Gibson / Les Paul Special / 1956 / TV Yellow / Guitar
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There are a few myths as to the origin of the moniker ‘TV Yellow’. Some say that it originates through the association with television cabinet finishes which were often done in limed mahogany (the finish listed in the Gibson Catalogue). Another idea most often quoted is that the finish looked better when broadcast (a suggestion put forward by Les Paul himself) as white caused issues with early television cameras.
A more controversial one is that the TV stands for ‘Telecaster Version’, a name given to the finish by Gibson executives who thought the combination of a blonde finish and black pick guard would confuse new customers into buying the Les Paul Juniors over their rival Fender’s Telecaster. Whatever the answer, its certain that this is one of Gibson’s most distinctive finishes, one which went through many changes over the years.
This guitar certainly looks the part. This is how we want our TV specials to look isnt it? Modified for a humbucker, the body is has the correct finish as you can see and thankfully hasn’t been modified further.
The neck has been partially refinished as it had had too much finish removed and it had a headstock repair at one time. Thankfully the original serial number has been preserved. The bare wood feel of the neck is excellent. The refret has been done very sympathetically and the fretboard is in great shape.
The plastics are in great shape and seem to be correct. Hardware has been changed. The bridge is a Mojoaxe compensated example and the tuners are chrome Grovers.
Electronically, the pots are all from 1965 though the caps are correct. The humbucker is superb sounding and the P90 is correct.
As a side note, this is the guitar that helped inspire Neil Ivison to create the Hurricane and Neil took all the measurements from this very guitar!
The guitar comes with a softshell case
Plugged in we’re greeted by a plethora of gnarly tones, as you expect from such an instrument. The joy is being able to tame these and take your sound from hairy to subtle with the simple manipulation of the controls. For such a straightforward guitar, there is whole world on sounds available.
If you’ve been looking for a TV Special at a reasonable price then don’t let this one pass you by….
ATB Guitars, UK 
Hello we’re ATB Guitars.
We are one of Europes leading sellers of vintage and rare guitars. We only sell vintage Gibson and Fender electric guitars from 1950 until 1975 and have an extensive inventory to browse in our bricks and mortar store in Cheltenham, UK or in our online web store.
Payment and p/x:
All prices are in UK GBP £ Sterling. Payment can be made by Paypal, bank transfer, cash, or money order cashiers cheque etc.
Should you not be absolutely delighted with your purchase you may return it to Cheltenham, at your own expense, within 7 days from the date of delivery for a full refund. The item must not have been altered or tampered with in any way, and it must arrive in the same condition as it left us.
Postage and shipping:
We ship within the UK by Royal Mail Recorded (small items under 2Kg), TNT or UPS and Worldwide by Royal Mail Airmail Signed For (small under 2Kg) Parcelforce, UPS or FedEx. All shipping prices include expert packing, cartons and packing materials but not insurance which is typically around 2% of items value. Currently approx shipping rates for a single guitar are as follows:
UK excluding Northern Ireland and Highlands £29
Most of mainland Europe £49
U.S.A. £129
Asia £149 - £190
Rest of World including S. America £149 - £275
