Epiphone has rummaged through Joe Bonamassa’s prestigious guitar collection once again to recreate an “extremely rare” twin humbucker 1959 Les Paul Custom, of which only “a handful” were made.
This run is also limited-edition, but is a little more forgiving, with 1,500 of the electric guitars set to be released. It's the latest in a long line of Bonamassa Epiphone signature guitars, with affordability, as ever, underscoring the build.
“In 1959, they [Gibson] only made a handful of two-pickup Les Paul Customs. There's maybe 20 or less in existence,” Bonamassa explains. “My one came from a little old lady in Pennsylvania. The family didn't realize it was a very special, rare variant.”
Some Stop Bar tailpiece variants of the two-pickup Les Paul Custom were made, but Bonamassa’s version sports a golden Bigsby vibrato. As such, so does this like-for-like creation.
It sits on a mahogany body trimmed with aged seven-ply binding, which is paired with a mahogany 1959 Rounded Medium C-profile neck. That's capped with an ebony fretboard with 22 Medium Jumbo frets, with the classic LP 24.75" scale length.
“Bigsbys are great because they have their own unique sound. They're not like Floyd Roses or Fender trems,” says Bonamassa. “They're a little brighter; it's a little more hi-fi, but it will rock.”
But it's not just the Bigsby quirk that Epiphone has paid attention to with this build: it also has some notable tuning machines.
“The Grover Imperial tuners came stock on my guitar, so they come stock on yours as well,” he explains. “So it gives it a fancier look.”
Two gold-covered Epiphone Probucker Custom pickups are wired to a three-way toggle and Gibson's usual quartet of Top Hat Tone and Volume Controls. Bonamassa is backing their sounds to the hilt.
“They’re a really great working man’s tool,” he says. “You don't have to modify them; they sound great out of the box.
“The thing I love about this is that we recreate valuable vintage guitars at a price point everyone can afford,” he adds. “The quality control is really great, every single one plays and sounds the same. We've always found really cool guitars out of my collection to recreate, and they always nail it.”
The Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1959 Les Paul Custom is finished in Antique Ebony with a host of gilded trimmings. It comes with a Joe Bonamassa Nerdville hardcase and costs $999.
Head to Gibson for more.
Bonamassa first struck up a partnership with Epiphone over 10 years ago, with this new model following last year’s gorgeous Copper Iridescent Les Paul Standard. Recently, he revealed the collaboration began after he saw a £300 knock-off Gibson for sale in the UK.
He also recently linked up with Seymour Duncan to recreate the unique pickups in Tommy Bolin's legendary Les Paul.
