Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS Electric Guitar (with Case)
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zZounds Gear Experts Say...
The Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS is the closest recreation of Slowhand's Beano guitar, one of the most important guitars in history.
Overview
Eric Clapton's original 1960 Les Paul Standard is legendary for not one, but several significant reasons. Clapton's playing on John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers' Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album of 1966 (forever after known as The Beano Album because Clapton himself was reading a Beano comic book in the LP's cover photo) is seminal blues-rock -- searing, dynamic and ferocious. While anonymous street artists famously scrawled 'Clapton is God' on the walls and train stations of London, the virtuosic ex-Yardbird brought the mighty sunburst Les Paul roaring back to popular music.
One listen to the creamy, yet biting snarl of Clapton's playing on tracks like Hideaway, Double Crossin' Time, or Key to Love, and countless guitarists the world over were instantly turned on to the power of this rare, and previously under-appreciated, Gibson solidbody electric guitar. Virtually overnight, the single-cutaway Les Paul (deleted from the Gibson catalogue after 1960 and redesigned to the double-cutaway SG body shape) was a must-have for any serious guitarist who wanted to make their mark on music -- leaving a lasting impact on the history of rock and blues.
- Thinner 'Clapton' neck profile
- Rosewood fingerboard with acrylic pearloid trapezoid inlays
- Custom-made Custom Bucker pickups for accurate tone and performance
- Nickel-plated Grover kidney button tuners
- Limited run of… read more only 350 guitars in the Vintage Original Spec (VOS) finish
That is the exalted side of the Beano Burst legend. The tragic side of the tale is that this groundbreaking instrument was stolen from the artist later in 1966, while Clapton was rehearsing with Cream for the band's first tour, and was never recovered. Now, for the first time ever, Gibson Custom and Eric Clapton have teamed up to revisit one of the most legendary Les Paul Standards, a guitar produced in honor of an iconic instrument lost to the public eye for nearly 45 years.
The Gibson Custom Shop Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul has been created with the close personal cooperation of the artist, and with painstaking reference to available photographs. Clearly there are special challenges in creating a guitar based on one that no longer exists, but this strictly Limited Edition instrument accurately represents what Eric Clapton personally feels his 1960 Les Paul should be. Every component in the build--including grain pattern and finish color, neck profile and feel, pickups, and more--has been personally approved by Clapton through several iterations from Gibson Custom so that, ultimately, this guitar comes as close as possible to recreating the hallowed '60 Burst as it exists today in the mind of this legendary artist.
All 500 guitars will display striking characteristics of the artist's original 1960 Les Paul Standard, including the subtly figured maple top with luscious Antiquity Burst finish, period-correct hardware (including Clapton's own upgrade to Grover tuners), and two of Gibson's finest reproduction PAF-style humbucking pickups.
In short, this is the closest Gibson will ever come to recovering this long-lost rock legend, a cornerstone of blues-rock history. Surely one of the most collectible artist's guitars Gibson Custom has ever produced, the Limited Edition 1960 Eric Clapton Les Paul is bound to go fast, so secure yours today!
One listen to the creamy, yet biting snarl of Clapton's playing on tracks like Hideaway, Double Crossin' Time, or Key to Love, and countless guitarists the world over were instantly turned on to the power of this rare, and previously under-appreciated, Gibson solidbody electric guitar. Virtually overnight, the single-cutaway Les Paul (deleted from the Gibson catalogue after 1960 and redesigned to the double-cutaway SG body shape) was a must-have for any serious guitarist who wanted to make their mark on music -- leaving a lasting impact on the history of rock and blues.
Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS Features
- One-piece Mahogany back with carved maple top- Thinner 'Clapton' neck profile
- Rosewood fingerboard with acrylic pearloid trapezoid inlays
- Custom-made Custom Bucker pickups for accurate tone and performance
- Nickel-plated Grover kidney button tuners
- Limited run of… read more only 350 guitars in the Vintage Original Spec (VOS) finish
That is the exalted side of the Beano Burst legend. The tragic side of the tale is that this groundbreaking instrument was stolen from the artist later in 1966, while Clapton was rehearsing with Cream for the band's first tour, and was never recovered. Now, for the first time ever, Gibson Custom and Eric Clapton have teamed up to revisit one of the most legendary Les Paul Standards, a guitar produced in honor of an iconic instrument lost to the public eye for nearly 45 years.
The Gibson Custom Shop Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul has been created with the close personal cooperation of the artist, and with painstaking reference to available photographs. Clearly there are special challenges in creating a guitar based on one that no longer exists, but this strictly Limited Edition instrument accurately represents what Eric Clapton personally feels his 1960 Les Paul should be. Every component in the build--including grain pattern and finish color, neck profile and feel, pickups, and more--has been personally approved by Clapton through several iterations from Gibson Custom so that, ultimately, this guitar comes as close as possible to recreating the hallowed '60 Burst as it exists today in the mind of this legendary artist.
All 500 guitars will display striking characteristics of the artist's original 1960 Les Paul Standard, including the subtly figured maple top with luscious Antiquity Burst finish, period-correct hardware (including Clapton's own upgrade to Grover tuners), and two of Gibson's finest reproduction PAF-style humbucking pickups.
In short, this is the closest Gibson will ever come to recovering this long-lost rock legend, a cornerstone of blues-rock history. Surely one of the most collectible artist's guitars Gibson Custom has ever produced, the Limited Edition 1960 Eric Clapton Les Paul is bound to go fast, so secure yours today!
Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS: Body and Finish
Made from the classic tonewood combination of carved maple top and one-piece mahogany back, and dressed in a faded nitrocellulose Antiquity Burst finish atop a lightly figured maple cap, the Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul embodies the Les Paul owned and played by Eric Clapton in 1966. Of this limited run only 350 will be given Gibson Custom's VOS treatment.Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS: Pickups and Electronics
A pair of custom-made humbucking pickups accurately replicate the tone and performance of the original PAF pickups in Eric Clapton's 1960 Les Paul, with the unparalleled blend of warmth, richness and bite that has made these pickups famous. They are routed through high-quality CTS potentiometers for volume and tone, with bumble bee tone capacitors, and a Switchcraft three-way toggle switch.Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS: Neck, Fingerboard and Headstock
The solid one-piece mahogany neck is carved to a thinner Clapton-approved profile and is capped with a rosewood fingerboard with acrylic pearloid trapezoid inlays and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Its headstock is back-angled to the traditional 17 degrees, and the entire appendage is glued into the guitar's body with a deep-set long neck tenon, a joint known to aid strength and resonance.Gibson Eric Clapton 1960 Beano Les Paul VOS: Hardware
Just like the original Burst on which it is based, the Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul carries a classic hardware set that includes a nickel-plated ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece, along with the efficient nickel-plated Grover tuners that were added to Clapton's own guitar to replace the original Klusons, a popular 'upgrade' of the day. read lessSpecs
Body
- Top: Maple
- Back: 1-Piece Solid Mahogany
- Binding: .090, Cream
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
Neck
- Species: Mahogany
- Profile: Thin Clapton Profile
- Truss Rod: Traditional
- Joint Angle: 4 degrees (+/- 15 seconds)
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
Neck Fit
- Joint: Mortise and Tenon
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
- Joint Angle Tolerance: +/- .005 inch
Fingerboard
- Species: Rosewood
- Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
- Radius: 12 inch
- Binding: Period-correct .04 inch Cream Binding
- Inlays: Aged Acrylic Trapezoids
- Nut/E.O.B: 1.687/2.062
- Other: Tortoise Side Dot Markers
Nut
- Material: Nylon 6/6
- Width: 1.687
- Slots: Gibson PLEK System
Headstock
- Type: 60 Reissue
- Logo: Mother-of-Pearl Gibson Logo
- Truss Rod Cover: Gibson Bell Shaped Molded
- Angle: 17 Degrees
Tuners
- Model: Grover Kidney Button Tuners
- Tuning Ratio: 14:01
- Plating: Nickel
Bridge
- Type: Tune-O-Matic (ABR-1)
- Material: Zinc Surrounded by a Die Casting Alloy
- Plating: Nickel
Tailpiece
- Type: Lightweight Aluminum Stop Bar
- Plating: Nickel
Hardware
- Knobs: Gold Top-Hat Knobs (w/no inserts), Metal Pointer Rings
- Toggle Switch Washer: Historically accurate thin cream with gold screenprint
- Pickguard: Vintage-Cream Plastic
- Strings: .010 - .046, Vintage Strings
- Strap Buttons: Aluminum Strap Buttons
Pickups
- Neck Position: Custom Bucker
- Bridge Position: Custom Bucker
- Magnet Material: Alnico III
Electronics
- Potentiometers:
- - 2 Volume Controls
- - 2 Tone Controls
- Type: 500k audio-taper .022mF Bumble Bee Tone Capacitors
- Coil Wiring: Parallel-Machine Wound
- Toggle Switch: Three-Way Switchcraft with Cream Toggle Cap
- Output Jack: 1/4 inch Switchcraft
Finish
- Color: Antiquity Burst
- Sealer: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Case
- Type: Custom Shop Hardshell
- Case Exterior: Black Pleather-with Clapton's signature silkscreened in gold
- Case Interior: Maroon Crushed Velvet
Accessories
- Included:
- - 22 inch x 17 inch May 7, 1966 Beano comic cover poster,
- - Certificate of Authenticity
- - John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton CD
- - Vintage replica guitar strap.
- Additional Materials: Each Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul comes with Gibson's Custom Care Kit and adjustment literature, and documentation for the guitar's limited lifetime warranty.
- Top: Maple
- Back: 1-Piece Solid Mahogany
- Binding: .090, Cream
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
Neck
- Species: Mahogany
- Profile: Thin Clapton Profile
- Truss Rod: Traditional
- Joint Angle: 4 degrees (+/- 15 seconds)
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
Neck Fit
- Joint: Mortise and Tenon
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
- Joint Angle Tolerance: +/- .005 inch
Fingerboard
- Species: Rosewood
- Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
- Radius: 12 inch
- Binding: Period-correct .04 inch Cream Binding
- Inlays: Aged Acrylic Trapezoids
- Nut/E.O.B: 1.687/2.062
- Other: Tortoise Side Dot Markers
Nut
- Material: Nylon 6/6
- Width: 1.687
- Slots: Gibson PLEK System
Headstock
- Type: 60 Reissue
- Logo: Mother-of-Pearl Gibson Logo
- Truss Rod Cover: Gibson Bell Shaped Molded
- Angle: 17 Degrees
Tuners
- Model: Grover Kidney Button Tuners
- Tuning Ratio: 14:01
- Plating: Nickel
Bridge
- Type: Tune-O-Matic (ABR-1)
- Material: Zinc Surrounded by a Die Casting Alloy
- Plating: Nickel
Tailpiece
- Type: Lightweight Aluminum Stop Bar
- Plating: Nickel
Hardware
- Knobs: Gold Top-Hat Knobs (w/no inserts), Metal Pointer Rings
- Toggle Switch Washer: Historically accurate thin cream with gold screenprint
- Pickguard: Vintage-Cream Plastic
- Strings: .010 - .046, Vintage Strings
- Strap Buttons: Aluminum Strap Buttons
Pickups
- Neck Position: Custom Bucker
- Bridge Position: Custom Bucker
- Magnet Material: Alnico III
Electronics
- Potentiometers:
- - 2 Volume Controls
- - 2 Tone Controls
- Type: 500k audio-taper .022mF Bumble Bee Tone Capacitors
- Coil Wiring: Parallel-Machine Wound
- Toggle Switch: Three-Way Switchcraft with Cream Toggle Cap
- Output Jack: 1/4 inch Switchcraft
Finish
- Color: Antiquity Burst
- Sealer: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Case
- Type: Custom Shop Hardshell
- Case Exterior: Black Pleather-with Clapton's signature silkscreened in gold
- Case Interior: Maroon Crushed Velvet
Accessories
- Included:
- - 22 inch x 17 inch May 7, 1966 Beano comic cover poster,
- - Certificate of Authenticity
- - John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton CD
- - Vintage replica guitar strap.
- Additional Materials: Each Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul comes with Gibson's Custom Care Kit and adjustment literature, and documentation for the guitar's limited lifetime warranty.
Reviews
Submitted December 14, 2011
"lucky if you got one. hopefully gibson does not rory gallagherize this guitar,i.e. no new editions!!!"
Sound
amazing pickups. the first new gibson which is as good as my 58 burst!!!
Musical Background:
professional player since 85.
Musical Style:
studio player
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