Guitar Time

Gibson Les Paul Junior - History

Jul 28, 2009 Les Paul Junior
Posted by freddy1955

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The Gibson Les Paul Junior was introduced in 1954 as a budget model, costing $99.00. It had one P-90 dog ear pickup, open back tuners, and an aluminum non-compensated wraparound bridge. Finishes offered were sunburst, cherry red, and TV yellow. The slab mahogany body was similar in shape to a Les Paul, but without the maple cap and arched top.

Early Les Paul Juniors had the wraparound bridge located too close to the pickup cavity. Eventually, the bridge posts could lean in toward the pickup cavity. In early 1956, the bridge posts were lengthened and the pickup repositioned, to correct this problem.

In the 1950’s, you could special order a 3/4 size Les Paul Junior. However, the bodies of the 3/4 size models were usually made of maple, rather than mahogany.

In mid 1958, the Les Paul Junior body shape was changed to a double cutaway body. However, single cutaway Juniors were manufactured as late as 1959. In most cases, the double cut body style also received a slightly larger, tortoise pickguard.

By early 1959 the edges of the body on the Les Paul Junior became slightly more rounded.

1961 was the beginning of the “SG Junior” style. By 1964 it was offically named the SG Junior, rather than the Les Paul Junior. 1963 was the end of the Les Paul Junior at that time.

In 1986 the Les Paul Junior was reintroduced. These feature a single cut body style, now with a Tune-O-Matic bridge with stoptail. Production of this version continued until 1992.

In 1998 Les Paul Junior production started again. This version is still in current production. This model has a satin finish, nickel compensated bridge, and a fatter 50’s style neck.

The Gibson Custom Shop offers Les Paul Juniors in its Historic and VOS series. The Custom Shop models are more expensive and are very similar in features to the 1950’s models.

In 2006, Gibson introduced the Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior. This model has a thinner, 1960’s neck, and an H-90 pickup. The H-90 is a stacked P-90 pickup with two P-90 pickups inside it. It is often advertised as a hum cancelling pickup, which is not the case. The H-90 is a louder pickup with it’s own unique sound. The Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior is available in sunburst, black, or white and comes with a unique case.

Gibson also marketed a Les Paul Junior as part of the 2007 Guitar of the Week series, the Nashville Les Paul Junior.

One of the most influential players of the Les Paul Junior was Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls, Heatbreakers, Oddballs).

While the Gibson Les Paul Junior was initally conceived as an afforable budget electric guitar, its unique sound and simple design have made it a modern classic.