One of the Last of the Single-Cut TV Specials

1958 Gibson Les Paul "TV" Special

This very early 1958 12 3/4-inch-wide solid mahogany bodied guitar weighs just 7.90 lbs., and is one of the very last of the 'single-cut' TV Specials - it's 'double-cut' successor was introduced in mid 1958). One-piece mahogany neck with a fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 24 3/4 inches and a wonderful thick profile. Bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 22 original thin frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and "Les Paul Special" silk-screened in gold. Single-line Kluson Deluxe strip tuners with white plastic oval buttons. Serial number inked on in black on the back of the headstock. Two perfectly balanced P-90 pickups with outputs of 7.80k and 7.81k. Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard with four screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout, plus three-way pickup selector switch on upper bass horn. Black plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. The potentiometers are stamped: "134 738" (Centralab September 1957). Original combination wrap-over bar bridge/tailpiece. There are a couple of small areas of very light wear on the back of the guitar but overall this super little TV Special is in near mint (9.25) condition. Housed in the original Gibson three-latch, shaped brown 'aligator' softshell case with brown felt lining (9.00). The Les Paul TV, essentially a Junior but with a finish that the company referred to variously as 'natural', 'limed oak' and (more often) 'limed mahogany'. - An interesting fact: Following a reader's enquiry to Guitar Player in the 1970s, a Gibson spokesman confirmed that 'the Les Paul TV model was so named after Les Paul's personal Listerine show was televised in the 1950s.'"