1955 Les Paul Historic Prototype Electric Guitar

Gibson's Custom Shop builds Prototypes to ensure that the guitar's design is completely refined before the instrument goes into production. Prototypes serve as the standard reference for production models, and instead of having a serial number stamped on the back of their headstock, they have a handwritten prototype notation there. Offered in extremely limited quantities, the Gibson Goldtop Hot-Mod Les Paul and other Gibson prototype guitars have great collectibility potential.

The hot-mod angle on the Gibson Custom Prototype 1955 Les Paul Electric Guitar is based on the idea of a 1955 Les Paul Goldtop that was later modified with humbucker pickups (introduced by Gibson in 1957). The classic combination of maple-topped mahogany body with ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and humbuckers delivers a glorious monster tone that introduces a comfortable and resonant neck profile.


Soft Shoulder '55 Neck Profile
The Soft Shoulder '55 neck profile makes the Gibson Les Paul guitar sit in your hand like no other guitar neck. Gibson's guitar team chose a '55 Les Paul that had a neck with a "magical feel" to serve as a model for the Soft Shoulder '55 neck. The depth is the same from the top of the fretboard to the back of the neck as the rounded '50s neck, yet has gently sloping sides that sit comfortably in your hand.

ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic Bridge and Stopbar Tailpiece
The ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge on this Gibson Custom guitar was the brainchild of renowned Gibson president Ted McCarty in 1954, setting a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered. The ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic is slotted directly into the body of the guitar using a separate stud and thumbwheel, providing a firm seating for the strings and allowing players the ability to adjust and fine tune intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. And held in place with TonePros long steel anchors and long locking studs, the stopbar tailpiece yields a great union between the Gibson Les Paul's strings and body, which results in excellent vintage tone and sustain.

BurstBucker humbuckers
The BurstBucker 1 neck humbucker replicates the sounds from Gibson's original "Patent Applied For" pickups, are slightly underwound, with medium "vintage" output. The BurstBucker 2 is a humbucking pickup wound in the range of Gibson's '57 Classic for replica sound. Unpolished magnets and non-potted coils, just like the original. Slightly hotter than the BurstBucker 1, the 2 works well in the Gibson Prototype's bridge position with a BurstBucker 1 pickup in the neck position.

Year of 1955 Innovation
1955 was a year of great innovation in all areas of American life. 1955 saw the dawn of the United States space program. The first of the classic V8
Chevrolets hit dealerships all over the country, reflecting the spirit of change that was in the air. And don't forget there was Rock and Roll! Jukeboxes were blasting music by Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, a kid named Elvis, and his guitar player Scotty Moore.

Something was afoot. The archetypical tones of this music had already been forged in the renowned Gibson Guitar Factory. There, in 1955, the future sonic masterpiece known as the humbucking pickup was being prototyped. All the ingredients necessary to create the soundtrack of the next quarter century and beyond existed within that building.