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Products Electric Guitars Les Paul Gibson Custom
Body
Species
The body of each Collector's Choice™ #1 1959 Les Paul Standard is crafted from a two-piece carved maple top with unique figured grain attached to a solid, one-piece lightweight mahogany back. Body Species Tonal Characteristics
The Collector's Choice™ #1 1959 Les Paul Standard's body woods present the classic combination of good clarity, definition and treble bite from the maple, and excellent depth and richness from the mahogany, all of which are elements that are found in the legendary tone of the original '59 Les Paul Standard. This is one of the most revered wood combinations of all time, and truly offers a "best of both worlds" design in the way that mahogany and maple complement each other to offer superior resonance, sustain, depth, clarity, and definition.  
Design
The Collector's Choice™ #1 1959 Les Paul Standard precisely follows the body lines and dimensions of the original '59 Les Paul Standard, with a gently arched carved top and rounded lower bout, and combines the classic tonewood combination of mahogany back and carved maple top. The body's back is cut from a single piece of solid, high-grade, lightweight clear mahogany, and capped with a two-piece top of figured maple that is carved into a period-correct "dish", or arch. Body Design
Weight
Weights vary slightly, according to wood supplies, but Gibson's Custom Shop seeks out the lightest, most tonally advantageous mahogany for the one-piece bodies of the Collector's Choice™ #1 1959 Les Paul Standard. Weight
Available Finishes
Color
The top of the Collector's Choice™ #1 1959 Les Paul Standard is radiant in a thin nitrocellulose "unburst" Butterscotch finish, a glowing amber which beautifully shows off the guitar's highly figured maple top. Melvyn Franks - VOS Gary Moore - Aged
Process
The Collector's Choice™ #1 1959 Les Paul Standard is hand-finished in nitrocellulose in a process that closely replicates the finishing process applied to original Les Paul Standards of 1958-'60. Like the great Les Pauls made 50 years ago, this instrument is finished with minimum build-up, in an effort to produce a finish that breathes with the guitar and enhances natural resonance. Once this is complete, 125 guitars will be hand-aged by Tom Murphy, a craftsman recognized as the world leader in authentic guitar aging. The others are treated in Gibson's VOS process. The result of this process, both on the Gary Moore Aged Edition and the Melvyn Franks VOS Edition, is a guitar that looks and feels like a loved and much-played vintage instrument.

Surface Texture
To replicate more than 50 years of use, the guitar's nitrocellulose finish is aged either by Tom Murphy or in Gibson's VOS process, resulting in an authentic road-worn patina.