Arguably the most famous and most sought after electric guitar in history, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and in commemoration of the occasion, Gibson Custom Shop is putting together a run of 500 Gibson 50th Anniversary ’59 Les Paul guitars, which stay as true as true can be to the originals.

The Gibson Les Paul was like nothing anyone had ever seen when it was introduced in 1952, and while the Les Paul is a constantly evolving guitar, the first few years of revisions altered the guitar in pretty significant ways. In 1953, the trapeze tailpiece was replaced by the superior wrapover bar bridge. Two years later, the Tune-omatic bridge and separate stopbar tailpiece improved the guitar, and in 1955, only two more developments were left that would identify the most celebrated Les Paul model of all time. The first development was the humbucker pickup, added in 1957, and the second was purely cosmetic, the birth of the semi-transparent cherry sunburst finish -- perhaps man's crowning achievement.

Gibson's master luthiers examined the original '59 Les Paul Standards in thorough detail through digital methods to determine how to recreate these guitars as closely to perfection as possible. By Gibson's logic, it's even more of a '59 Les Paul Standard than the '59 Les Paul Standard as the original models had a bit of variance from guitar to guitar, but let's not be foolish.

Guitar fixtures include everything you'd find on an authentic 1959 model including a figured maple top, one-piece lightweight mahogany body, gold top-hat control knobs with dial pointers, nickel ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and nickel stopbar tailpiece, period-correct pickguard, single-ply creme top binding, nickel tuners with green buttons and a molded, bell-shaped truss rod cover.

And now a long quote that I'll try to make look more distinguished with italics:

“The 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard represents the pinnacle of imaginative design and masterful craftsmanship. This guitar has become the Holy Grail of guitars in the minds of professionals and collectors the world over. Guitar legends such as Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield and Billy Gibbons, to name only a few, have forged their musical pathways utilizing the incredible tonal characteristics and playability created by the artistry of the 1959 Les Paul Standard. As an icon throughout the music industry, not only has this guitar become a legend, it has attained the highest, most acclaimed value in quality and investment. The year 2009 marks the 50th year anniversary for this guitar, and in celebration, Gibson is proud to reintroduce this legendary iconic guitar to the world.”

—Tony Bacon, author of Million Dollar Les Paul and 50 Years of the Les Paul