Just. Look. At. These. Beauties!
70 years ago, Gibson unveiled something very special at the NAMM Show (the musical instruments industry’s most prominent trade show, if you're new here). Freshly debuted just three years earlier in 1952, the Les Paul electric guitar was still a vision of the future for guitar enthusiasts. And based on how I’m feeling seeing these images in 2025, what Gibson revealed that day must have absolutely blown away NAMM 1955’s attendees, who I envision looking a lot more like the cast of Mad Men than resembling today’s guitars 'n' gear set.
These five Les Pauls, decked out in “five custom metallic nitrocellulose lacquer car finishes–Samoa Beige, Copper Iridescent, Nugget Gold, Platinum, and Viceroy Brown,” symbolically aligned the Gibson Les Paul with the automobile, then as now the ultimate symbol of freedom and the American way of life.
And just as car designs looked ever toward the future, with tailfins and other space-age accoutrements a common motif, the new line of Gibson Les Pauls were fitted with the cutting edge in electric guitar technology: no-wire ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic™ bridges and Stop Bar tailpieces. Color-matched Speed knobs. Single-ring Kluson® tuners. Hand-wired P90 pickups.
Flash forward to today: Gibson has recreated these five guitars (70 of each finish for a total of 350) in celebration of their 70-year anniversary. From the one-piece Mahogany body, 1950’s chunky “D”-shaped neck profile, and period-correct headstock logo, these are every bit the Les Pauls that Gibson rolled out that day in 1955.
But let’s talk about the finish. That finish! Not only do these Pauls sport the custom metallic “car finish” paint job of the original NAMM 1955s, but they also feature “Light Aging” by Gibson’s artisans in the Murphy Lab. (The hardware is lightly aged to match.) Because they just wouldn’t feel right without juuuust the right amount of aging. Simply put, these guitars are [sniff] beautiful (I’m not crying, you’re crying).
Learn more about the 1955 NAMM Show Commemorative Les Pauls at Gibson.com.
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