Gibson Custom 1954 Les Paul Custom Staple Pickup Reissue VOS

With its sonic punch, fluid playability, and classic “Black Beauty” appointments, the 1954 Les Paul Custom Staple Pickup Reissue VOS is equal parts elegance and brute strength. As did the first Les Paul Customs, it has a solid single-piece, carved-top mahogany body that delivers a warmth and midrange unlike any maple-topped Les Paul. And like the originals, it’s fitted with a matched P-90 pickup set (with Gibson’s rare and coveted “Staple” pickup in the neck position) that takes you from chimey, articulate rhythms to biting leads — the original recipe for rich, sustaining, articulate tone that slices right through the mix.

This majestic beast is ultra-responsive to your touch with a satisfying neck profile and smooth-as-silk bound ebony fingerboard that facilitates the speedy, dexterous fretwork we’ve heard from prog, fusion, and hard rock Les Paul Custom virtuosos such as Robert Fripp, Al Di Meola, and Zakk Wylde. Meticulously handcrafted for historical accuracy by Gibson’s elite Custom Shop luthiers, the 1954 Les Paul Custom Staple Pickup Reissue VOS is destined to be a cherished heirloom instrument — and a guitar you’ll want to play every day.

VOS stands for “Vintage Original Spec,” and it’s not a product designation Gibson uses lightly. With the 1954 Les Paul Custom VOS, the goal was to re-create the experience of playing a classic golden-era Gibson. Most guitarists expect a Les Paul to have a mahogany body with a carved maple top and a rosewood fingerboard. But when the Les Paul Custom was introduced in 1953 (a year after the standard model), it sported a one-piece mahogany body (with a carved top) and an ebony fingerboard — specifications that came from none other than Les Paul himself.

From its Kluson Waffleback tuning machines to its original-spec pickups, the 1954 Les Paul Custom Staple Pickup Reissue VOS is as authentic as it gets.