Some EXTREMELY rare candy in (and out) of my shop...

[Mark A. Kane]

One owner, late-ish 1957 Gibson LP plain top sunburst. This guitar has never, ever seen the inside of a guitar shop since it left the store in 1957. The owner only ever changed strings on it. Bonus: it came in with it's cousin, a 1957 Southern Jumbo in the same condition. Both guitars have been in the same music room since the early 60's and haven't left it 'till now. My understanding is that the 57 LP was available only as a Gold Top, but there may have been an very few transitional bursts at the end of the production run: this is one of them. The frets are shot but until the guitar gets a few appraisals I advised the customer against any repairs.

A couple of years ago I had a 1956 Strat, blonde w/ gold hardware, untouched, original owner come in 'cause a granddaughter wanted to learn and grampa dug it out from under the bed. It was a 10/10. My teeth almost fell out.

Just goes to show they are still out there.

[FRANK]

good stuff Maynard

[Thomas James]

That is killer!  Interesting about the finish - FYI I looked in the Les Paul book (Tony Bacon). He states the first two sunburst were shipped on May 28, 1958 as "LP Spec Finish". That would be extra rare if it is 1957 with a burst. Cool!

[Mark A. Kane]

The serial number is U XXXX. Gruhn's and others confirm the U as 1957. Does your book say anything different?

[Thomas James]

Are you sure that is not an O rather than U? That would indicate 1960. I don't think they used letters on solid body guitars during that era. That would make the sunburst finish make sense?  I believe Gruhn is referring acoustic Factory Order Number with U = 1957.

[Mark A. Kane]

It's a U. The shape of the letter is quite straight sided with no indication (based on the quality and integrity of the following 4 digits) of a mis-stamping, though nothing can be ruled out. The customer is in communication with a few appraisers, including Gruhn's, so we'll have to wait for their evaluation. One thing supporting the 1957 date is that the SJ is a 57 too. The LP neck is fat, too, not skinny. I'll let you know if I hear differently.

[Thomas James]

Please let us know what you find. Very nice guitar! 

[Ian Supplee]

Came across a 1959 Les paul last year a friend had it and was gonna sell it too me ( and yes this is the same one with the broken in half neck) but before i could get it he said he wanted to keep it and it was in such nice condition almost mint.

[Ian Supplee]

but wow nice very very very nice brother.

[Paul Verticchio]

Very cool.

I'm with the camp that thinks this is a 1960.  The "U" is most likely a partially imprinted "0".

Granted, Gibson "one off's" are out there, but I've not seen or heard of a LP SN from that era starting with a letter. Another "tell" is the jumbo fretwire that didn't make it's appearance until 1959.

Check the codes on the pots.  That'll give you a better indication of the guitar's year of manufacture.

Let us know the results of your search?

Best of luck (:

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

My teeth almost fell out.

Hahaha... It made me laugh... thank you for making me starting my day at the workshop like this!

[Paul Verticchio]

If you go to page 31 of this month's "Vintage Guitar Magazine", there's a photo of the back of the headstock of a 1960 LP Jr.

It, too has the first numeric character of "0" that looks like a "U'.  How does it compare to the SN on that '60 you have?

Have a great day (:

[Mark A. Kane]

It doesn't look like that, where the numbers all run together. It is a digit followed by a space, then 4 digits. The collective (you included) all agree now that it's a 1960. The red herring was the 1957 factory order code#  U XXXX which is what seemingly appears on the back of the headstock. What we are really looking at is a partly stamped O, followed by a space, then 4 digits. The O, though, is shaped like the bottom 2/3rds of the U, hence the confusion. Surprisingly, according to Gruhn's, the 1960 is worth 50-75K more than the 1957.

I hope to get some high res pics in the near future.

Thanks to all for your input!