Gibson Les Paul Goldtop ( 1952- present )

 The Gibson's  first  Les Paul were the goldtop guitars. Gibson Les Paul Goldtop guitars  were introduced In 1952 and became the first solid body electric guitars. Officially these where called "les paul models" but became popular as "les paul goldtop" as they had gold top finish.

 The trapeze tailpiece  of the 1952 and 1953 models ( strings wrapped under the bar ) were problematic, intonation was not correct and the tune was difficult to maintain.

This model is a great collectible but hardly playable. In 1953 gibson changed the trapeze tailpiece to a stop tailpiece where the strings were wrapped above the tailpiece which helped tuning to an extant.

1952-53 Les paul goldtop in 1952-1953 had a 3 piece carved top , gold top finish , trapeze tail piece bridge , Two soapbar p-90 pickups and cream covers  , nickel plated parts, kluson tuners  , 5/8" knobs , finger board and bound-top. and fingerboard ( unbound fingerboards were part of this early modes ) .


The trapeze tail piece replaced the with stop tail piece and 5/8" Knobs replaced with 1/2" knobs.


During 1955 Tune-o-matic bridge was introduced and top hat shaped knobs replaced barrel shaped ones.


In 1957 2p-90 pickups were replaced with  humbuckers. Goldtop became standard les paul in 1958 which later subdivided to Les paul SG and Les. paul deluxe.
In 1968 model with a tune o matic bridge , goldtop outlook and p 90 pickups was introduced again considered the reissue of 1956 goldtop and had few small changes.

In 1971 gibson started goldtop like 1954 with goldtop finish , 2 soapbar pickups and a stop tailpiece and discontinued in 1975 .

A thirtieth anniversary inlay made on the 19 th fret as a marking of 30 th anniversary, Gibson introduced  it in 1882 -1883 which did have 2 hambuckers like 1958 gold top.

In 1983 gibson reissue named " 56 gibson les paul gold top" was introduced as comeback of les paul gold. It had 2 p100 pickups the " official les paul goldtop reissue " with two p 100 pickups. In 1993 goldtop with 2 hambuckers was introduced which was a reissue of  1957 Gibson goldtop.

Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar (1958–1960, 1968–2008)

In 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard was started which became the flag ship model, industry standard and an icon of rock music.The Les Paul Standard even today is still considered as having superb sustaining power, brilliance and clear penetrating tone. This guitar features full, ballsy, versatile sonic characteristics, good looks and always growing list of players.Slash, Sheryl Crow, Santana, Gary Rossington, , Pete Townshend, John Fogerty, Ace Frehley, David Grohl, Warren Haynes, Mick Taylor, Mick Jones of the Clash, Free’s Paul Kossof, Lenny Kravitz, Ted Nugent,  Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Joe Perry, Joe Bonamassa and Bad Company’s Mick Ralphs have all used the Les Paul Standard.

The aesthetic quality was given the same importance to fine detail as the tonal quality. Carved maple tops, neck binding and other luxury features are found on almost any Les Paul Standard.“’Burst” — the seductively hued version of the Les Paul gave a new look to Les Paul.

The ’Burst had been in production for at least a year before the appellation “Standard” slipped into the vernacular. Both musicians and dealers began using the term to differentiate the ’Burst with ’buckers model from the Gold Top, and soon the name made its way into Gibson’s catalog.

In 1959, the Les Paul Standard made a change to wider, fatter jumbo frets which made it a more facile guitar. The significance of this change wouldn't be felt until the late '60s when Clapton, Bloomfield, Peter Green, and other emerging guitarists discovered its warm, thick BurstBucker voice and fast, smooth and easy-playing neck.

1959 Les Paul Standard is considered to be the ‘Holy Grail’ of electric guitars.Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Peter Green, among others, played this guitar.

Beginning with model year 1961, the Les Paul SG Standard was introduced as a replacement for the conventional Les Paul Standard, and that changed everything. The new guitar still had the Les Paul name, but it eventually was given a new name, the SG Standard (which stands for "Solid Guitar"), and it eventually came to earn its own place in guitar history.

Les Paul Standard is were made only between 1958 and ’60. They were not big sellers, so production ceased from ’60 until 1968, when they began to be seen in the hands of British and American rock and blues stars and became widely coveted.And while the solid-bodied sunburst classic remains the definitive Les Paul Standard, particular the historically accurate versions produced by the Gibson Custom Shop, Gibson U.S.A.’s production models have varied and experimented with the guitar’s design in recent years. In 2008 a new Les Paul Standard was created with a longer neck tenon, more ergonomic neck profile, Grover locking tuners, and a chambered body to reduce the guitars’ overall weight.

  

Gibson's Digital Les Paul Guitar

Gibson has finally announced the availability of the Gibson HD.6X-Pro Guitar System, the result of years of research and development, the HD.6X-Pro Guitar System, nicknamed the HD LP, uses the latest, groundbreaking digital technology. The result may look like an electric guitar, but the Gibson HD LP is a complete digital audio system that is poised to usher in a new era of music making. Guitar legend and father of the electric guitar, Les Paul, spent time in New York last week to personally autograph 100 limited-edition HD LP guitars which are being sold online at US$8000 each or you can buy one without the signature for US$5000.

The HD.6X-Pro features a hand-oiled mahogany neck, smooth frets and a comfortable profile for effortless playability, and classic Gibson humbuckers for incredible, traditional tone. Media-accelerated Global Information Carrier (MaGIC), an Ethernet with patented Gibson technology, carries bi-directional signals with low latency and no signal degradation over miles of cable. The HD.6X-Pro’s Hex pickup is composed of six small, patent-pending humbuckers positioned under each string at the bridge.

The high-technology pickups send six individual signals to studio grade preamps, allowing the six signals to be immediately digitized. The incredible sensitivity of the Hex pickup and the high-definition signal stream offers dynamic range and sonic possibilities never before imagined. The Breakout Box, known as “BoB,” routes any combination of the six Hex signals to any assigned destination automatically detecting outputs and designations for ease of use and playability.

The HD.6X-Pro Guitar System comes with all the equipment and software needed to explore the limitless sonic possibilities it affords today’s players. Each instrument comes standard with a complete version of Cakewalk SONAR software, and all the plug-ins needed to instantly interface with a computer. This revolutionary new guitar will open up a whole new world to musicians everywhere.