP SHELF: Gibson CS LP Std

ALEX WILSON SPENDS SOME TIME WITH A CLASSIC DESIGN FROM THE ANNALS OF GUITAR HISTORY.

Let’s talk about Gibson Guitars – the company – for a moment. It's fair to say that the past couple years haven’t been smooth sailing for the guitar giant. Approximately 12 months ago, the 117‑year‑old enterprise filed for bankruptcy, its business saddled with plummeting financials and $500 million of untenable debt. The culprit was the ill‑advised acquisition of a home and audio electronics business which was hemorrhaging cash. There was copious reporting of the company’s troubles, and in some corners of the internet, a sense of schadenfreude fueled by the notion that a big‑boots business was getting its comeuppance. However one feels about that, what’s less well‑known is that the company exited from Chapter 11 late last year with a clean balance sheet and helmed by a new CEO. James Curleigh, previous head of the Levi’s clothing brand and a guitarist himself, has made it his mission to raise morale in the company and get Gibson employees excited about what put them on the map in the first place: fantastic instruments. Much like cars and clothing, many people (this reviewer included) believe many

manufacturers perfected their best designs in the middle of the 20th century. Recognising this, Gibson’s current mission appears to concentrate on the classic designs that rocketed the company to the forefront of guitar culture and remain just as relevant today: The SG, the ES, the Explorer, the Thunderbird, the Flying V and, of course, the Les Paul.

Guitar historians will know that 1959 was a legendary year for Gibson, considered by many to be when the company reached its peak of solid body guitar design and manufacture. The Les Paul was received coolly by the market when it was first released, but throughout the '60s, some of rock’s foundational guitarists found their voice on the instrument and its legend was sealed – we’re talking the likes of Allman, Green, Bloomfield, Richards, Clapton and Gibbons.

A rare, original ’59 Les Paul will fetch incredible prices. For the rest of us, Gibson’s Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard is the next best thing.

Since 1993, Gibson’s Custom division has been refining its models with periodic updates, constantly scrutinising and cataloguing old models to bring everything possible about these historic guitars into the hands of today’s players.