Gibson Custom 1955 Les Paul Custom Historic Electric Guitar  

When it was introduced in 1954, the Les Paul Custom came with the brand new adjustable ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece arrangement from the beginning of their production. Back then, Gibson had a reputation of taking special orders to satisfy customer requests. Our Special Order model is a "What if" or rumored "might have been" Special Order Les Paul Custom placed with the Wraptail, aka wraparound bridge. Some prefer this simpler bridge for the exceptional tonal transfer it has.

TonePros "Wraptail" Bridge/Tailpiece
The TonePros "Wraptail" vintage-style one-piece wraparound bridge/tailpiece has locking steel studs mounted into long steel anchors for superior tone transference. A classic piece of hardware, the wraparound bridge/tailpiece on the '55 Les Paul offers a simplicity and functionality that is hard to match. It provides a firm seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust intonation and string height as needed. This yields an incredible union between the strings and body, resulting in excellent tone and sustain.

The hot-mod angle on the Gibson Custom Special Order Hot-Mod 1955 Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar is based the idea of a 1955 Les Paul Custom that was later modified with humbucker pickups (introduced by Gibson in 1957). The classic combination of the all-mahogany body with wraptail bridge and humbuckers delivers a glorious monster tone that introduces a new comfortable and resonant neck profile.

BurstBucker humbuckers
The BurstBucker 1 neck humbucker replicates the sounds from Gibson's original "Patent Applied For" pickups, are slightly underwound, with medium "vintage" output. The BurstBucker 2 is a humbucking pickup wound in the range of Gibson's '57 Classic for replica sound. Unpolished magnets and non-potted coils, just like the original. Slightly hotter than the BurstBucker 1, the 2 works well in the bridge position with a BurstBucker 1 pickup in the neck position.


Soft Shoulder '55 Neck Profile
The Soft Shoulder '55 neck profile sits in your hand like no other guitar neck. Gibson's guitar team chose a '55 Les Paul that had a neck with a "magical feel" to serve as a model for the Soft Shoulder '55 neck. The depth is the same from the top of the fretboard to the back of the neck as the rounded '50s neck, yet has gently sloping sides that sit comfortably in your hand.

Year of 1955 Innovation
1955 was a year of great innovation in all areas of American life. 1955 saw the dawn of the United States space program. The first of the classic V8
Chevrolets hit dealerships all over the country, reflecting the spirit of change that was in the air. And don't forget there was Rock and Roll! Jukeboxes were blasting music by Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, a kid named Elvis, and his guitar player Scotty Moore.

Something was afoot. The archetypical tones of this music had already been forged in the Gibson Guitar Factory. There, in 1955, the future sonic masterpiece known as the humbucking pickup was being prototyped. All the ingredients necessary to create the soundtrack of the next quarter century and beyond existed within that building.