Gibson and Triumph join forces to unveil 1959 Legends custom Les Paul and motorcycle
Based on coveted 1959 offerings from each company, the guitar and motorcycle were built as an initiative to raise funds for the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride
Gibson has teamed up with the legendary motorcycle brand Triumph to create a new 1959 Legends collection, featuring a one-of-a-kind custom electric guitar and accompanying motorcycle.
Based on coveted 1959 offerings from each company – the Les Paul Standard in Gibson's case, the Bonneville T120 bike in Triumph's – the pairing was created as an initiative to raise funds for The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, a worldwide vintage motorcycle ride held annually to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health.
The motorcycle and Gibson Les Paul will be awarded as a prize to the event's most successful fundraiser.
Under the hood, the '59 Legends Edition Les Paul is a typical 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue, with the same build, pair of custom humbuckers and control set of two volume and two tone knobs, plus a three-way pickup switch.
The devil's in the details, though, as a closer look reveals a Triumph logo stamped onto the chrome cover of the bridge pickup, and a gold Triumph badge on the Les Paul's headstock.
The guitar's switch backplate is also affixed with a Triumph Gibson 1959 Legends logo, while the black scratch plate features striping designed to resemble the Bonneville T120's engine cooling fins. All of these unique visual touches were applied by Triumph employees, at the company's workshop.
The Triumph 1959 Legends Bonneville T120 motorcycle, meanwhile, has in turn been outfitted with a brown leather seat that resembles the Les Paul's case, and a paint scheme that aims to match the Les Paul's Iced Tea Burst finish.
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For more info on The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride – which is set to occur on May 22 – visit the event's website.
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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