Everyone wants a Les Paul Junior, but why follow the herd?

Introduced in 1960 as an entry level guitar along the same lines as Gibson’s Melody maker, the Olympic had a makeover in 1963, aligning it with the Coronet, Wiltshire and Crestwood but retaining the narrower body depth. Available in both single and double pickup configurations, the maestro vibrato became standard in 1965. The line was discontinued in 1970.

This cherry finish is a little faded but in overall very good condition. There is a minor crack in the back, as you can see from the pictures. This is not deep and well away from the neck. It does not affect the tuning stability. The finish has crazed and flaked off in areas.

The neck too is in good shape. As with the body, the finish has crazed. This does not affect how the neck feels. The frets and fretboard are in excellent shape with plenty of life left in the frets.

The hardware is all correct and in good shape. The maestro vibrato works well and the guitar stays in tune without difficulty.

Electrically the pots are correct, dated as week 4 of 1966. Some solder has been disturbed and wiring changed. The pickup is a hot rail style humbucker pickup of unknown origin.

Plugged in, this guitar sings. The humbucker complements the instrument so well and there is none of the expected shrillness from its positioning. The inherent sustain of the mahogany construction means this is quite the guitar. The neck is very comfortable and the light weight makes it feel like its not even there.

As with all these so called ‘student instruments’ there is so much more than meets the eye with his guitar. If you’re on the hunt for something a little different, look no further…