When Les Paul and Gibson president Ted McCarty conceived of the Les Paul Custom model in the early ’50s, it was as a top-of-the-range partner to the Goldtop, and later sunburst, Les Paul Standard, with upgraded appointments and an Ebony finish to match the “black-tie” dress at the kinds of functions where it would be right at home.

The “Black Beauty” debuted late in 1953 to instant acclaim, but it would be a few years before the design would reach its zenith. The 1960 Les Paul Custom, upgraded with two gold-plated PAF humbucking pickups and a super-fast, slim neck, is often considered the epitome of the breed—and its back and dressed for the ball, in the form of the Gibson Custom Shop’s new 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Custom. Just like the original—intended to emulate the tux a jazz artist would wear to perform at a formal function—the 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Custom has a high-gloss nitrocellulose Ebony finish, multi-ply binding on body and headstock, an ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl block markers, a larger headstock with mother-of-pearl split-diamond inlay, and gold-plated hardware throughout.