I am probably telling you what you already know....
If you bought this as a used instrument in 1976, then there is little chance that its not the real thing.
The Les Paul Standards from '58-'59-'60 are the holy grail of rock instruments.
These are the stats:
1958: 142 logged / 434 shipped = 33%(some Goldtops, some Bursts)
1959: 365 logged / 643 shipped = 57%(all Bursts)
1960: 170 logged / 635 shipped = 27%(some Bursts, some SG/LP's at the end not logged)
[from burstserial website ]
SG's replaced them from there onwards. When they started making the Les Pauls again, they did reuse some [a little bit ] old stock for the bodies, but there were fundamental differences.
The one thing that doesn't fit : You say the guitar is light. The guitars from this time were solid mahogany & were weighty relative to other electrics. Later LP's had hollowed chambers that were filled with balsa - they were much lighter.
The seams on the maple cap indicate that this started life as a gold top, i.e. early 58.
If I could give any advice:
- don't trust anyone with this instrument. I recon that this is something many many people dream of getting their hands on.
- Weigh, take plenty of pics, note all details & send this off to George Gruhn - he will charge a few bucks for valuation & advice but he is THE expert. I was told that he also has mentioned knowledge of a shipment of 50's Les Pauls to South Africa
- Don't restore. Repair if necessary [who repairs it also affect the value], but don't restore. Gruhn will give the best guidance here.
- look at this site:
http://burstserial.com/serial.htm
All known 58,59,60 LP's are logged here by serial, yours would/could be one of the "missing" serials. Really cool site.
I would like to know what else you find out....
