“It's just a beautiful guitar and a fantastic instrument, and obviously it was adopted by dozens of hugely influential players,” says Mat Koehler, head of product development at Gibson. Meanwhile, the nitrocellulose lacquer used to set the neck to the body evaporates over time, turning the guitar into one long tuning fork with tonal qualities that evolve with age. The technical specs, craftsmanship and design of Gibson’s golden-era Les Pauls were nearly unprecedented.įretboards made from Brazilian rosewood (the now-endangered Dalbergia nigra) produced a one-of-a-kind tone and feel, and the flame maple top created the inimitable “tiger stripe” design. WikipediaĮven if the Moderne proves to be merely legend, guitar enthusiasts would still find plenty in Gibson’s 1959-60 ledgers to sink their teeth into regarding the ’59 Les Pauls. “I would say it might have a $20 million handle on it.”Ī 1982 Gibson Moderne Heritage. “If it were to surface that we actually made one and we can trace it, I can guarantee you that would be the most expensive guitar in the world,” Gueikian says. To this day, the Moderne remains the “great white whale” of the guitar world. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top has claimed to own an original, but has never allowed anyone to photograph or inspect it for authenticity. Patent drawings exist, but there is no physical evidence that Gibson ever created a Moderne in the ‘50s. The company prototyped the guitar in 1957 in tandem with the Flying V and Explorer but did not put it into production until 1982. The missing ledgers could also contain information even more tantalizing and groundbreaking than that of the ’59 Les Pauls: details about the mythical Gibson Moderne. “The importance for the collector community of being able to establish provenance of the instruments and obviously authenticity, I think it's gonna be quite revolutionary,” Gueikian says. The company only shipped 643 Les Pauls in 1959, but these days, there are far more alleged ’59 Les Pauls in circulation. One of the greatest incentives for recovering Gibson’s missing shipping ledgers is to have ironclad proof of authenticity of its golden-era Les Pauls. “I think it's gonna be quite revolutionary” Anybody who thinks they have a qualifying item can email with a written description, photograph or video and phone number. The company is launching a nationwide search for its missing shipping ledgers and offering $59,000 “with zero questions asked” to anybody who can return the books. It’s also offering rewards on a case-by-case basis for any documents, blueprints or historical assets predating 1970. Now, Gibson is seeking to reclaim its history. They may be able to shed light on lesser-known Gibson models and prototypes-and further distinguish authentic ’59 Les Pauls from the hordes of fakes. These ledgers contain information about every Gibson product shipped between the second half of 1958 and the end of 1960, including Flying Vs, Explorers, early SGs, and of course, the hallowed ’59 Les Pauls.
For decades, Gibson has been missing a crucial document from its golden era: its 1959-60 shipping ledgers, which are presumed to have gone missing around the time the company moved from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Nashville, Tennessee in 1984.
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