Vintage Gibson Les Paul Jr – USA 1958

“Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler” - Albert Einstein. The most popular guitar of the 1950s in the Gibson Catalogue was the Les Paul Jr, which hit the mark with bare bones appointments and golden era Gibson quality to provide a stripped back Les Paul with exceptional sound, build quality and playability.   

21,000 Les Paul Jrs were sold in their first run between 1954 and 1960 – making it the most popular Gibson guitar of the 1950s, contrasting with 5,596 Les Paul Standards made in the same time period.   

This guitar presents in great condition with all the hallmarks of a well-played and loved instrument. It was bought in the 80s by its current owner, a professional player, and it has been well taken care of. 

The body displays its fair share of small dings and scratches, the checking in the lacquer is just gorgeous. The back has plenty of buckle rash, yet the neck is remarkably clean, allowing for smooth movement up and down the Brazilian Rosewood fretboard. The 'Les Paul Jr' on the headstock has faded but can still be seen on close inspection.   

Single cutaway solid mahogany body in stunning sunburst finish with single ply black pickguard. 

Nicely rounded mahogany neck with white side dots and pearl dot inlays. Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard is in excellent shape and frets show almost no visible wear due to a pro-refret at some point. The two-stripe Gibson Deluxe tuners function perfectly. Neck is straight and truss rod works fine. The bridge has been replaced with a newer wraparound bridge likely to solve any intonation issues. 

One howling original P-90 single coil pickup in the bridge position with replacement gold knobs, 1x volume, 1x tone. 

This is a vintage classic with fantastic, biting tone, and a resonant lightweight design. This Junior plays beautifully, with terrific touch and easy playability up and down the length of the fingerboard. 

A classic one pickup screamer. Dial it down for cruisy, bluesy, jazzy goodness, or turn it up and peel the paint. A light and lively LP Jr in great condition. 

Comes in its well-worn Gibson hard shell case. 

Specs: 

Scale length: 23 ¾" 

Fretboard Radius: 12” 

Weight: 3.5kg / 7.74lbs 

Action at 1st fret: 0.25mm 

Action at 12th fret: 1.5mm 

Neck depth at 1st fret: 22.47mm 

Neck depth at 12th fret: 25.84mm 

Nut Width: 42.69mm 

12 fret width: 52.45mm 

Neck Profile: Chunky “C” 

Neck material: Mahogany 

Fretboard material: Brazilian Rosewood 

Fretboard inlays: Pearl Dot 

Body: Mahogany 

Bridge Pickup: Original P-90 

Tuners: Two-Stripe Gibson Deluxe  

Pickguard: Black Single Ply 

Bridge: Replacement Wraparound  

Case: OHSC