Up for sale, a 2020 Gibson Custom Shop 1959 Les Paul Standard R9 Light Aged in Royal Tea Burst, complete with the original aged Lifton-style case. Near-mint, this guitar is a Gibson factory aged model produced just prior to the introduction of the Murphy Lab. With no discernible wear beyond the factory aging, this R9 represents peak Gibson Custom Shop craftsmanship, exceedingly lightweight at only 8lbs 2oz.

From laser-scanned dimensions to chemically-recreated plastics to color-matched shades of sunburst, every element of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard has been rendered in unbelievable detail. Representing the culmination of decades of work by Custom Shop's expert team - a tireless quest to bring accuracy and authenticity to the hands of players - according to Gibson, this iteration of the R9 is their best representation of the 1959 Les Paul Standard since the Gibson Custom Shop began making Historic Reissues over twenty-five years ago.

Tom Murphy, the Master Artisan and namesake of Gibson's Murphy Lab, was central to the creation of the Gibson Custom Shop and personally developed the various processes on display for aging the finish, hardware and plastics of these Historic Series instruments. With a quarter century in the saddle, Murphy is a celebrated authority for replicating the character of vintage instruments on the canvas of newly-created guitars.

Tonewoods include a two-piece carved and hide glue fit curly flame maple top, a one-piece mahogany body, and a mahogany neck with a 50s Rounded Medium C profile carve and long neck tenon, capped with a bound Indian rosewood fingerboard. This Les Paul has a lively and pronounced voice when strummed unplugged, with great bark in the low end, and sparkling, round-sounding plain strings that deliver plenty of zing and also a richness that makes lead lines cut through with great clarity and body. Fitted with CustomBuckers, these pickups are Gibson's latest and most highly praised PAF iteration available exclusively in select Custom Shop models. Featuring Alnico III magnets, these low-medium output pickups have all the chirp, honk, and bloom you could want. The set in this particular guitar is dynamic, highly detailed, balanced, and comfortably versatile with any playing style. The bridge has plenty of bite and growl, while the neck pickup has the buttery girth and power one expects without sacrificing clarity. The guitar benefits from a professional setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 9-42 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

The mahogany neck has Gibson's 50s Rounded Medium C profile carve, representative of a genuine ’59 shape, while still being shy of some of the more aggressive “baseball bat” carves of Gibsons 1957-58 Burst reissues, measuring .880" deep at the 1st fret and .990" at the 12th. The bound dark Indian rosewood fretboard has cellulose nitrate trapezoid inlay and flawless medium jumbo fretwire. Notes ring out clearly up the 24 3/4" scale, and the neck is straight with a responsive truss rod. The nylon nut measures 1 11/16" in width. The headstock has the correct 17 degree angle, holly veneer, and Kluson Deluxe single line, single ring tuning machines.

The electronics function flawlessly, with PAF waterslide decals on the CustomBucker baseplates, Bumblebee tone caps, and the requisite "R9" stamp in the corner of the control cavity. Lightly aged nickel-plated hardware includes the ABR-1 bridge and stopbar, cellulose acetate butyrate cream-colored plastics, and a quartet of gold butyrate bonnet knobs. The Royal Tea Burst lacquer finish exhibits finish checking and various marks of simulated wear as part of Gibson's Historic aging process helmed by Tom Murphy, with no discernible additional playwear.

The original Lifton-style aged brown hardshell case is included (the guitar does not come with any additional paperwork).