1953-1959 Gibson Les Paul Burst Conversion 80's Scott Lentz

These 50's conversions are becoming very hard to find but finally we have another nice conversion in our shop: a 1953 Les Paul Goldtop, converted to ’59 specs by well known luthier Scott Lentz in the late eighties in the USA.

Scott applied a thin layer of flamed maple veneer over the original top (gold still visible in the pickup cavities) on the at least 100 years old Honduran mahogany body and refinished the guitar. It really is hard to tell and it can only be seen in the pickup routings.

About three years ago Florian Jaeger refinished the guitar again with the original nitrocellulose lacquer formula in a stunning Lemon Burst and aged it to perfection. The pictures of the guitar and the process are still visible on his website as a showcase! Florian also repositioned the original Gibson logo from the lower ’53 position to the higher ’59 position. He then re-applied the vintage style silk screen ‘Les Paul model’ and aged the guitar to give it that unmistakable Burst vibe. Finally it was refret professionally with vintage spec fretwire.

So, the base of this Burst Conversion is a 4.1Kg 1953 Gibson Les Paul with a Honduras Mahogany body and Maple top. The neck is a super nice '53 style chunky handful and very comfortable to play. The guitar has that amazing vintage sound which is powerful but open and woody with lots of harmonics and sustain. It really is hard to find a good one for a good price these days!

Original:
- 1953 Les Paul Goldtop
- 1953 control covers
- 1953 Trussrod cover
- 1959 wiring harness with original switch tip, pots date week 7 of 1959
- Late 50's toggle switch tip
- Late 50's Pickguard bracket
- Late 50’s low profile ABR-1 bridge (saddles are correct soft brass by Area ‘59)
- Late 50’s lightweight tailpiece
- Late 50’s studs and long bushings
- Late 50’s knob pointers

Vintage Correct replacements:
- 2 x Gibson Collectors Edition numbered PAF’s series 2 Murphy Lab Aged with long AlNiCo 2 magnets, M69 rings and correct nickel covers over double white coils. The set is complete with COA, Lifton carrying case and case candy. These cost € 999 a set!
- Area ’59 hand aged CAB (cellulose acetate butyrate) knobs
- Area ’59 Soft brass saddles for ABR-1 aged
- Gotoh 510 tuners aged
- Vintage Haven tuners
- Pickguard

The Burst Conversion comes in a Gibson Custom shop Lifton style case, which was hand aged for a vintage vibe.