Manufactured in Nashville, Tennessee
Gibson ‘1957 Les Paul Custom’

Mahogany, metal, mother-of-pearl, chrome, ebony,  gold plated
April, 2000
Scale length: 24.75 inches
Strings – Lutes – Guitars

This is a Gibson Custom Shop Historic 2-Pickup ’57 Les Paul Custom ‘Black Beauty’ Reissue. According to the serial number it was made and released on April 13, 2000, from the Nashville, TN plant. The solid single cutaway body with gold plated metal hardware is made from Mahogany with 22 ebony frets and pearl block inlay. Pickups include: 490R Alnico magnet humbucker, 498T Alnico magnet humbucker. Controls include: 2 volume, 2 tone, and a 3-way switch. The bridge/tailpiece type is a stop-bar. This guitar has its original hard-shell historic case. The Les Paul Custom ‘Black Beauty’ is a true classic and a piece of guitar history.

In late 1953, a more luxurious version than the 1952 model was introduced, most probably on a specific request by Les Paul himself, as he wanted a more luxurious and classy looking guitar. He requested a black guitar as he wanted it to “look like a tuxedo”. Nicknamed the ‘Black Beauty.’ Then in 1957, humbucking pickups were added. Following in 1960, the guitar was replaced by the new double cutaway body Les Paul model. The Les Paul Custom remained a double cutaway model until 1963, when Les Paul’s endorsement with Gibson ended, and the guitar was subsequently renamed the SG Custom.

Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Les_Paul_Custom