Gibson teams up with Promise of the Real guitarist Lukas Nelson for signature ’56 Les Paul Junior

We first got a glimpse of the new signature Gibson electric guitar from Lukas Nelson - who plays with Promise of the Real, Neil Young and Willie Nelson & Family - earlier this year. Now the company has officially announced the Gibson Lukas Nelson ’56 Les Paul Junior.

The customized model was inspired by Nelson’s own ‘56 Junior, and features a single-cutaway slab mahogany body, fat ‘50s-style mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays and medium jumbo frets.

There’s also a specially-voiced dog-ear P-90 with Alnico III magnets and single volume and tone gold speed knobs hand-wired with orange drop capacitors and original spec 500k vintage audio taper pots.

Other features include original-spec Vintage Deluxe strip style tuners with white buttons - now with a higher gear ratio for enhanced precision - a ‘50s-style wraparound bridge with a subtle compensation contour to improve intonation, and aged nickel-plated hardware.

The guitar comes finished in a deluxe satin Vintage Sunburst, developed to capture the same vintage patina of Nelson’s original.

Said Nelson, “The beauty of this guitar is that it is very versatile with the sound. In fact, I can get a lot of different tones just from the P-90 and the way that I attack the strings and through the intonation and the vibrato that I give. If I hit it lighter, it doesn’t break up as much. If I get into it, it gets a lot of grit and dirt and breaks up. It’s a versatile tone, which I’m pretty grateful for.

“This guitar has taken me on a long journey. It’s taken me to some amazing places, and I hope that a lot of other people get the same opportunity with their version of my guitar.”

The Lukas Nelson ’56 Les Paul Junior is available for $1,599.

Additionally, Nelson will take part in a live Q&A about his musical history and songwriting, as well as answer fan questions, at 5:00 PM PST on August 5. 

To tune in, head to Gibson TV.