1957 Gibson Les Paul Junior TV Yellow Single Cut
This this beautiful 1957 Gibson Les Paul TV Junior is acoustically so loud and rich sounding it it reminds me of a pre-war Martin! This is such a joy to play you will have a hard time putting it away. I could play it unplugged on my couch for days on end!!
It features the early version of the "Limed Mahogany TV Yellow" color, which is not as solidw and thick colored as later examples but you can still see the beautiful mahogany and grain on the body and neck. It is a lightweight 3.2Kg, extremely resonant and honest guitar that will blow your mind. An acoustic guitar unplugged, a true BEAST when plugged into a Marshall on fire!! But it can also sound jazzy and sweet when the volume is turned down, up to a real warm woman tone with both the volume and the tone turned down a notch. Put a fuzz pedal in front and it goes all the way from burning crazy fuzz rage to the old Cream tones Eric Clapton produced.
Many years ago different tuners were installed and a stoptail bridge was added. This required two additional holes for the studs to be fitted to mount the stoptail. These had been restored again to wraptail, a touch of finish was added to make it less visible and it was covered up by a Gibson 'custom made' plate you see sometimes on ES-335 guitars converted to Bigsby. However... We decided to have that professionally restored by the best of the best: the Toneteam with Francesco Balossino from Cesco's Corner Guitars and luthier Romano Burini from Fine Italian Handmade Guitars. Pictures of the restoration process are available. It is so well performed that you will have to look hard to see that there was any work done - the repair is barely noticeable. Also visible close up is that the previous tuners left the typical marks in the headstock, but now the guitar is fitted with the correct 3 on a side Kluson style tuners again. On the back of the headstock a little overspray can be seen but all looks perfect under UV light with no cracks, breaks or repairs.
It has the original TV limed yellow finish, "TV Junior" silkscreen on the headstock (not just "junior"), a soaring P90 pickup, 1957 pots and tone cap, short seam wraparound bridge and 50's long studs, replaced stud anchors, original plastics, pickguard, trussrod cover, top hat knobs, etc.
The guitar plays like a dream and has a nice low action. It sounds really open and crisp with a hairy edge when pushed. It can roar like a lion but it can also be sweet and gentle like a fluffy kitten :-) The neck is a lovely but firm handful and it is incredibly comfortable to hold and play. Comes with a later vintage style case.