Among my absolute favorite vintage guitars is the Gibson Les Paul Model goldtop with gold finish made from mid 1957 to mid 1958. Gibson's Les Paul model guitar was only five years old in 1957, and in my opinion, this is the year they finally got it right. Goldtop Les Paul guitars from previous years are fantastic of course, but the combination of the tune-o-matic bridge, humbucking pickups, and last full year of the gold finish is the best combination of features. 

As a Gibson guitar collector, I'm always looking for the nicest examples of Les Paul guitars made in the 1950s. My favorite year for the Les Paul is 1957 like the guitar pictured above. If you've inherited a 1950s Gibson Les Paul guitar and are curious about how much I would value it then you can contact me here: Sell a Gibson. Or if you're looking for help with how to find the year of my Gibson Les Paul then check out the Les Paul Serial Number Lookup

1957 Les Paul Goldtop History

The Gibson Les Paul Model with gold finish debuted in 1952, but in my opinion as a guitar player, it peaked in 1957. The solid body electric guitar was only a few years into existence in mass produced form, so it took some time for guitar manufacturers to fully refine them into the tools we know them as today. The two main features that make the 1957 Gibson Les Paul Model my favorite are the humbucking pickups and the Tune-O-Matic bridge. The powerful humbucking pickup became the sound of Rock and Roll for decades to come, and the tune-o-matic bridge gave the Les Paul solid tuning stability and intonation to make the note pure. You can check out some earlier year Goldtop Les Paul guitars here: Gibson Les Paul Gold 1954 and Gibson Les Paul Gold 1956.

It's easy to find the year of a 1950s Gibson Les Paul using the serial number and the features. The serial number of this Gibson Les Paul goldtop is ink stamped, begins with a "7" prefix, and has all the features we know from 1957. The 7 prefix indicates that the guitar was made in 1957 since that was the only decade with an ink stamped serial and prefix digit. The features also support 1957 being the year of manufacture since the humbucking pickups weren't introduced until 1957, and the gold finish was updated to the Cherry Sunburst finish in 1958. For more on Gibson Les Paul serial numbers, check out Les Paul Serial Number Lookup

Gibson Les Paul Standard guitars with gold finish 1957-1958

1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard Value and Pricing

1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitars are the most valuable of the "Goldtop" era of the Les Paul (1952 - 1957). The Les Paul Standard transitioned to a Sunburst finish in mid year 1958, so I'll include the early '58 Goldtops as equally valuable. There are a few factors which will influence the value of a 1957 Les Paul goldtop: Condition, Originality, and Features. 

Condition: Lower miles, higher value

As with most vintage collectibles, 1957 Goldtops which have very little wear will almost always attract a buyer at a higher price than a comparable example with heavy player wear. It's not likely that heavy play wear will deter a buyer, but they're not likely to be willing to pay a premium price for an example which has been played heavily. 

The most important items which will affect its value are the presence of neck cracks/repairs and refinishing. Since the Les Paul neck is constructed of Mahogany wood with a pitched back headstock, neck cracks just below the tuners are very common.

Originality: Original parts are almost always better

Each non-original part on a vintage guitar can decrease a buyer's interest (and therefore its value), but some parts are more important than others. Some commonly replaced parts include the output jack plate, the tuning machines, and the toggle switch ring. Since the output jack plate and the toggle switch ring can easily be replaced without modifying the wood, they're not typically going to decrease a buyer's interest in the guitar. However, many players in the 70s and 80s preferred oversized tuners which required routing of the wood on the headstock and extra holes. While this is not optimum, it's not likely to be catastrophic to the value of the guitar. 

The most important parts which can affect its value are the pickups. The pickups on an electric guitar can be compared to the motor of a vintage collectible car. Replaced pickups will affect the sound of the instrument typically in a negative way. Guitar collectors put a top priority on original pickups. 

Features: Not all 1957 Les Pauls were created equally

1957 was a transitional year for the Goldtop Les Paul: early examples were made with single coil P-90 style pickups, but mid to late year examples received the new Humbucking pickups. Guitar collectors greatly prefer the humbucking pickup variety which likely accounts for the nearly 6 figure difference in value between comparable examples of the two configuration. Personally, I love playing both the P-90 and the Humbucker versions. 

Another option available on 1957 Goldtop Les Pauls was the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece. The standard tailpiece for the Les Paul Model was the simple stop bar tailpiece which anchors directly to the top just behind the bridge. Some examples were manufactured specifically to have a Bigbsy vibrato tailpiece, and therefore those guitars did not receive the tailpiece studs in the body. Most buyers will likely prefer the stability of the stop bar tailpiece, but only by maybe 10-20% of the value. 

 

If you've inherited a 1957 Gibson Les Paul guitar and are curious about values then you can contact me here: Guitar buyer. I am actively looking to buy a 1957 Gibson Les Paul goldtop and will value it fairly. 

1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard headstock

John Shults

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