Les Paul Custom '57 "Mickey Baker" Historic Collection Reissue

This 2003 Gibson Custom Shop two pickup '57 Reissue Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" weighs 8.90 lbs. and has a nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck with a medium to thick profile just like the ultra rare original '57 three PAF Mickey Baker Custom. Ebony fretboard with 22 frets and inlaid pearl block position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl five-piece split-diamond inlay. Two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover with "Les Paul Custom" engraved in white. Serial number ("7 3587") stamped in white on the back of the headstock. The top of the guitar has seven-ply binding,the back has five-ply binding, the headstock has five-ply binding, and the fretboard is single-bound. Individual Grover Roto-Matic tuners with half-moon metal buttons. Three '57 Reissue PAF humbucker pickups with black plastic rings and with outputs of 7.81, 7.70k, and 7.69k. Each pickup has a small rectangular black "Patent Applied For" label on the underside. Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard. The 'special' Mickey Baker wiring configuration with three independant 'in-line' volume controls (one for each pickup) on the lower treble bout and a 'master' tone control on the upper bass bout (where the three-position toggle switch would normally be). Black plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. Gibson ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge with metal saddles and separate stud tailpiece. All hardware gold-plated. This guitar is in mint (9.50) condition. Complete with the original Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Certificate of Authenticity signed by Rick Gembar (head of the Custom, Art & Historic division) with "LP Mickey Baker" and "7 3587" written in black ink. Housed in the original Gibson black hardshell case with maroon plush lining (9.25).

A near unique Les Paul Custom with infinite control over the three pickups. The re-issue 'Mickey Baker' Les Paul Custom was available by special order only between 1999 and 2003. It is unknown exactly how many were produced but the likely number is somewhere between twenty-five and fifty.

"Some of the many Gibson artists to use and endorse the Les Paul Custom models during the 1950s were Mickey Baker and Johnny Gray who ordered special triple-pickup versions with unique controls." (Rob Lawrence. The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy 1915-1963, p. 157).

"Mickey Baker (also known as Mickey "Guitar" Baker was born in Louisville Kentucky on October 15, 1925. He was half of the pop duo Mickey & Sylvia, who had a hit single with "Love Is Strange" in 1957. The song was written by Bo Diddley, (but credited to his wife at the time, Ethel Smith), and Jody Williams, who had developed the distinctive lead guitar riff. Williams had recorded the riff earlier on a song called "Billy's Blues" for Billy Stewart. Eventually the song, much more than just a riff, ended up being credited to Smith, Baker and Vanderpool. He is listed in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Baker is also noteworthy as a session guitarist and guitar educator. Baker's session work spanned jazz, calypso, mambo, and rhythm and blues. He is widely held to be a critical force in the bridging of rhythm and blues and rock and roll, along with Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. In 1961, he took the male spoken part (usually assumed to be Ike Turner) on Ike & Tina Turner's early hit, "It's Gonna Work Out Fine." Shortly afterwards he moved to France, making a few solo records and working with a lot of French pop and rock performers, including Ronnie Bird. Baker has recorded only sporadically since the mid 1960s. Baker appeared at the 1975 version of the Roskilde Festival. In 1999 Baker was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. His self-tuition method book series, the "Complete Course in Jazz Guitar" is a mainstay for introducing students of guitar to the world of jazz. With Les Paul, Baker is important as an early exponent of solid body electric guitars for jazz and popular music."(Wikipedia).