Gibson Les Paul Junior Electric Guitar

July 31, 2007 by Jo Minor 


The Gibson Les Paul Junior is a classic electric guitar design that has been around since 1955. It was originally produced as an alternative to the more expensive Les Paul guitars. It has a set neck and a compensated wrap-around bridge and tailpiece that provides resonance and intonation. It has one P-90 single coil pickup. It has a retail price of $1168.00, and comes in vintage sunburst or black

The Gibson Les Paul Junior was a scaled down version of the Les Paul guitar that came out in 1954. Fender came out with the Telecaster in 1950, which was the first solid body electric guitar. Gibson had created an electric hollow body before that, but the Tele was the first solid body guitar. This created sort of a craze, and Gibson needed to get a solid body guitar designed that could compete with it.

Les Paul is a jazz guitarist who at the time was playing around with inventing and electronics. He had been developing a solid body guitar, but Gibson had not been interested in his ideas when he approached them in the mid forties. Now they were interested. Gibson desired a design that would be well crafted and expensive so it would be worthy of their name.

As a result, they used a “set” or glued in neck rather than a bolt-on neck as did Fender. Paul had some input into the design, but stories differ widely as to just how much he contributed. The main thing was that his name went on it. And that it was a very popular guitar right from the start and still is. One of the first Les Paul guitars was painted gold and nicknamed the “Gold-Top.” The Custom was black with better hardware and it was available right from the start, too.

The Gibson Les Paul Junior then came out in about 1955 and was marketed toward beginner guitarists. The fact is, though, the Les Paul Junior came to be used by professionals instead. One version of the Junior was called the Les Paul TV model. It was finished in a yellow natural color through which the woodgrain could show. It was called the TV model because the designers wanted a color that would look good on a black and white TV.

Professionals who have used Gibson Les Paul Juniors in the past include John Lennon of the Beatles and Keith Richards. There was also a double cut version of the Junior that was used by some.

Advantages: The Gibson Les Paul Junior electric guitar has great tone from the P-90 pickup, and it sounds good through any amp playing any kind of music. It is playable with good action. It is best for rock but does well with country too. The mahogany body is a big part of the reason for the great tone of this guitar.

The Gibson Les Paul Junior electric guitar is a simply made guitar, but there in lies some of its appeal. Even though it only has one pickup, one tone knob, and one volume knob, you can still get a wide range of sounds through it. The placement of the pickup was considered carefully. It was placed near the bridge so that it could brighten the tone, and as such, it has caused the guitar to have a more aggressive voice that works well in rock music. When played heavily distorted, it has a really unique sound.

Disadvantages: Not everyone has been thrilled with the Gibson Les Paul Junior, and there are a number of people out there that feel like it is overpriced and that you are just paying for the Gibson name. Also, like most versions of the Les Paul guitars, the Gibson Les Paul Junior electric guitar, because of its solid mahogany construction, is heavy.

Specs:

  • Mahogany body

  • Mahogany set neck

  • Neck profile 1960 slim taper

  • Rosewood fingerboard

  • Dot inlays

  • 22 frets

  • 24.75 inch scale length

  • 1 11/16 inches wide at the nut

  • Chrome hardware

  • Single Dog Ear P-90 pickup

  • One volume control knob

  • One tone control knob

  • Brite wires strings in .010 to .046

For information about vintage Gibson Les Paul Junior electric guitars, including pictures if you scroll down, go here.

This page from the Gibson website describes the different pickups used in Gibson guitars, a little history about them, and a graph to indicate the output of each.

Here’s an interesting blog post about the historic Gibson Les Paul Junior electric guitar which includes the names of some of the most famous guitarists who have used it professionally.

One more link - an article about the Les Paul Junior from Vintage Guitar.

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