HISTORY REPEATING

Gibson's highest-tier replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars these days. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page's fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard

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One of the most striking developments in the guitar market has been the emergence of high-end Les Pauls that command the kind of prices that, just a few years ago, original 60s or even 50s examples used to cost. Built as part of limited-run ranges such as the Collector’s Choice series, such guitars are not simply aged to resemble generic ’Bursts of the golden era but are crafted to closely resemble specific celebrated guitars – from the instruments Jimmy Page used with Led Zeppelin to ’Bursts that have no artist associations but have become known among collectors as particularly fine examples of Gibson’s late-50s and early 60s handiwork.

Not simply reissues, Gibson’s Custom Shop Artist and Collector’s Choice guitars (the latter is now discontinued) are therefore better understood as factory replicas – timepieces that are also right at the top of the tree in terms of build quality. Debuting at roughly the same time as Fender’s Relic Custom Shop guitars, Gibson’s aged replicas of famous Les Pauls first appeared in the 1990s and one could argue that early examples are now hovering at the edge of ‘vintage’ status themselves, being around 30 years old. All the same, you’d be forgiven a sharp intake of breath when looking at the prices the most sought-after examples of such guitars now command, which can be upwards of £20,000.

To be fair, most are considerably less expensive but still command prices well north of conventional R9s and the like. We were mulling these matters when Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars in