From the Bernie Marsden collection, this is 1995 Sid Poole Les Paul is one of three guitars that we have for sale. Bernie had a long association with the renowned builder and used his guitars extensively during his career.

This is the perfect example of his attention to detail, utilizing a stunning piece of flamed maple married to an exquisite piece of mahogany. The finish is stunning and the guitar is in almost mint condition.

Frets and fretboard look to have hardly been used and the abalone inlay is a nice touch. 

Pickups are Cream T humbuckers, held in great esteem in of themselves. These are a set that Thomas Nielsen made for Bernie as part of the super scanner series. Here is what Bernie wrote about them for the Cream T website - 

On 1st October 2019 I had a private visit at my house with a Norwegian colleague, Thomas Nilsen. We had talked a few times in the previous few months about a possible signature BM pickup. Thomas, being the engineer owner of Cream T Pickups, was very excited about a very new procedure he had been working on, and came to show me at my home. Almost as soon as he arrived, he had transformed my kitchen into some kind of instant electronic laboratory!

He produced a piece of equipment that looked like a Doctor Who prop, but turned out to be a type of scanner. The machine was set up, computer fired up, leads and cables plugged in and headphones worn.

Thomas now needed one more ingredient, the most essential one. The guitar on offer was no less than my 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, known universally as ‘The Beast.’ Thomas practically plugged the guitar into the scanner and technically cloned The Beast’s pickups. The Cream T ‘Super Scanner’ Series now had a new member to sit alongside Z.Z. Top’s Billy F Gibbons legendary ‘Pearly Gates’ Les Paul!

Thomas has since produced prototype of the ‘Bernie Buckers’ for me to add to a few of my guitars. I have to say that I’m totally knocked out with the results. I have added them to an old Les Paul Gold Top, and a relatively new PRS BM signature guitar, and both now have an uncanny, and slightly eerie, resemblance sound-wise to the original pickups on The Beast. I still don’t really understand how he does it, but the thing is, he does!

So, if you are a fan of the guitar sound on my classic Whitesnake solos and rhythm tracks, and the guitar I wrote ‘Here I Go Again’ with, check out these Super Scanner Series. If you want to upgrade your guitar once and for all with genuine vintage sound pickups, Cream T and their Super Scanner Series is the way to go. Ask Billy F Gibbons if you don’t believe me!

Bernie Marsden 

November 2020

The guitar comes with a Lifton style hardshell case.

This guitar is testament to a legendary UK builder who sadly passed away just over 20 years ago and is rare to see on the marketplace.