Serial Numbers by Year
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Production Estimates
Gibson shipped 434 Les Paul Standards in 1958, 643 in 1959, and 635 in 1960. Not all of these are Bursts: in 1958, some were goldtops, since the sunburst finish was introduced midway through the year (both goldtops and sunbursts are logged on this website). In 1960, some were the newer SG/Les Paul models (not logged on this website). 1959 is the only year when all shipped Les Pauls were Bursts. In 1957, all Les Paul Standards were goldtops; earlier in the year they were built with P-90 pickups (not logged on this website), and later in the year Gibson began fitting them with PAF humbucking pickups (those are the ones logged here). Of the 484 guitars shipped in 1957, an estimated 150–250 had PAF pickups.
Comparing the number of guitars logged with these shipping totals reveals that this serial number log is far from complete. Based on the documented percentage, we can estimate approximately 643 total Les Paul Bursts were produced across all years: ~0 in 1958, 643 in 1959, and ~0 in 1960.
Notable Anomalies
Early 1958 Off-Center Seam Tops
Some early 1958 Sunburst examples have off-center seam maple tops, including serials 8 1070, 8 1641, 8 1810, and 8 3322. Some of these may be goldtops refinished to sunburst, because adjacent serial numbers are original goldtops.
First Sunburst Finish Les Pauls
The earliest Les Pauls with original yellow-to-red sunburst finish could be 8 3087 (early documented sunburst), 8 3096 (no visible center seam, both marked in Gibson ledger books as "2 LP Spec. finish"), and 8 4869 (center seam, today refinished in sunburst).
First "Cherry Red Sunburst" Designation
The earliest use of the word "sunburst" on a Les Paul Standard in the Gibson ledger books are serials 8 1641 and 8 1782, both with a shaded red finish on the back as well as the top, and listed as "LP (cherry red sunburst)". Note that 8 1641 is an opaque sunburst which has faded to reveal a non-center seam.
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