I was recently contacted by a gentleman looking to sell a Gibson Les Paul guitar. As a Gibson guitar buyer, I was excited to see that his guitar was a 1958 Gibson Les Paul TV Model. He wanted help with how to date a Gibson Les Paul and wanted to sell. I'm always a Gibson guitar buyer but I'm especially looking for 1950s Gibson Les Paul guitars. You can contact me here to sell a Gibson guitar.
He and his siblings inherited the guitar after their father passed in 2016. His father was a multi-instrumentalist, but it's clear from the wear that he preferred his Les Paul. I offered to arrange the packing, shipping, and insurance for him, but he was wary of shipping the guitar. I figured it was time for a road trip! I wasn't going to let an 11 hour round trip get in the way of me and a vintage Gibson Les Paul TV.
If you'd like help dating your vintage Gibson, check out How to date a vintage Gibson Les Paul. Or if you're interested in selling a vintage Gibson, you can contact me here: Sell a Gibson guitar.
Gibson's Les Paul TV Model was officially introduced in the 1955 catalog as what looked like an option underneath the Les Paul Special section. It was listed as "Les Paul TV Model, Limed Oak - 1 pickup". It bridged the gap between the student level Les Paul Junior with its single bridge pickup and the semi-professional Les Paul Special with dual pickup, neck binding, and pearl inlay. While it was listed underneath the Special, it's more closely associated with the Junior in my opinion, since it doesn't have the neck binding or the pearl Gibson peghead inlay.
Here are a couple of other Gibson Les Paul guitars from 1957 for reference:
