This guitar is a commission sale. If you have a high-end or vintage instrument you are interested in selling, please contact us. 
 
This guitar is offered as COLLECTION ONLY from our Ashton-under-Lyne store. Specialist courier delivery is available from £55 - please enquire.
 
Here for sale we have an incredibly special Gibson Custom Shop Joe Bonamassa 'Skinnerburst' '59 Les Paul Standard in Dirty Lemon Burst finish, aged in the Murphy Lab. This guitar was made in 2014, and is based upon Joe Bonamassa's most favourite Les Paul, the '59 Burst known as 'Principal Skinner'. The original guitar has been in Joe's extensive collection since 2011, and is the most played guitar that he owns, accompanying him around the world on tour. As one of the fabled 'Bursts, 'Principal Skinner' is an example of Gibson's finest work, unanimously accepted as their best era. Gibson reportedly made around 1500-1700 of these guitars between '58-'60, although today only around 900-1200 can be accounted for due to loss, damage and the prolific rise of fakes. A real 'Burst can command a price as high as half a million dollars today, making this painstaking replica a real bargain. 
 
Joe allowed Gibson's engineers full access to the original instrument in order to reproduce the guitar as closely as possible, from the exact carve of the Maple top and the Mahogany neck to the hot hide glue set-neck construction. A total of 300 instruments were made, with 150 being aged in the Murphy Lab and final completion of the instrument made by Tom Murphy himself. The first 50 of these were played and signed by Joe Bonamassa, and the final 150 featured a VOS finish. This example is number 024 of the run of 100 aged guitars, and is as close as anyone can come to playing the original guitar as it appears today without stealing it from Joe's collection. 
 
The Mahogany neck plays incredibly well; the profile matched exactly to that of the original guitar. Whilst certainly not a slim neck, it's surprising that it's not as thick as we might expect from a vintage instrument - certainly not a 'baseball bat'. There is plenty of vintage character and vibe on offer, whilst remaining slim enough for smooth and articulate lead lines and licks. The fingerboard feels rich and luxurious under the fingers; the Indian Rosewood providing a comfortable and practical playing surface whilst the aged trapezoid inlays add to the authenticity of the aged finish. At 9.1lbs the guitar carries a reassuring weight to it, again adding to the authentic feel of the instrument. 
 
Amplified, the Gibson  humbucking pickups installed in this instrument deliver vintage-accurate, sweet, rich and warm tones, perfect for those searching for the ultimate vintage sound. The Burstbucker 3 in the neck position is Gibson's closest modern reproduction of the original PAF, and delivers warmth and roundness; an impeccable lead tone for solos and melodic lines. The Custombucker in the bridge is the Gibson Custom Shop's version of the PAF. It's of course hotter than the neck position, saturating into an incredibly rich distortion when driving your amp. Clean tones are crystalline yet warm, and with the traditional control layout an impressive range of tones can be achieved without even touching a pedal. The Bumblebee capacitors and vintage spec wiring ensure that even the tone controls behave just the way they do on Joe's guitar. 
 
The Murphy Lab is renowned for producing incredibly beautiful aged guitars, making use of Tom Murphy's personally developed techniques, years of experience, special lacquer formulation & hardware ageing to produce brand new instruments with an authentic vintage patina. This 'Skinnerburst' takes that a step further, using the ageing process to replicate the wear and patina of the original guitar as closely as possible. The finish and ageing on this instrument really are a thing to behold. The time and care that has been taken in the ageing process is clear to see when viewing the instrument, producing an instrument which feels authentic and incredibly exclusive. A beautiful guitar, incredible collector's piece and an appreciating investment all rolled into one. 
 
This guitar is a commission sale. If you have a high-end or vintage instrument you are interested in selling, please contact us. 
 
This guitar is offered as COLLECTION ONLY from our Ashton-under-Lyne store. Specialist courier delivery is available from £55 - please enquire.
 
Please be aware that for international buyers import fees are not included in our postage and packaging cost, this only covers the cost of the guitar being sent to you. Import fees will be charged by Customs upon the guitar's arrival in the recipient country. Due to Brexit, this also applies to EU buyers. We advise checking the total import cost with Customs as this is not information we are able to accurately provide.