Gibson Custom Shop 1955 Les Paul GT — Ltd. Sergio Vallin

1955 is a particular year in Les Paul history. At that point the goldtop still carried two P-90s, the humbuckers were still in Seth Lover's drawer, and that combination of mahogany, maple top and two single coils shaped a sound nobody has bettered since: crisp, midrange-forward, biting, with an attack that puts every note exactly where you put it.

This example comes from a limited Gibson Custom Shop run made in collaboration with Sergio Vallin, guitarist with the exceptional Mexican band Maná. Vallin is one of those musicians who sits between stylistic stools and therefore has a feel for instruments all his own. A signature model out of the Custom Shop isn't handed out lightly, and the fact that Gibson dedicated a limited run to him says something.

Visually the goldtop remains what it always was: a statement. Depending on the light the colour looks warm and golden or almost greenish, and it ages like almost no other finish. Goldtop over a plain mahogany back is still one of the loveliest designs ever put on a guitar.

The P-90s are the heart of this guitar's sound. They sit exactly between worlds: more meat and output than a classic single coil, but considerably more bite and transparency than a humbucker. At the bridge you get that raspy, cutting tone that holds its own in any band; at the neck it turns warm, vocal and surprisingly versatile. Pushed, it produces the growling crunch you know from the early rock'n'roll and blues records, and which still makes any amp look good.

Add the mahogany body and maple top, which give warmth and sustain without losing the highs. A Les Paul built this way has more shades in it than you'd credit at first glance.

Meister Ede selected this one personally at Musikhaus Hermann, and it paid off — it's a dream instrument.

A limited Custom Shop collector's piece from Ede's Private Stock.