Les Paul 59?

Here is a pic of 'pearly gates'.

Bonmassa has one also, but, a tad more subdued burst


http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-Custom/Billy-Gibbons-Pearly-Gates-Les-Paul-Standard.aspx


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Do you know what the price was on it? That would certainly help narrow it down. It very well could be a washed cherry gloss Gibson Custom 1959 LP.

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Ele...on-Custom/1959-Les-Paul-Standard-Reissue.aspx

 

Guitar store people often refer to any burst color as "sunburst". The color is actually called cherryburst as stated above. Do a search for that and you'll find lots of info. If your after a Les Paul I might suggest doing some historical research as well to get to know the ins and outs before dropping a lot of coin on one. I'm not saying this to be rude, it's just good to know the different features of some desirable models and which things to avoid, plus I always find it fun to get the history of a guitar model. Asking the forum is a good place to start!

*you may already know a lot about les Paul's and if you do I'm sorry if I came off as insulting. The cherry burst finish is just the gold standard of les Paul's and since you weren't sure of the name I figured this might be new to you! Good luck in the guitar hunt!

 

Money well spent? Only you will be able to answer that one. Like Russ says do your research. I'm sure this is as good a place as any to get your questions answered. I've never visited the Gibson Forum but they could answer any questions. It's just a matter of how helpful they want to be.

The final test should be the blindfold test. Wear a blindfold so you're not influenced by the top and have a friend hand several to you play them until you find the one worth the money. Don't rush and best of luck.

FWIW I owned mine for several years before I found out the correct name for the finish. It's a light burst

 

Some of the older RI's are a great deal. I have a 2002 '58 RI. It was the last year of the flamed maple top and the first year of the Burstbuckers. They go for less than half the price of a new one. They don't have bumble bee caps or any of that other historically correct stuff but they might be worth checking out. Happy hunting!

 

There are so many different LP models it's really impossible to say. Head back to the store or give them a call.

 

See if they will let you pull the rear cover. If its what they say it is it will have R9 stamped in the rim of the control cavity. It could also be an R8 there are plenty of figured top 58 reissues out there

 

You can use the serial numbers too, a '59 serial will start with a 9.