Les Paul Custom with Figured Maple Heartwood Top
This Gibson CustomSelect Les Paul Custom features a maple heartwood top, a maple heartwood top, a feature that is rare to find on any Gibson electric guitar. Gibson Custom sources the best figured and unique tonewoods that are available worldwide. Special figured tonewoods like this maple heartwood are featured in small batches from Gibson Custom due to the limited nature of these exotic woods. This is the perfect example of Gibson Custom Select collaborating with the luthiers of the Gibson Custom Shop to create unique guitars that have handpicked finishes, hardware, and details from Gibsons experts.
The Les Paul Custom was introduced in the 1950s as a deluxe version of the Les Paul Standard with visual upgrades. Nearly every aesthetic element was upgraded, including binding, hardware, and inlays. Multi-ply binding was added around the top and back of the body, whereas the Les Paul Standard had binding only on the top. The headstock also featured multi-ply binding, which the Les Paul Standard omitted. The headstock also received the iconic split-diamond mother-of-pearl inlay, a defining aesthetic feature of the Les Paul Custom. An ebony fretboard with block inlays replaced the rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays, and nickel hardware was swapped for gold to complete the elevated look.
This Gibson Custom Select Les Paul Custom features a figured maple heartwood top, a tonewood that is rarely found on any guitar. Maple heartwood comes from the core of the tree, which is darker in nature compared to the sapwood that is commonly used on Gibson guitars that utilize maple. Not only is maple heartwood visually different from maple sapwood, but it is also denser, making the wood heavier and contributing to a unique sound from the more commonly found sapwood. To highlight the beauty of this tonewood, the top is finished in Light Charcoal, offering a striking contrast to the back and neck, which are finished in Translucent Ebony. To finish off the look, gold hardware is featured throughout the guitar, on the pickup covers, tuning machines, and every screwfrom the control panels to the truss rod cover.
For decades, the Les Paul Custom has been a mainstay in Gibsons lineup since its introduction in the 1950s. Over the years, the guitar has undergone many iterations, from finishes to construction. This Gibson Custom Select Les Paul Custom extends that lineage to an exotic tonewood that has never been prominently featured on the model. Included with the guitar is a Gibson Custom Certificate of Authenticity and a hardshell case.
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