A Piece of Gibson History Returns
In 1955, Gibson arrived at the NAMM Show in Chicago with something unexpected: five Les Pauls finished in custom metallic car colors. At a time when nearly every Les Paul left the factory with a gold top, these guitars—dressed in Samoa Beige, Copper Iridescent, Nugget Gold, Platinum, and Viceroy Brown—turned heads. They also introduced the ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge to the Les Paul Standard for the first time. Only a handful were ever made after the show, and today, most have vanished into private collections.
This is Gibson Custom Shop's 70th-anniversary tribute to those originals. Limited to just 70 guitars per finish—350 total—this Samoa Beige example recreates the 1955 spec right down to the color-matched speed knobs and the Murphy Lab's light aging treatment. It's a solidbody Les Paul with a one-piece lightweight mahogany body, a hide-glued two-piece plain maple cap, a chunky 1950s D-profile neck, and a pair of Custom Shop P-90 soapbar pickups. If you've spent time with pre-humbucker Les Pauls, you know what that means: clarity, bite, and plenty of vintage growl.
This guitar is for players and collectors who want something genuinely rare—not a limited run of thousands, but 70. It's also for anyone who loves the character of a 1950s Les Paul without hunting down a mortgage-sized original.
1955 Specs, Authentic Build
Gibson Custom built this guitar to match the originals as closely as possible. The body is lightweight one-piece mahogany with a two-piece plain maple cap fitted with hide glue—the same construction method Gibson used in the mid-fifties. There's no weight relief, no chambering, just solid wood and traditional joinery. The result is a resonant foundation with the sustain and midrange punch Les Pauls are known for.
The one-piece mahogany neck features a long tenon joint and a 1950s Chunky D-shape profile. It's substantial without being unwieldy, and if you're used to modern slim-taper necks, you'll notice the difference immediately. The Indian rosewood fretboard has a 12-inch radius, 22 historic narrow/tall frets, and aged cellulose nitrate trapezoid inlays. The nut is nylon, the width is 1.687 inches, and the scale length is the classic 24.75 inches. The headstock sports a period-correct "low logo" holly veneer and single-line Kluson tuners with a historical 1955 serial number on the back.
The Murphy Lab Light Aged finish treatment simulates decades of light play wear. The metallic Samoa Beige nitrocellulose lacquer has been subtly aged along with the hardware, giving the guitar the look and feel of a well-preserved original. It's not a heavy relic job—think of it as a guitar that's been played thoughtfully for years, not dragged behind a tour bus.
P-90 Soapbars and Vintage Wiring
Like all Les Pauls made before 1957, this guitar predates the PAF humbucker. Instead, you get a pair of cream-covered Custom Shop P-90 Soapbar pickups, hand-wired to 500k CTS potentiometers and paper-in-oil capacitors. The three-way Switchcraft toggle switch has an amber Catalin tip. P-90s are known for their clarity and articulation—they sit somewhere between the jangle of a single-coil and the thickness of a humbucker. You get plenty of bite in the bridge position and a warm, vocal quality in the neck. They handle everything from clean jazz to overdriven blues and rock, though they do pick up some hum in high-gain situations.
The hardware lineup includes the no-wire ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge with nickel-plated brass saddles and a lightweight aluminum stop bar tailpiece—the exact setup that debuted on the 1955 NAMM Show guitars. The color-matched speed knobs replicate the originals, and the cream laminated celluloid pickguard completes the vintage aesthetic. One-ply cream Royalite binding wraps the top and fretboard edges.
Product Features:
- Limited to 70 guitars worldwide in Samoa Beige finish, part of a 350-piece run across five colors
- One-piece lightweight mahogany body with hide glue-fitted two-piece plain maple cap
- One-piece mahogany neck with long tenon joint and 1950s Chunky D-shape profile
- Indian rosewood fretboard with 12-inch radius, 22 historic narrow/tall frets, and aged cellulose nitrate trapezoid inlays
- Custom Shop P-90 Soapbar pickups (neck and bridge), hand-wired to 500k CTS potentiometers and paper-in-oil capacitors
- No-wire ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and lightweight aluminum stop bar tailpiece
- Murphy Lab Light Aged nitrocellulose lacquer finish with lightly aged hardware
- Period-correct "low logo" holly headstock veneer, nylon nut, single-line Kluson tuners
- 24.75-inch scale length, 1.687-inch nut width
- Color-matched speed knobs and cream laminated celluloid pickguard
Brand: Gibson
Model: Custom Shop 1955 NAMM Show Commemorative Edition Les Paul
SKU: LPR55PSL22551
Condition: New
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