The 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop & Sunburst: History, Value, and Features

Gibson's Les Paul Standard was at its peak during the transitional year of 1958. The classic Goldtop finish that model was introduced with only 6 years earlier was updated to an aggressive but beautiful Cherry Sunburst finish about mid way through the year. Since the top finish was now translucent, the Maple cap seam needed to be centered instead of off to the side like prior guitars. To this author, all of the Les Paul Standards made in 1958 are the pinnacle of production for the model. 

I'm always a buyer for vintage Gibson guitars, but I'm especially looking for Gibson Les Paul guitars from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. You can contact me here to sell a Gibson guitar. 

If you're looking for help with Gibson guitar dating, check out Les Paul Serial Numbers. Or go here for more information on 1950s Les Paul Values.

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The History of the 1958 Les Paul Standard

1958 is the most pivotal year for not just the Les Paul Standard, but for Gibson's entire Les Paul line of solid body electric guitars. By 1957, sales for the flagship model were down over 70% from the height of its popularity in 1953. The top brass at Gibson were experimenting with new models (Flying V, Explorer, Doubleneck) but also looking for a way to spice up the Standard. Its refined (and maybe a bit stodgy) Gold finish was updated to a more aggressive looking Cherry Sunburst, but this update coincided with a more significant update to the construction of the guitar: the center seam maple top. 

According to this Vintage Guitar Magazine article on the "First Burst", experimentation began on a new Cherry Sunburst finish for the Standard began in February of 1958, but they don't look like the Burst we know today. The process was refined throughout the Spring of that year, and the first Standards to receive the Cherry Sunburst we know today shipped in May of 1958. The Les Paul Standard was constructed with a maple top over mahogany body since its introduction in 1952, but off-center three piece tops were the norm. The first two Les Pauls with the Cherry Sunburst finish revealed the problem of the three piece top 

The opaque Gold finish hid the three piece maple top, so aesthetically pleasing figure and book matched symmetrical tops were (until then) unnecessary. The first two Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Standards (8 3087 and 8 3096) sent to Gibson's parent company for approval still had three piece tops, but the standard production Standards made a month or two later exhibit the classic (mostly) bookmatched two piece tops. We know from Robb Lawrence's interview with Gibson president Ted McCarty that Ted himself was involved in the selection of the maple trees which were most likely to contain flame figure, but it was not always predictable. The catalog photo of the Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Standard exhibits rich figure, but the figure wasn't guaranteed or even mentioned in the copy. 

How many Les Paul Standards made in 1958?

The best way to determine how many Les Paul Standards were made in 1958 is to use Gibson Shipment Totals: 1937-1979 by Larry Meiners. This book is a printed record of the totals in Gibson's shipment ledgers were are owned by the current Gibson company. You may remember that the day books from Gibson from mid 1958, 1959, and 1960 are missing and that the company is offering a $59,000 reward for their return. 

Lucky for us, the totals for each model were recorded in the shipment ledgers from Gibson, not the day books. Gibson's shipment totals indicate that 434 Les Paul Standards were shipped in 1958. Do you have one? Get in touch: Sell a Gibson. The totals do not record how many were Goldtops and how many were 'Bursts. 

1958 Les Paul Standard PAF Pickups

Of equally important note to the 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard, Gibson employee Seth Lover helped design a brand new type of pickup in 1955 that replaced its old single coil design, the P-90. The Humbucking pickup utilized two coils with reverse direction windings that cancelled the 60 cycle hum that often plagued the single coil pickups. The Humbucking pickup replaced the P-90 on the Les Paul Model in 1957. It's commonly called the "PAF" pickup because of the sticker on the back that reads "PATENT APPLIED FOR". This is the pickup that helps make the 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard such a coveted guitar.

1958 Burst Neck Profiles

1958 Les Paul necks are known by players to be the fattest year of the Cherry Sunburst years. A typical measurement for a '58 Goldtop of Burst is around 0.90" deep at the first fret and about 1.00" deep at the 12th fret. While many players prefer the slightly slimmer 1959 neck profile, I personally love the fat '58 necks and skinny frets. Most of the '58 Les Paul reissues I've played have a strange D shape with wide shoulders, but I've found that the real original '58s are far more C shaped. They're much more comfortable and normal feeling than the reissues. 

1958 Les Paul Standard Serial Numbers

Like the rest of the solid body guitars Gibson made from 1953 until 1961, the 1958 Les Paul Standard serial numbers consist of a prefix digit to indicate the year (8) followed by a four or five digit consecutive production number. 5 digit serial numbers have a space between the year and the consecutive number, but 6 digit serials utilize this space after year prefix. Once Gibson produced 9,999 solid bodies in a year, the 10,000th guitar had a "1" in place of the space. 

You can learn more about 1950s Gibson solid body serial numbers here: Gibson Serial Numbers.

Examples of 1958 Les Paul Standards I've Purchased

1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard from South Africa "PJ"

This 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard burst, nicknamed "PJ" because of the name on the case, weighed in at 8lbs 14oz. The neck profile measured exactly .90" deep at the first fret. This is a typical fat 1958 profile that I found very comfortable because of the slightly thin shoulders of the C shape. Many of the R8 reissue Les Pauls had more a D shaped neck that felt even larger than they measured. This was not the case with this guitar!

The control cavity of this 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard had some interesting features that are specific to a 1958 Gibson guitar. Check out the way that the ground wire is soldered to the back of each pot. You can also see the bright yellow lead covers on the capacitors. It seems that Gibson wasn't preoccupied with the direction of the capacitors when installing them since many from this time period are installed opposite of each other, including this guitar. You can also see a pretty nice chew mark on the edge of the cavity. The potentiometer codes read 134 808 which indicates Centralab, 1958, 8th week. 

Another interesting feature that's typical of 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitars and even some early 59s is the small fret style. Gibson updated their standard fret size to large jumbo frets in 1959 so there are far more large fret bursts than small fret guitars. This guitar had been played a lot so there was very little meat left on the small frets. It was still a blast to play!

1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard from Norway

I've just returned from a guitar buying trip to Oslo, Norway to pick up another 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard Burst! This Les Paul is less than 200  serial numbers  away from the '58 Burst I bought in South Africa. I booked my flight to buy this guitar going on some vague cell phone pictures, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was finally able to open the case and view this amazing guitar. The top color was vibrant and showed very little fading. The figure of the Maple top was busy and interesting, but not book matched like a reissue guitar. It's perfect!

Are you interested in selling a 1950s Gibson Les Paul? Sell a Gibson .

My new friend in Norway purchased this '58 Gibson Les Paul Standard in 1974 when he saw an acquaintance walking down the street with a brown case in hand. He stopped the gentleman and asked "what's in the case?" The case toting man replied that it was an older Gibson Les Paul Standard, and that he was on his way to show it to someone since it was for sale. After my friend inquired about the price (about $600), he said that there was no need to show it to someone else because he would like to buy it.

Inside the pocket in the brown and pink Les Paul case was a letter that the previous owner received back from Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), the parent company of Gibson at the time. The letter, dated April 12th, 1972, was written by Helene Blue who was the secretary for A. H. Giel who was the vice president of the company. The previous owner had inquired about dating the guitar and determining how many were made. CMI apparently had absolutely no idea about either answer. Ms. Blue said that she thought that the guitar had possibly been made in 1953!

1958 Les Paul Standard Goldtop with Bigsby

I'm pleased to share the latest 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard to come through the shop! This one is an early 1958 Les Paul with dark back and factory Bigsby tailpiece. Take a look closely at the top to see how there aren't any stop bar tailpiece studs installed in the body. Its previous owner bought it used in the 1970s and had Grover tuners installed, a refret with jumbo sized frets, and a brass nut installed. I prefer my vintage Les Paul guitars to have factory equipment as close as it makes sense, so we reinstalled the original tuners and nut which were retained inside the case. 

This 1958 Goldtop Les Paul also had its original bridge pickup removed at some point. While this doesn't necessarily damage the pickup, it yields no benefit to the guitar and is completely unnecessary. The previous owner didn't reinstall the bridge pickup very nicely, so I removed the solder holding the cover on and started over. Once the original cover solder was reflowed in the way the factory would do it, I aged the solder a bit so that it wouldn't be quite so shiny. I think it's a job worth of such a nice guitar.

Have a 1958 Les Paul? Get in touch

Do you have a 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard? Congratulations! That's a stunning guitar. You may have questions about proper identification, authentication, and valuation. I am an active collector, dealer, and passionate player of Les Paul guitars from the 1950s. You can contact me here to Sell a Gibson or for help with more information about your guitar.