Most of us have limited access to real vintage pieces, especially models that haven’t been molested. It can be the same for many guitar makers who may base their ’59-alike builds on far-from-vintage instruments, or even use books such as The Beauty Of The ’Burst (Yasuhiko Iwanade) as their guide. When it comes to ageing and relicing, it can be just as difficult: not every artisan working in this area has a real piece to study before they create their ageing. Evaluating authentic ageing, then, can be just as difficult.
This fine 1957 Les Paul Junior, owned by Dave Gregory, was shot in our studio for the cover of issue 378. Our comparison ’57 Junior for this feature is a bit more bashed up. Head over to our YouTube channel at
http://bit.ly/git474junior and hear what the real thing can do!