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QUIRKY VINTAGE : GIBSON 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2008 LES PAUL TRIBUTE � Bob Cianci
I ’ ve learned along the way that not all quirky guitars are old , nor do they emanate from lesser-known manufacturers . The 2008 Gibson 50 th Anniversary Les Paul Tribute is as quirky and odd as they come . You might consider this guitar Gibson ’ s duck-billed platypus for that matter ; a mish-mash of features individually seen previously on standard Gibson models , but never together on one guitar . What were those wild and crazy guys at Gibson ’ s custom shop thinking back in ‘ 08 ?
Limited to a run of only one hundred units , this 2008 Les Paul Tribute sports a one piece Korina body and one piece neck , featuring the infamous split headstock that graced early Explorers in 1958 , along with a rosewood fingerboard . The nut width is 1-11 / 16 ” and the neck is joined to the body at the 16 th fret . The serial number LPT 076 is stamped on the back of the headstock . Vintage style cream binding runs along the top . There are three custom-wound Burstbucker pickups , three volume controls . and one tone , and the same horizontal pickup selector featured on vintage Gibson ES-5 guitars . CTS pots and specially
made bumblebee capacitors complete the electronics package .
The guitar may or may not be weight relieved , but it is very light , with an estimated weight of around six pounds , making it very playerfriendly . Strapping on it was a delight . There was no neck dive , and it was equally comfortable when played in a sitting position . Bent notes and single note runs rang out nicely , and chord work was equally effortless . Perhaps it ’ s the Korina wood , but the guitar ’ s natural tonal vibe was on the darker side . It didn ’ t have much in the way of high-end response going on , but if you like that darker sound , you ’ ll gravitate toward this model . I could easily get used to having this guitar around the house , were it not for the steep price .
The neck is a clubby ’ 50s profile “ baseball bat ” that was very comfortable in this writer ’ s hands , but may be unacceptable to others who prefer a thinner ‘ 60s profile . The neck sports twentytwo medium jumbo frets and there was no sign whatsoever of fret wear , indicating this beauty has very little playing time under its belt . All hardware is gold , including the Kluson tuners , Tune-O-Matic bridge , and stop tailpiece . The nitrocellulose finish is called Natural Antique ,
and it reminded me of the color shade of the original ’ 58 V ’ s and Explorers , which makes sense , given the Korina construction . A silver raised plastic logo , exactly like those used on early Flying Vs , is attached to the headstock . It looked very classy , and it ’ s unsurprising , given this guitar ’ s varied features . A classic brown Lifton case completes the package .
After doing a little research on the ‘ Net , it seems there ’ s a rumor that not all of the one hundred scheduled guitars in this run of 50 th Anniversary Les Paul Tributes made it into production . If that ’ s the case , this guitar is rarer than we thought , and this particular example may be one of the last ones made . We may never know , but in the past , Gibson has cancelled production runs when a guitar fails to sell , and they have been known to take unsold examples , salvage the hardware and electronics , and occasionally ( and regrettably ) cut the bodies up on a band saw , or use the allotted remaining wood for other guitars . Anyone for dumpster diving ?
The 2008 50 th Anniversary les Paul Tribute combines the materials and features of several classic vintage Gibson guitars in a very interesting , odd , and imaginative way . The price of this one is $ 4500 .
10 Nov � Dec 2016 CollectibleGuitar . com