A Scott Lentz 1955/1959 Les Paul Burst Conversion.

1955 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Gold Top) / 1959 Les Paul Burst Conversion by Scott Lentz.

This absolutely amazing Scott Lentz Les Paul Standard conversion weighs just 8.50 lbs. and has a nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches, a wonderful thick neck profile and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid mahogany body with a solid carved maple top covered by a bookmatched highly figured maple veneer, one-piece mahogany neck with a perfect '59 profile and bound rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets (expertly re-fretted by Scott Lentz) and inlaid pearl crown position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and "Les Paul Model" silk-screened in gold. Original '1959' Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with (Uncle Lou Premium) single-ring Keystone plastic buttons, stamped on the underside "D-169400 / Patent No.". Serial number "5 0520" inked on in black on back of headstock. Two original double-black PAF humbucker pickups with outputs of 7.51k and 8.08k. Cream-colored plastic pickguard. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout, plus three-way selector switch on upper bass bout. The potentiometers are stamped "134 738" (Centralab September 1957). Gold plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and separate stud tailpiece. This guitar is in mint (9.50) condition, with a fantastic veneer maple layer over the solid maple. It has the perfect weight, the perfect neck profile and sounds absolutely unbelievable. Housed in the original Gibson five-latch brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (9.25).

This conversion was done ca. 1995 by Scott Lentz for a Southern California University professor. The wiring harness, the PAF pickups, the ABR-1 bridge, and the stud tailpiece are all 1958 to 1959. The following parts are not original to a 1959 Burst: the pickguard (the original 1955 which has been cut to size) and the control covers are from the original 1955 Goldtop; the pickup rings are the facsimile English rings, which are virtually indistinguishable from the originals; the tuner buttons (Uncle Lou Premium tips), the switch ring, and the jack plug cover are later.

Having started with a 1955 Les Paul Standard Goldtop, the neck angle on this guitar was already correct, so there was no need to reset the neck, as would have been the case with a 1952 or 1953, on which the vast majority of conversions have been carried out.

Four years ago we sold a very early 1960 Burst (with all the typical 1959 features). It weighed 8.40 lbs., the sound was virtually the same, the pickup outputs were virtually the same, but the top was very, very faded -- and that guitar was sold in 2006 for $175,000. This guitar has a very similar profile neck, a very similar nut width, very similar pickup outputs, and at 8.50 lbs., a very similar weight. This guitar is $75,000 and is everything you would ever want in a "59 Burst" that you could actually play and not have to have an armed guard with you!