Used Vintage Gibson 1955 Les Paul Junior

Sonic Evaluation

Wildwoodians, as with all sonic evaluations, your mileage may vary from mine, but if you're a freak about Les Paul Juniors like me, you might also consider this serial one of the finest electric guitars you've ever played. Juniors are my favorite electric guitars, and this example from 1955 is one of my all-time favorites. There's something about the raw, no-frills one-pickup configuration that puts me in touch with the elemental joys of rock and roll (neck pickups are for a jazz players!), and I couldn't stop grinning as loud distorted power chords reverberated through the shop.

I was immediately blown away by this serial's acoustic resonance--it is L O U D even when unplugged, and that impressive resonance really shines through when you plug in. This guitar is practically dripping with harmonic overtones, which makes chords sound thick and rich and gives single-note lines tons of mass and character. It's also remarkably touch sensitive, and you can make it go from sounding warm and glassy to like a fanged church bell from hades depending on your mood and your right-hand velocity. In the attack, there's a lovely bit of musical compression before the note or chord blooms into full resonance, and it responds to your touch at lightspeed.

The low-end is laden with gristle and beef, the midrange snarls and crunch, and the high-end has a wonderful sizzle and sparkle to it. The punchy, woody fundamental blends beautifully with the chiming high-end--a desert island tone for sure! I even enjoyed playing it with the tone rolled completely off, which gave me a delightful cocked-wah sort of tone. But that pure, unadulterated tone with both knobs on ten is a all you need for blues, rock, punk, metal, country and all points in-between--who needs a Swiss Army Knife when you have a machete like this?

If you love Les Paul Juniors like I do, you owe it to yourself to experience this magnificent steed firsthand. I have no doubt its raw rock mojo will cause you to question whether neck pickups are necessary, too!

Condition Report

This '55 Junior is an absolute monster, and it's in pretty killer shape! It has some awesome-looking vintage wear that gives it mojo for days, and it looks to be mostly original except for the knobs. It has undergone a professional refret from the fine folks at Woodsongs Lutherie, too, so it's ready to rip. Before that, it underwent a repair to the bridge post bushings, which were moved for some reason, perhaps to improve intonation. Though the second repair isn't as clean as the first, the guitar is rock-solid and intonates quite well. It comes with a non-original hardshell case, too!

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