Vega Relics Les Paul V54 Ole Red Old Sweat (2023, Private Stock)

`23 Vega Relics Les Paul V54 Ole Red Old Sweat, V54 P-90 Soapbar PU´s by Ballestone, only 3.71kg – one of Ede's tour guitars from the Private Stock and more

Red top, black back, black neck: anyone who knows Jared James Nichols will see straight away which guitar inspired this one. “Ole Red” is what the blues-rock guitarist calls his original Gibson Les Paul, a 1950s goldtop whose top was painted over in red, while the neck and back are painted black. Vega Relics has captured exactly this look in this V54 Ole Red.

The story of the original is a good one. Nichols calls it a 1953; a later assessment online dates it to late 1954 or early 1955, so the year is disputed. What is certain is that it is a genuine goldtop with a repainted top. It came to Nichols via Charlie Daughtry, in whose collection it had been. It means a lot to him: he had his father carve his name into the guitar.

Vega Relics is a Spanish guitar atelier, established in 2013 and specialising in authentic relic finishes in the style of the 50s and 60s. Every guitar is built entirely in-house: Vega Relics buys in neither bodies nor necks, and the woods come from the atelier's own wood store.

The finish is Ole Red in 100% nitro in the Old Sweat relic: you can see the lacquer cracks in the red top and the wear on the edges, and the black back shows artificially aged signs of use down to the wood. The cream pickguard, the cream pickup covers and the cream binding go with it. Body and neck are Honduran mahogany (Premium), the fingerboard is Indian Rosewood (Premium) with trapezoid inlays. Add to that the Vega Relics ’59 profile, 12" radius and Jescar Medium frets.

Fitted are two V54 pickups from Vega Relics, wound by Ballestone, in P-90 soapbar format. The bridge is a Faber Vintage Relic, the tuners are Gotoh Relic. For the pots and capacitors the choice was Ballestone as well: Vega Relics by Ballestone pots and Paper Oil capacitors. At only 3.71 kg, the Les Paul hangs comfortably on the strap.

The sound has remarkably long sustain, and its basic character always stays woody and defined.

This guitar is one of Ede's tour guitars and is played live. The video shows how it sounds: it was recorded at soundcheck. The live photos in the gallery show Ede on stage with the guitar; they were taken by Axel Live Pictures.

The original Vega Relics case and the certificate come with the guitar.

A Les Paul with the look of a famous template and real stage experience, from Ede's Private Stock.