Gibson Custom Shop LE 1954 Les Paul Staple HB, Heavy Aged - Ebony

In 1954, Les Paul walked into Gibson and asked for something that would make his signature guitar look like a tuxedo. What came back was the Les Paul Custom — all-mahogany body, ebony fingerboard, multi-ply binding, gold hardware, and a finish so deep and black it became one of the most iconic visual statements in the history of the electric guitar. The Interstellar Tone Traveler is honored to carry one of these extraordinarily rare Murphy Lab 1954 Les Paul Custom Reissues from Gibson's Limited Edition Collection — a tribute to that original instrument, built with the obsessive period-correctness the Nashville Custom Shop is uniquely capable of, and then handed to Tom Murphy's team for Heavy Aged treatment. What emerges is a guitar that carries the visual weight and tactile presence of a well-loved original from Gibson's first Golden Age: checking in the nitrocellulose, worn binding, played-through finish at all the right contact points — the look and feel of seventy years of life, delivered new. This is Murphy Lab working at the level that has made Tom Murphy's name synonymous with the most convincing aged instruments in the world.

The construction is period-correct at every level: a 1-piece lightweight mahogany body with mahogany top — the all-mahogany formula that made the original Custom sound fundamentally different from a maple-capped Standard — joined to a mahogany neck via Long Tenon Hide Glue fit for maximum coupling and resonance. The Chunky 1950's "D" profile fills the hand with authority, the Authentic 1950s No-Tube truss rod and nylon nut at 1.69" keep the vintage spec intact, and the ebony fingerboard carries MOP block inlays behind cream single-ply Royalite binding. And then there's the twist: the neck position holds a Custom Staple pickup — an authentic nod to the original '54 Custom's actual Alnico neck pickup — delivering crystalline clarity and rich harmonic detail. The bridge, however, steps outside history: an uncovered Custombucker Alnico 3 with zebra bobbins replaces the period-correct P-90, bringing humbucker warmth, drive, and dynamic sensitivity to a platform that never had it in 1954. Paper-in-Oil capacitors, CTS 500K pots, a Switchcraft 3-way toggle, No-Wire ABR-1 with nickel-plated brass saddles, Lightweight Aluminum Stop Bar, and Kluson Waffleback tuners — all finished in Gold, Murphy Lab Heavy Aged — complete an instrument assembled entirely from the finest period-correct and purposefully anachronistic components Gibson Custom can offer. Amber Catalin switch tip. Lifton Reissue 5-Latch Case. Certificate of Authenticity and Historic Reissue Hang Tags included.

Model: 1954 Limited Edition Les Paul Custom 
Body Construction: Solid
Body: 1-Piece Lightweight Mahogany
Body Top: Mahogany
Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Heavy Aged
Body Binding: Multi-Ply Top and Back
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Fingerboard Inlay: MOP Block
Nut: Nylon, 1.69"" 
Neck Profile: Chunky 1950's "D"
Neck Joint: Long Tenon, Hide Glue Fit 
Frets: Medium-Jumbo 
Truss Rod: Authentic 1950s No-Tube
Radius: 12"
Fingerboard Binding: Cream, Single Ply Royalite
Scale Length: 24.75"
Bridge Pickup: Custombucker Alnico 3
Neck Pickup: Custom Staple Top
Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone, CTS 500K Audio Taper Potentiometers, Paper-in-Oil Capacitors
Pickup Selector: 3-Way Switchcraft
Output Jack: 1/4" Switchcraft
Bridge: No-Wire ABR-1 (Nickel-Plated Brass Saddles)
Tailpiece: Lightweight Aluminum Stop Bar
Hardware Color: Gold, Murphy Lab Heavy Aged 
Pickup Covers:  Open
Strap Buttons: Aluminum
Switchwasher: Silkscreened Cellulose Acetate Butyrate
Pickguard: Laminated Cellulose Acetate Butyrate
Truss Rod Cover: Authentic Stepped 2-Ply 
Switch Tip: Amber Catalin 
Tuning Machines: Kluson Waffleback
Mounting Rings:  M69 Cellulose Acetate Butyrate 
Control Covers: Black Royalite 
Case: Lifton Reissue 5-Latch Case
String Gauge: .010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046
Accessories: COA, Historic Reissue Hang Tags, Gibson Custom Switchplate Medallion w/Historic Black Plastic Cover in Case) 
Weight: 8lbs 8oz.