The guitar arrives on what would have been his 80th birthday, and only 130 models have been made Gibson have shared details of a new ‘YardBurst’ 1959 Les Paul Custom, made in honour of guitar icon Jeff Beck . The new model arrives both as the guitar manufacturer celebrates 130 of music history, and on the same day as the legendary player would have celebrated his 80th birthday. It pays homage to the axe that Beck played as he was first put on the map – the iconic 1959 Les Paul Standard that he played when making a name for himself as part of the Yardbirds.
Available now, the ‘YardBurst’ is a faithful recreation of the historic guitar, and has been designed to capture all of its distinctive traits including the classic white bobbin humbuckers and black single-ply pickguard. Only 130 have been made – in keeping with the Gibson 130th anniversary – and each one was made by hand at the Murphy Lab and artfully aged to match the exact appearance of the original model during the guitarist’s Yardbird days. It comes following the unexpected death of the guitar pioneer in January last year , when he was aged 78.
Jeff Beck Gibson ‘YardBurst’. CREDIT: Gibson “Jeff was enormously proud to have owned the original of this guitar,” said his widow Sandra Beck of the new recreation. “He was aware and fully supportive of the amazing job and love that Gibson Custom provided to create this instrument and would have hoped that this guitar will give hours of pleasure to tho.