The 1950s Gibson Les Paul Standard

The 1950s Les Paul Standard Cherry Sunburst — The 1950s Les Paul Standard Heritage Cherry Sunburst.

In the fifties, Gibson Les Pauls were produced mainly in gold until 1958. That’s when the Sunburst made its debut, (goldtops had humbuckers starting in 1957, along with models featuring P90s) but back then, everyone was going wild for surf music, which was definitely a Fender Stratocaster vibe. Around the 1950s, Gibson Les Paul Standards were produced featuring necks where some were thicker or thinner than others during production runs.

During the fifties, there was quite a bit of inconsistency in how Gibson pickups were wound, which is why some PAF pickups sounded ‘better’ than others. But really, it’s all subjective, so maybe ‘different’ is a more fitting word? This is also true for the well-known neck profiles. There wasn’t a definitive plan to change the Gibson Les Paul neck every year; it just evolved gradually and randomly.

The 1950s Les Paul Standard Tobacco Burst.

The general design of the Gibson Les Paul Standard during the 1950s remained largely the same:

One-piece Mahogany body, the weight of which did vary.
Chunky figured maple top, normally a two-piece ‘bookmatched’ top, with wildly varying levels of figuring and flaming.
Mahogany set neck, with a backwards pitch.
Rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlays
Two PAF humbuckers with nickel covers.
Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece.

The 1950s Les Paul Standard P90 Gold Top.

The Gibson Les Paul necks produced during that time had some thicker or thinner than others. Most necks from 1959 have a certain feel, but not all of them were the same, just like not every 1960 neck was slimmer: some felt just like those ‘59 ones, and so forth. And then came the 1960s.