Vintage Vibes: 1952 Goldtop Gibson Les Paul

VINTAGE VIBES: 1952 Goldtop Gibson Les Paul

We're over the moon to have another stunning Goldtop in the store! Featuring the infamous trapeze wrap-under bridge, two perfect P90 pickups, and just enough green patina on the top, this 1952, all-original piece of rock 'n' roll history absolutely soars in the hands of Nathaniel Murphy.

Nathaniel Murphy Describes the 1952 Gibson Goldtop Les Paul

It's been a little while since we had one of these in stock, so we're very excited to show you this beautiful and almost all-original, first-year Gibson Les Paul with a gorgeous Goldtop finish. This is the second version of this iconic model year. Early '52s did not have the neck binding, but for the majority of the year, they did, and as you can see, this one does. Most '52s came with the taller knobs, but this one has the shorter knobs associated with '53s, which would lead us to believe that this is actually a very late '52 Goldtop model.

The two cream-covered soapbar P90s are to die for. They sound absolutely phenomenal. The guitar's incredibly resonant, and the original frets have almost no wear on them. They're very small because that's how they left the factory in '52, but it still plays great up and down the neck. As with all '52s, it came with a trapeze wrap-under bridge.

The main man himself, Les Paul, said the wrap-under bridge was a design flaw, and so the following year decided to pitch the neck back by one degree, which allowed them to wrap the strings over the bridge, which made it much more playable.

Now, although this guitar is nothing to scoff at, I mean, look at it. It's incredible, but these Goldtops actually get more sought-after and collectible the younger they are.

So, for example, a '53 is more sought-after than '52, and so on. That's because of the critical appointment changes made in those early years, which made them more playable, but still, these original components are what make first-year Les Pauls so interesting. It's an honor to play one, and there's something special about the unique playability of it and the phenomenal sound.