Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’55 Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar, Copper Iridescent w/Hard Case

Joe Bonamassa: As a guitarist he’s professional. As a collector, he’s prolific. These two elements come together in beautiful harmony in this piece, the Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard in Copper Iridescent. This Les Paul, a replica of a piece from Bonamassa’s extensive guitar collection originally created for the 1955 NAMM Show, comes together with some real ’50s bravado. As Bonamassa noted, “From a distance, it looks brown, but in direct light, it has gold metal flake in the finish”, making this an instrument to truly make you look twice.

This ’55 Les Paul Standard comes together with a classic combination of a mahogany body and maple top. Single-ply binding accentuates this Epiphone’s Copper Iridescent finish along its top and fingerboard. A mahogany neck extends from the iconic Les Paul frame in a Custom ’59 Rounded C profile. With this neck, a laurel fingerboard lined with twenty-two frets completes a playing experience in the left hand for a comfortable and seamless feel.

For its voice, two Epiphone P-90 PRO Soapbar pickups are loaded onboard to summon a clear and punchy voice. These pickups are wired with CTS potentiometers and Mallory capacitors for a unique and high-fidelity sound. Playability and sound are enhanced with a lineup of fine hardware specifications. A LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and LockTone Stop Bar tailpiece meet up at the base of the scale to ground strings with accuracy and stability. At the opposite end, a Graph Tech nut and Epiphone Deluxe tuning machines balance strings for easy changes. This ’50s recreation travels in an included hardshell case bearing Bonamassa’s “Nerdville” graphic to show off some real guitar nerd cred.

As a model to show off a Gibson golden era, this painstaking recreation captures some real mid-century razzle dazzle. Thanks to Joe Bonamassa and his avid collecting, this slice of Gibson history lives to ride another day.

• Epiphone replica of 1955 Gibson Les Paul Standard
• Mahogany body with maple top and Copper Iridescent finish
• Mahogany neck in a Custom ’59 Rounded C profile
• Laurel fingerboard with twenty-two frets and Pearloid inlays
• Single-ply body top and fingerboard binding
• Graph Tech nut and Epiphone Deluxe tuning machines
• Epiphone P-90 PRO Soapbar pickups with CTS potentiometers and Mallory capacitors
• LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge with LockTone Stop Bar tailpiece
• “Nerdville” graphic hardshell case included