The Guitar Magazine – July 2019

This ties in with the philosophy that an electric

guitar should be thought of holistically, as a system

in which the component parts working in harmony

is the key to a great-sounding instrument. Rather

than a straightforward process of replication,

Mat reveals that finding the missing pieces of the

puzzle involved “lots of time spent analysing 1950s

Gibsons under the hood and lots of time spent

A/B-ing various potentiometer brands and tapers and

values against the original 1950s Centralabs. Hearing

the differences in alnico II, III, IV and V magnets

in our True Historic humbuckers and establishing

consensus on a winner. Choosing to celebrate the

sound of unpotted humbuckers and that squeak and

squeal we’re used to hearing out of vintage Les Pauls.

“It’s weird science,” he admits, “but we learned

that attempting to replicate the 1950s processes and

materials wouldn’t always provide the result we were

looking for. The composition and quality of those

materials translates differently to what’s available

today. So we really had to use our ears, and we

brought in artists and collectors and experts to

make sure we weren’t crazy [laughs].”

One such artist was Jason Isbell, himself a Burst

owner after recently acquiring ‘Red Eye’, the 1959

Les Paul formerly owned by Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist

Ed King. “We just had Jason here with his ’59 burst,”

reveals Mat. “He A/B’d it against a 60th Anniversary

’59. He was absolutely flabbergasted. It was fun to

see. The originals have this great transparency and

‘bloom’ and ‘woof’ and ‘squeak’ and all the other

ridiculous words used to describe PAF tone. As soon

as we removed the wax potting, I really feel we

opened the door for all those elements of classic PAF

tone to appear – especially when paired with the new

wiring harness.

“Finally, some of the differences for 2019 were just

aesthetic things fuelled by my obsessive-compulsive

disorder,” Mat admits. “We tweaked the headstock

logos, the Les Paul silkscreen, inlay material, and

colours of the bursts, dyes, metallics et cetera. Some

of the parts have seen improved accuracy as well, and

there is more minor work to be done to that extent,

but we really tried to throw everything at these

guitars that we possibly could!”

HANDS ON

The 60th Anniversary model’s five-latch reissue

Lifton case has reproduction hang-tags in its internal

pocket along with a more modern Custom Shop

COA (and better foam protection for the headstock).

It might not be an original ’59, but it’s still a thrill to

see an instrument such as this framed by the brown

case’s pink lining. Before we even pull the guitar

out, simply walking around it reveals how much the

mineral-streaked two-piece flametop ripples under

lights. Just like many of the old ones, the maple cap

looks almost plain from some angles and heavily

figured from others.

The top looks the part and so does the headstock,

with tinted clear coats over the mother of pearl

Gibson logo lending it an authentic greenish-gold hue,

while the position of the finer and lighter silkscreen

signature and the stepped truss-rod cover with its

slightly rough-textured white edging should appease

internet-forum extremists. Back at the body end, in

case you’re wondering why the screw that holds the

pickguard onto the bracket is a slot-head rather than a

Phillips, the answer is that there was some randomness

in this regard back in 1959, but plenty of Bursts left

the factory with slot-heads. Panic over.

While the guitar’s nitrocellulose finish has only

a very subtle VOS treatment, its metal parts have

a factory-aged patina and even a little rust here

and there – the overall aesthetic vibe is one of a

remarkably well preserved vintage instrument.

Royal Teaburst is one of 10 finishes that are available,

all emulating various stages of cherry-sunburst

fade, aside from Kindred Burst, which is a tobacco

sunburst. Around the back and sides, the aniline dye

is a little darker than the shade used on other recent

reissues and as a result, it’s harder to see the sliver of

maple in the cutaway.

This guitar’s major departure from vintage

specifications is, of course, the absence of a Brazilian

ABOVE TOP The trapezoid
fretboard inlays are
aged cellulose nitrate

ABOVE BOTTOM Darker
aniline dye on the back
and sides of this 2019
model even out the contrast
between the mahogany
and the maple sliver
in the cutaway

REVIEWS

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