Frank Zappa's Gibson Les Paul Goldtop to be Auctioned

Collector's take note, the Cooper Owen auction house will offer Frank Zappa's customized Les Paul Goldtop in an auction to take place on July 28, 2006, at the Abbey Road Studios in London (and eBay Live). The instrument was Zappa's main guitar on stage and in the studio in the mid-1960s until replaced by Zappa's famous Gibson SG.

Tentative lot description of the Frank Zappa Les Paul Goldtop

"A 1952/53 Gibson Les Paul model, in gold/natural finish, single cutaway mahogany body with maple top, bound mahogany neck, twenty-two fret rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, headstock facia with Les Paul MODEL, one P-90 single coil pickup, one single coil pickup, one humbacking pickup, six rotary controls, toggle switch, pick-up selector switch, metal bridge with Bigsby tremolo tailpiece; and an original brown Lifton hardshell contour case painted green with pink plush lining.

This guitar was customised by Frank Zappa who used it on stage and in studio during the mid-1960s. According to his interview with Steve Rosen that appeared in Guitar Player magazine in 1977, this was his main guitar before he acquired his famous mid-60s SG."

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