Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard BOTB Page 40 VOS - Sweetwater Photo Guitar

This is an exceptionally special Gibson Custom Shop Dealer Select 1959 Les Paul Standard from the “The Beauty of the ’Burst” Page 40 series, finished in VOS and built as a tribute to the original 1959 Burst pictured on Page 40 of Yasuhiko Iwanade’s legendary The Beauty of the ’Burst.

Even among Gibson Custom Shop R9s, these are something different. Sweetwater’s Dealer Select Beauty of the ’Burst collection was designed around specific original 1958–1960 Bursts documented in Iwanade’s book, with each model referencing the exact original guitar that inspired it. Sweetwater specifically called out the Page 40 guitar for its distinctive tiger-striped figuring and double-white pickup look.

This particular guitar is even more special: serial number 9 5893 is the actual individual guitar photographed by Sweetwater and featured in their online imagery for the Page 40 model. This is not simply another guitar from the same run. It is the guitar shown in Sweetwater’s photography.

The provenance is known as well. The guitar was originally purchased by a Sweetwater employee, later traded to a friend of ours, and eventually came to us here at Copper Chord Music. It was also professionally PLEK’d by Sweetwater.

And then there is the top.

We have handled a lot of exceptional guitars over the years, but this is easily one of the most striking flame maple tops we have had through the shop. The figuring runs broadly and consistently across virtually the entire top, with deep horizontal flame that changes dramatically with viewing angle. It has the strong tiger-stripe appearance that defines the Page 40 model without looking overly uniform or artificial. There is a tremendous amount of depth and movement to it in person.

We have looked at a number of other Page 40 examples while researching this guitar, and this particular piece of maple is outstanding even within an already very high-end run.

Underneath the appearance is essentially the full Historic Reissue formula. These Page 40 guitars use a two-piece figured maple top over a one-piece lightweight mahogany back with no weight relief, VOS nitrocellulose lacquer, hide-glue construction, a solid mahogany neck with an Authentic ’59 profile, Indian rosewood fingerboard, long neck tenon, ABR-1 bridge, lightweight aluminum stop bar, and Kluson-style vintage tuners.

The pickups are a particularly important part of the Page 40 aesthetic: double-white Custombucker Alnico III humbuckers, left unpotted in traditional PAF fashion. The electronics use CTS 500K audio-taper pots, paper-in-oil capacitors, and a Switchcraft three-way selector.

The guitar is in exceptional condition — what we would personally rate approximately 9.9/10. We are conservatively listing it as Excellent rather than Mint simply because we know the guitar has been played. Visually, however, there is virtually no meaningful evidence of use that we can find. Keep in mind that this is a factory VOS instrument, so the subtle aged appearance of certain hardware and finish elements is intentional from Gibson and should not be confused with player wear.

The frets are excellent, the guitar has been professionally set up, and it plays exactly as a guitar at this level should.

The original brown/pink Lifton-style five-latch Gibson reissue hardshell case is included. This is the correct vintage-style case supplied with the Page 40 Dealer Select guitars and is a fitting finishing touch to an already exceptional package.

For the collector, the attraction here is obvious: this is an extremely high-grade Custom Shop ’59 reissue tied directly to one of the most famous reference books ever published on original Bursts, with an unusually strong flame top, outstanding condition, known ownership history, Sweetwater PLEK work, and the added distinction of being the exact guitar Sweetwater chose to photograph and feature online.

For the player, it is still very much a guitar rather than simply an object to look at. It combines the lightweight, non-weight-relieved mahogany/maple construction, long-tenon hide-glue neck joint, vintage-style hardware and unpotted Custombuckers that make the Historic ’59 platform such a benchmark.

This is one of those instruments where photographs do a better job than words at explaining why it is special — and even the photographs struggle to capture how much the flame moves in person.

Serial Number: 9 5893

Key factory specifications include:

• Gibson Custom Shop Dealer Select 1959 Les Paul Standard
• The Beauty of the ’Burst Page 40
• VOS nitrocellulose lacquer finish
• Two-piece highly figured maple top
• One-piece lightweight mahogany back
• No weight relief
• Solid mahogany neck
• Authentic ’59-style neck profile
• Indian rosewood fingerboard
• 12" fingerboard radius
• 22 Historic medium-jumbo frets
• Nylon nut
• Cellulose nitrate trapezoid inlays
• Long-tenon, hide-glue neck joint
• Double-white Custombucker Alnico III pickups, unpotted
• CTS 500K audio-taper controls
• Paper-in-oil capacitors
• Switchcraft three-way selector
• Nickel ABR-1 bridge
• Lightweight aluminum stop bar
• Kluson-style single-line/single-ring tuners
• Original brown/pink Lifton-style five-latch Gibson hardshell case
• Professionally PLEK’d by Sweetwater
• Excellent / near-mint condition

The Page 40 model itself is now well established as one of the standout non-aged Beauty of the ’Burst Dealer Select models. Sweetwater’s original Page 40 product page is retained only as an archived reference, while Sweetwater’s feature on the series continues to specifically highlight Page 40.

Case: Lifton

Nut Width: 1.675“

Fret Wear: 9.9/10

Action at 12F (6th): .05“

Action at 12F (1st): .05“

Weight: 8lbs 10.5oz

Overall Condition: 9.9/10

Internal Use (Bin) - S3