1955 Gibson Les Paul Junior, Sunburst

A superb 1955 Gibson Les Paul Junior, finished in Sunburst and carrying all the stripped-back, single-pickup magic that makes these mid-’50s Juniors such special guitars.

The Les Paul Junior may have been introduced as Gibson’s student model, but the simplicity of the design is exactly what makes it so good. A slab mahogany body, single P-90 pickup, wraparound stud tailpiece and a great neck profile is a hard formula to beat, and this example has all the right ingredients.

This guitar is in very good order with no breaks or repairs. The neck profile is superb: full, comfortable and exactly the sort of mid-’50s Gibson carve that makes these guitars so enjoyable to play. It measures 42.4mm at the nut, with a depth of 23mm at the 1st fret and 25mm at the 12th. The frets and nut appear original, and the frets still have plenty of remaining height, so the guitar plays very well. It weighs in at a very comfortable 3.39kg.

Hardware includes the correct stud tailpiece, with very minimal post lean, and the correct 3-a-side single-line Kluson tuners. It retains the simple, purposeful layout that defines the Junior, with everything feeling solid, direct and ready to use.

Electrically, the guitar is largely as you would hope to see. It has the correct P-90 pickup, reading 7.85k, along with the correct Centralab volume pot dating to week 22 of 1955 and the correct Grey Tiger capacitor. The tone pot has been replaced with a CTS pot dating to week 37 of 1978.

Tonally, it delivers exactly what you want from a good ’50s Junior: raw, open and immediate, with plenty of bite from the P-90 and a lively, resonant response from the wraptail construction. There is real punch and attitude here, but also enough warmth and dynamic range to make it far more versatile than the simple spec might suggest.

A fantastic 1955 Gibson Les Paul Junior with no breaks or repairs, a superb neck, strong originality and a great-sounding P-90. It comes complete with its original croc hard case.