The Wishlist Dream Guitars To Beg, Borrow And Steal For…

Gibson custom Mark knopfler 1958 les paul £9,399 

- Neville Marten 

When Gibson Custom and Mark Knopfler got together to recreate his legendary ’58, they chose to offer just 250 instruments: 150 in VOS finish, 100 aged and 50 signed by the man himself. Here’s one of those rare aged and signed ones – now sadly all sold.

In what Gibson calls ‘Knopfler Burst’, it’s a subtle fade but with plenty of cherry remaining. The ageing is superb, with all the dings and lacquer checking you’d expect from a guitar that’s done decades on the road. And all the various major ‘events’ that have befallen it, too – a deep scratch across the back of the headstock, a double gouge inside the cutaway, and, of course, the usual buckle wear.