In 1952 the price of a brand new Gibson Les Paul was $261.50 with a hard shell case. These days the case alone costs more. If you live in a state with a 9.45 percent sales tax like Tennessee you could pay $261.50 in taxes alone for a Les Paul. If you were lucky enough to buy one of these guitars in 1952 it has now appreciated to a price of $18,900 on the low side. Other Gibson Les Paul models have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
These days the retail price for a Les Paul has climbed to a few thousand for an “off the shelve” model to $5,000- $10,000 for some of their specialty guitars. These prices make it difficult for the average guitarist to acquire one of these historic instruments.
For one day Gibson Guitars will be working with online retailers to roll the Gibson Les Paul prices back to $261.50. Head of Gibson Guitars Marketing Ava Jyna explained the guitars going on sale are a mix and match of some of Gibson’s most sought after guitars. “We have Traditionals, Reissues, Standards and the new Memphis all going on sale”. Gibson will also sprinkle a few custom shop guitars into the online offerings.
The guitars will be available on a first come first serve basis on all major music retailer sties, with a limit of one guitar per customer. Ms. Jyna said “this is a way for Gibson to pay it forward and get quality instruments into the hands of working musicians”. The sale kicks off on June 9, Les Paul’s birthday, and will continue until the online inventory is gone.
