FEATURE
CARTER VINTAGE GUITARS DISCOVERS ’58 GIBSON LES PAUL CHERRY BURST Eric Dahl
Walter and Christie Carter, the owners of Carter
Vintage Guitars, were both well known within
the Nashville vintage instrument community
long before they opened their shop three years
ago in Nashville, TN. I’ve had the fortunate
opportunity to see, hold, and play some
of the incredible vintage pieces that have
come through their doors that feature an SG
guitar body for handles. It has also become a
congregation place for “A” list musicians and
collectors to visit as they travel through Music
City. Recently I stopped in to have some repair
work done and Walter introduced me to their
latest vintage instrument acquisition, a 1958
Gibson Les Paul cherry sunburst guitar with
original case, Gibson Care box, and photos of
the original owner with it. As an author of twelve
books, a Gibson historian, and Gibson Editorial
Director for four years, Walter has a depth of
guitar knowledge that is truly amazing (and he’s
very humble about it)!
As most collectors know the Gibson Les
Paul Model guitar was launched in 1952 with
a gold top finish, per Les Paul’s request for a
finish that would stand out when he played
shows. Apparently in 1958 Gibson started
testing out new cherry stain finished tops and
created two of these that were shipped May
28th, 1958 to their parent company, Chicago
Musical Instrument. As it would happen, one
of these guitars, serial number 8 3096, would
fall into the hands of guitar icon Slash, guitarist
for Guns N’ Roses. But the location of the
second instrument, as reflected on Gibson’s
ledgers, remained shrouded in mystery until
now. The second test “Burst” guitar was routed
to O.K. Houck Music Store in Memphis TN
and was bought by the owner of the shop as
a Christmas gift for his young son, the original
owner. The serial number, 8 3087, and other
artifacts such as photos of the 14 year old just
months after receiving the guitar were sent to
Carter for verification.
This beautiful vintage specimen
has a three-piece maple top,
indic