SOLD! - "Keef" - 1954-1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Conversion w/ Bigsby
Renowned luthier Yuuki McClure of Player Grade Vintage, London, UK, has weaved his wizardry magic to breathe new life into this old Les Paul and boy, has he done a mighty fine job of it too!!
Yuuki turned a great but somewhat neglected original '54 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with no cracks or breaks into this big fat sounding '59 conversion which has ‘that real' Burst tone in spades. And this isn’t a common thing at all by the way! It’s a big fat sounding guitar with lots of airy harmonic overtones and a touch of hair and edge. It can be set up as ABR/stoptail or Bigsby - both setups carry the sound extremely well!
Using all original 50's parts this guitar now looks amazingly similar to the famous "Keefburst": The legendary Gibson Les Paul Burst bought and played by Keith Richards!
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In 1964 a young English guitarist named Keith Richards walked into Selmer's Music Shop with a few quid to spend before his group, The Rolling Stones, embarked on their very first tour of the U.S. He spotted a '59 sunburst Les Paul Standard which had been retrofitted with a Bigsby vibrato, and since it was previously owned, he could afford to buy it. He played it extensively on that tour, including the Stones' debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and used it to record many of their early hits, most notably "The Last Time", "Time Is On My Side", and "Satisfaction".
As Keith played the 'Burst more and more, it's popularity grew on the London blues/rock scene. Jimmy Page used Keith's new guitar on a recording session in July of '64, as he was a busy session musician in London at the time and allegedly Eric Clapton also used it during the early days of Cream after "Beano" got stolen.
As Keith was favoring a Black Beauty by then he was looking to sell his '59. Looking for a buyer, he eventually found one in the young 17-year-old blues prodigy Mick Taylor.
In 1967, Taylor was invited by John Mayall to replace Peter Green in The Bluesbreakers, following in the footsteps of Clapton, and he jumped at the great opportunity, having filled in for Clapton once before with Mayall a year prior (and played the Beano Burst before it was lost). As the newest Bluesbreaker, Taylor knew he'd need the right instrument to fit the sound and style Mayall had become known for, and the Keefburst did the trick. As such, he recorded the great albums Crusade and Blues for Laurel Canyon with the instrument.
In June 1969, circumstances came full circle when Taylor was asked by Mick Jagger to join some recording sessions with the Stones and only one month later, two days after the tragic death of Brian Jones, Taylor made his live debut with the band at London's Hyde Park in front of approximately 250,000 people in what became a tribute to the fallen founding member of the group.
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Anyway, back to "Keef", the Conversion at hand. Specs and cork-sniffing:
1954 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with no cracks or breaks and a comfortable chunky neck
'61-'63 Gibson purple wire PAT NO. sticker PAF Humbuckers
'50's tuners
'70's M8 Rings
'50's Jack plate
'59 Bigsby
'50's Stoptail & Studs
'50's ABR Bridge
'56 Pots & Bumblebee capacitors
'50's Lifton case, painted Black
Repro pickguard, knobs
The guitar sounds incredible and has a real ring to it, lots of sustain and sounds great acoustically and through a Marshall Plexi on 11. It has great depth and has a real Burst sound going on.
So, if you want a Burst at 10% of the price: here's your chance!