“The Lenny Burst” – A Gibson Les Paul Standard 1959, Sunburst

One of the many, actually a lot, of fun things about working here at Carter Vintage Guitars is the fact that you never know what’s gonna come our way. Today was absolutely one of those days.

This morning, I was sitting at my bench looking at some cool old guitar when, out of the blue Jason walks by and casually announces, “Burst
incoming.” Totally casual, no excitement in his voice whatsoever. You know, like this happens every day around here. Sure, another day… another burst. No big deal. Haha! It’s little moments like that around here that I absolutely love. Irony’s alive and well at CVG.

A little later, said burst shows up. Holy Hannah Batman! It’s not just any “Burst” …it’s a 1959. Oh, boy! Furthermore, it’s a Lenny Kravitz-owned burst!! Real rockstar stuff, a certified Guitar Hero with provenance!! Yes, it’s got a letter from Lenny. I haven’t even looked at it, and already this thing’s so cool it’s frosty.

I opened the 5-latch Lifton case and found an absolutely gorgeous 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard. For a guitar player, the absolute stuff of dreams. The burst is an axe you could pin a career on. A handful of six-string slingers have done that very thing: Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Jimmy Page, Mike Bloomfield, Duane Allman, Billy Gibbons, Joe Perry, Paul Kossoff, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Mick Ralphs, Gary Richrath, Mark Knopfler, Gary Moore, Joe Bonamassa and Mike Campbell, along with the aforementioned Mr. Kravitz, to name a few.

I took the guitar out of the case. “Hmmmm, good weight and balance. Nice neck… REALLY nice neck. Man, why can’t they make necks like this anymore?” (To be fair, the folks at Gibson nailed the necks on our latest series of Custom Shop Les Pauls… they’re totally on the money). The neck was on the larger side for a ’59, probably because it’s an early ’59 with a profile that leans a little bit towards the previous year, but the way the neck was carved and finished it really is a work of art. I mean, a skilled craftsman made this neck. Nice taper from the nut to the octave. Most importantly, no shoulders as the neck rolls up to the binding and still not a “V” neck. It’s really a cool trick how great these old Gibson necks from the late ‘50s are. Necks like this make playing the guitar absolutely effortless.

I plugged the guitar in (it was still in tune from shipping) and played a few licks. Effortless. Absolutely a total no-brainer to play this thing. The neck felt killer in my hand and getting around on the guitar was a joy. I noticed it had new frets and a new nut thanks to some outstanding work by our friends across town at Glaser Instruments. Nothing better than a killer vintage piece that’s outfitted with a perfect fret job and is 100% ready to play. The action felt great not too high, not too low. Bending strings was a breeze, and the guitar was already doing what I look for in every “Keeper” I’ve ever bought… it felt like I could play better on this guitar. Damn, this thing’s all killer and so far, no filler.

finally got over myself, and the neck (just a little bit), and realized I needed to get down to cases. Let’s check it out: The top: Way cool top! I think Lenny mentioned, in some magazine article, it was a plain top, but there’s plenty of action in it. Lots of medullary grain and swirl, plenty of figure in the light. This thing’s beautiful. The paint’s a bit faded, maybe one click past “Iced tea” and heading to honey burst but not quite lemon burst. Man, guitar collecting
really has its own lexicon, huh? Long story short, it’s just beautiful. This is a gorgeous burst.

The back and sides are now a nice reddish-brown color. This thing probably hung out at Lenny’s house, and it’s definitely seen plenty of light. Condition-wise, it’s in great shape. Plenty of original lacquer on the neck and no signs of abuse or neglect. This guitar’s been played, but played respectfully and not neglected. How does it sound? Like records? Depends on which records you like, thank you very much. Nick, one of our great sales associates here at Carter, who’s also a great guitar player and does many fun demos on the inter webs, took it for a spin and gave it two thumbs up. Another friend and coworker said he just heard his favorite Les Paul tone… ever… while he was playing it. I was totally knocked out by the tone as well. So yeah, just another day at Carter Vintage with an absolutely killer 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul. Oh, did I mention I love my job? You betcha. For a guitar geek like me, it just doesn’t get any better than that! Gratitude’s the attitude, and man, days like today are a blessing. Until the next missive, turn it up all the way up to “Patent Applied For” so the Angels can hear ya, and be kind to your fellow humans. I remain, most…

Sincerely,
Gary Bohannon
Carter Vintage Guitars
Nashville, Tennesse
September 30, 2026