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Here is an all original '55 Les Paul in black. It is owned by "TW59" of the Les Paul Forum. He said that Gibson did make black Les Pauls in the 50's has(had) 2.But he said that he has never seen a Blacktop made in the 50's.

The LP Goldtop P90s are one of my favorite Gibson configurations. I was going to post a Sunn O))) video here, but the YouTube videos are gash, and trying to capture that sound in a crushed YouTube video is pretty impossible.

westtexasred wrote:Here is an all original '55 Les Paul in black. It is owned by "TW59" of the Les Paul Forum. He said that Gibson did make black Les Pauls in the 50's has(had) 2.But he said that he has never seen a Blacktop made in the 50's.

[PICTURE]

ok, cool. so this is an original '55? what does he mean "he has never seen a Blacktop made in the 50's."??? has he seen it or not?


EDIT: ok, maybe I get what he's saying. there were blacktop les pauls with P90s like this but not later with humbuckers. is that it?

mage wrote:

westtexasred wrote:Here is an all original '55 Les Paul in black. It is owned by "TW59" of the Les Paul Forum. He said that Gibson did make black Les Pauls in the 50's has(had) 2.But he said that he has never seen a Blacktop made in the 50's.

[PICTURE]

ok, cool. so this is an original '55? what does he mean "he has never seen a Blacktop made in the 50's."??? has he seen it or not?


EDIT: ok, maybe I get what he's saying. there were blacktop les pauls with P90s like this but not later with humbuckers. is that it?

Here is what he said:

"I have never seen a "blacktop" from the 50s, but I have seen [and own] ones that were all black."

What he means,and what others on the Les Paul Forum have told me is that Gibson made Les Pauls that were all black in the 50's .They made them with P-90s like this 1955 Les Paul



and with humbuckers like this 1960 model.



But he also said that he has never seen a blacktop(black on top,natural finish on the sides and back)that was made in the 50's.

So there actually were no blacktops like this 2000 Custom Shop '58 Reissue made in 50's.



That's ok that they are not historically accurate. I think they are hot!

If I had the cash, I'd be playing one too!

ah, I see. yes, I agree!

fender custom shop does all kinds of stuff like that though too. doing all kinds of custom colors on 50s strats that they definitely never came in.

"The Real MC" at The Les Paul Forum said:


"There's a sunburst era "blacktop" in BOTB fitted with PAFs (not a LP "Black Beauty"). Very rare, they only made them as a custom order item."

Only problem is this is no link to a photo of that guitar.You have to find a copy of the book(BOTB=The Beauty Othe Burst) to see it.

The Real MC wrote:There's a sunburst era "blacktop" in BOTB fitted with PAFs (not a LP "Black Beauty").

right, a black beauty would be a Les Paul Custom.

The Real MC wrote:Only problem is this is no link to a photo of that guitar.You have to find a copy of the book(BOTB=The Beauty Othe Burst) to see it.

ah, well definitely not buying that. can't stand bursts.

mage wrote:

The Real MC wrote:There's a sunburst era "blacktop" in BOTB fitted with PAFs (not a LP "Black Beauty").

right, a black beauty would be a Les Paul Custom.

The Real MC wrote:Only problem is this is no link to a photo of that guitar.You have to find a copy of the book(BOTB=The Beauty Othe Burst) to see it.

ah, well definitely not buying that. can't stand bursts.

That's ok. As it turns out the guitar in the BOTB book is all black,not a blacktop. "TW59" was correct after all;no blacktops were made by Gibson in the '50s.

They introduced black as a color on Les Pauls because of the man himself. He wanted something that "looked like a tuxedo".

jcyphe wrote:They introduced black as a color on Les Pauls because of the man himself. He wanted something that "looked like a tuxedo".

Black LP's are class

Here is a nice Gibson Les Paul 1956 RI in all black finish








And here is an all black 1957 RI

"Breakfastime" at the LPF told me this

"The first Black Top I remember seeing is this one here:



This is from a website called 'rock and roll vintage', I am not affiliated with them, and the guitar is sold anyhow. But it's a cool guitar with a cool history: a 1953 goldtop that was sent back to the factory in 1963 and black topped. Since Gibson and Les Paul had parted company by '63, the headstock was refinished w/o the LP name.

I think this is the first black top LP!"

nice dude! I just found these pics of another '77 LP Pro Deluxe

mage wrote:nice dude! I just found these pics of another '77 LP Pro Deluxe

► Show Spoiler

http://www.guitarsandeffects.com/drumsnaccess.htm

I've seen a couple of those on Ebay. Only thing to keep in mind with those is they have the 3 piece maple neck with a volute and and an ebony fretboard.They are heavy too 11 Lbs or more.

finboy wrote:

What is that guitar finboy? I never saw a Les Paul with 3 P-90s.

thats one of those Virtual Guitar builders, good fun to be had.
I've been searching for an e-book of BOTB but so far nothing. If i come up with one i'll forward the link or something

westtexasred wrote:I've seen a couple of those on Ebay. Only thing to keep in mind with those is they have the 3 piece maple neck with a volute and and an ebony fretboard.

yeah, those are features I love about it. a 3 piece maple neck? shiiiiit, that will never break. and a volute too? damn, that shit is mad strong. you could throw that on the ground and it wouldn't break. HAET fragile ass mahogany necks.

westtexasred wrote:They are heavy too 11 Lbs or more.

ok, that's less cool. I guess you gotta get a nice padded strap or something.

westtexasred wrote:

Yep, that's the one alright.

That guitar is the business.