1956 Gibson Les Paul TV Special + HSC
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We are not box shifters, we take your packing and shipping very seriously..!
We have to. You're considering spending a lot of money with us and you would obviously like your valuable musical instrument to arrive at your door, without drama, fuss or damage.
We have many years (stretching way back in to the last century) of packing and shipping fragile musical items all over the world - in fact the number of sometimes priceless, vintage instruments we have shipped is in the thousands.
When you buy a vintage or second hand item from us, it will be hand packed by one or more of our specialist, in house staff and then shipped in our own custom made cardboard boxes (If applicable).
We normally ship via our preferred carriers UPS, DPD, Parcelforce and Royal Mail for smaller items such as straps and leads. Tracking numbers are always provided.
Shipping prices vary by item and by location, please see the individual products for details but as a guide, prices for a guitar is usually:
UK - £50
Mainland Europe - £75
USA - £200
Rest of World (rates can vary a lot depending on country) - £250
How can I pay?
All our base prices are in £GBP Sterling and exclude delivery.
Payments can be made by bank transfer (up to any amount) or credit/debit card through our website (up to £10,000.) Due to fraud risks we do not take payment by phone. We accept and use many online payment services that work by way of bank transfer and recommend Wise.com who will in generally offer far better exchange rates than banks.
Do your prices include VAT?
All prices include UK VAT but most used or vintage guitars are sold under the UK marginal scheme for secondhand goods which means you will not get an invoice with the VAT amount shown separately, neither will you be able to claim this VAT element back if you are VAT registered, and the VAT element cannot be deducted for export sales.
For new items such as some guitars, pedals, straps, cables etc 20% UK VAT is included and if you are in an export country, which since Brexit now includes Europe and of course the US, this 20% VAT will automatically be deducted at checkout for you. You may have to pay local taxes and duties when your goods arrive in your home country, we advise you to check with your local customs office to be sure.
Can I reserve or put an item on hold?
Yes you can. Items can be put on hold for a deposit payment of 10%. This will hold the item for up to 30 days but this deposit payment is non refundable in the event of the buyer failing to complete the sale.
A further 10% payment at the end of the initial 30 day period will extend this period for another 30 days and subject to individual approval, this arrangement can be extended at our discretion. ATB Guitars holds title to the goods until paid for in full and if the buyer should change his/her mind for any reason, a restocking fee equivalent to to 15% of the total purchase price will be deducted from any refund given.
Do you have a mailing list?
The best way to get on our mailing list is to submit the form at the bottom of every page on our website. Also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @ATBguitars as most new items are posted there as soon as we buy them and before they go on the website. If you are searching for a specific guitar then send us an email and we will attempt to alert you once one has been found.
1956 Gibson Les Paul TV Special + HSC
Regular price
- Unit price
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1956 Gibson Les Paul TV Special + HSC
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Description
Oozing mojo, this excellent 1956 Gibson Les Paul TV Special comes to us via the workshop of Neil Ivison of Ivison Guitars, resurrected in quite dramatic fashion. Read on and see our forthcoming YT video for full details…
The body shows very little signs of wear. The colour has faded a little though by 1956 they had started to yellow the finish a little more than the previous year. There are a few dings along with a stretch of case wear that has been patched at some stage in the past. Overall this guitar is in fine condition.
When we first bought the guitar it had a section on the back of the neck which looked to be thick, opaque paint. The decision was taken to have it refinished by Neil so it better blend it with the rest of the guitar. On starting the work, he made the discovery that the neck had been shaved a bit too far…! There was very little wood left so a decision was obviously made to build it back up using a floor tile and builders putty...
Safe to say the only way for this guitar to speak again was a new neck and the results, you must agree, are stunning. Thankfully the original fretboard and headstock (with original finish) were saved and spliced onto the new neck at the first fret. Neil used some old growth mahogany for the repair to better match the grain of the original wood.
The original fretboard is in excellent shape, the binding having also been rescued, as is the original headstock which has not been refinished and retains its original serial number and decal etc. The frets are original and there's still some life left in them. The original nut has been retained. Everything else on the neck is new with a fantastically well matched refinish done to the back of the neck. The Grover tuners are a later addition and one of the cases is lifting but still works fine.
Elsewhere, the hardware and plastics on this guitar have survived well. The tailpiece shows some signs of use as do the studs. The pickguard and jack plate are in great shape.
Electrically Neil managed to leave the majority of the solder joints alone as they had been untouched since they left Kalamzoo. As he only needed to remove the neck pickup for the repair, this was achieved by desoldering at the pickup.
The guitar comes with a hardshell case
This guitar has a nice acoustic resonance with the new neck carved using templates taken from a 1956 Special so feels just the same. The real fun comes when plugged in as both P90s deliver a fantastic gnarly tone when full tilt, cleaning up nicely with the volume and tone controls. Gibson produced some brilliant pickups in the 1950s and this guitar is certainly blessed with a well matched pair.
This guitar goes a long way to show that ‘student models’ of the 50s were certainly not just thrown together by the craftsmen of Kalamazoo and that even when things look to be quite dire they can be repaired and new life breathed into them. There are many more miles left on this guitar for sure and with current LP Specials what they are, this one is a bit of a bargain…
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We are not box shifters, we take your packing and shipping very seriously..!
We have to. You're considering spending a lot of money with us and you would obviously like your valuable musical instrument to arrive at your door, without drama, fuss or damage.
We have many years (stretching way back in to the last century) of packing and shipping fragile musical items all over the world - in fact the number of sometimes priceless, vintage instruments we have shipped is in the thousands.
When you buy a vintage or second hand item from us, it will be hand packed by one or more of our specialist, in house staff and then shipped in our own custom made cardboard boxes (If applicable).
We normally ship via our preferred carriers UPS, DPD, Parcelforce and Royal Mail for smaller items such as straps and leads. Tracking numbers are always provided.
Shipping prices vary by item and by location, please see the individual products for details but as a guide, prices for a guitar is usually:
UK - £50
Mainland Europe - £75
USA - £200
Rest of World (rates can vary a lot depending on country) - £250
How can I pay?
All our base prices are in £GBP Sterling and exclude delivery.
Payments can be made by bank transfer (up to any amount) or credit/debit card through our website (up to £10,000.) Due to fraud risks we do not take payment by phone. We accept and use many online payment services that work by way of bank transfer and recommend Wise.com who will in generally offer far better exchange rates than banks.
Do your prices include VAT?
All prices include UK VAT but most used or vintage guitars are sold under the UK marginal scheme for secondhand goods which means you will not get an invoice with the VAT amount shown separately, neither will you be able to claim this VAT element back if you are VAT registered, and the VAT element cannot be deducted for export sales.
For new items such as some guitars, pedals, straps, cables etc 20% UK VAT is included and if you are in an export country, which since Brexit now includes Europe and of course the US, this 20% VAT will automatically be deducted at checkout for you. You may have to pay local taxes and duties when your goods arrive in your home country, we advise you to check with your local customs office to be sure.
Can I reserve or put an item on hold?
Yes you can. Items can be put on hold for a deposit payment of 10%. This will hold the item for up to 30 days but this deposit payment is non refundable in the event of the buyer failing to complete the sale.
A further 10% payment at the end of the initial 30 day period will extend this period for another 30 days and subject to individual approval, this arrangement can be extended at our discretion. ATB Guitars holds title to the goods until paid for in full and if the buyer should change his/her mind for any reason, a restocking fee equivalent to to 15% of the total purchase price will be deducted from any refund given.
Do you have a mailing list?
The best way to get on our mailing list is to submit the form at the bottom of every page on our website. Also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @ATBguitars as most new items are posted there as soon as we buy them and before they go on the website. If you are searching for a specific guitar then send us an email and we will attempt to alert you once one has been found.
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ATB Guitars has been trading since the '90s and we've sold thousands of guitars to date. We pride ourselves on our in-depth descriptions, detailed photography, honesty and transparency. We also accept no questions returns within 14 days so you can buy with confidence! Read more about our history below...
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