1955 Les Paul Historic Prototype Electric Guitar

Gibson's Custom Shop builds prototypes to ensure that the electric guitar's design is completely refined before it goes into production. Gibson 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 Hot-Mod Les Paul and other prototype guitars have great collectibility potential.

The hot-mod angle on the Gibson Custom Hot-Mod 1955 Les Paul Goldtop electric guitar is based on the idea of a 1955 Les Paul Goldtop with one-piece wraptail that was later modified with humbucker pickups (introduced by Gibson in 1957). The time-tested combination of maple-topped mahogany body and humbuckers with a wraparound bridge delivers a glorious monster tone that introduces a comfortable and resonant neck profile.

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 bridge position with a BurstBucker 1 pickup in the neck position.

Soft Shoulder '55 Neck Profile
The Soft Shoulder '55 neck profile makes the Gibson Les Paul 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.

TonePros "Wraptail" Bridge/Tailpiece
The TonePros "Wraptail" vintage-style one-piece wraparound bridge/tailpiece on this Gibson Les Paul guitar has locking steel studs mounted into long steel anchors for superior tone transference. A classic piece of hardware, the wraparound bridge/tailpiece on the '55 Les Paul offers a simplicity and functionality that is hard to match. It provides a firm seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust intonation and string height as needed. This yields an incredible union between the strings and body, resulting in excellent tone and sustain.

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 venerable 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.