The original beauty

Gibson Les Paul Tribute 1952

The Gibson Black Beauty auction on February 19 is ramping up to be quite the guitar sale. The Holy Grail of Les Paul’s is hitting the auctioned block at Guernsey’s Auctioneers with a lot of hype backed by a chorus of controversy. The latter brings us to the Gibson Les Paul Tribute 1952.

Part of the kerfuffle surrounding the Black Beauty is the claim by Guernsey’s that it is the Les Paul on which all others evolved. Well the Les Paul Gold Top was produced in 1952 before the Custom aka Black Beauty. Our eyeballs tell us that it looks more like a Les Paul than the Custom. As for whether Les Paul himself preferred the Black Beauty, which is another point of contention whether you’re talking to current owner Tom Doyle or Les Paul relations. Well we ain’t into any of that she said he said bullsh*t, but it’s something to think about if you’re planning on dropping a mortgage at Guernsey’s on the 19th.

As for our featured Gold Top, no it’s not an original. The Les Paul Tribute 1952 was created by Gibson as a tip of the hat to the passing of Les Paul in 2009. It is a sweet recreation complete with P-90 pick-ups, which were dropped from Les Pauls in 1955 for the beefier humbucker pickups. Les Pauls were the first to carry humbuckers, which would become a staple in most electric guitars. Perhaps even more notable is the Tribute’s bridge and tailpiece, each modeled after the original.

The Les Paul Tribute 1952 is no longer available from Gibson, only 564 were produced, although you can still get the full specs here. If you just gotta have on head over to Ebay.