There may be rarer instruments, but few, if any, are as desirable by both collectors and players as a Les Paul Standard from 1958 to 1960. We are proud to share our newest arrival serial # 9 1256, affectionately known as "Miss Swiss", and she is definitely one of the cleanest examples we've seen come through our showroom. It has been carefully inspected and authenticated by Walter Carter and the Carter Vintage team.
"Miss Swiss" is definitely a 1959 build, but features an extremely clean re-fret with '58 style frets which it likely had from the factory. The neck feels closer to a '58 in size, which may have been a custom request from the factory. There is a light chip out on the fretboard from previous removal of nut, but the original nut has been reinstalled. There are some re-glued fretboard inlays evidenced by shrinkage.
The pickup covers were previously taken off (likely in the '80s since it was a popular mod then), but there is no sign of any rewind or modification. Interestingly, there is an extra set of holes for switch backplate cover from the factory, covered over with original finish likely from the employee originally drilling the screws in the wrong orientation.
Text has been added with black marker on back of pickguard reading "LD REG". The only thing keeping this from being 100% original beyond the refret is a changed metal jackplate.
The finish is in excellent shape for its age. It has its share of dings and scratches, but the overall condition of the instrument is collector-grade.
The sound is pure 'burst; the neck pickup sounding thicker than normal with a slightly higher wind than the bridge pickup. This makes the bridge pickup cut that much clearer, and the two are a perfect combination.
Overall, this is an exquisite example of a sunburst LP Standard that lives up to its heritage. It includes an original hard shell case, but comes with a Proform case from the '80s for more security.
