Little Girl

The iconic ’59 Burst

We built this interpretation of Lester Polfuss’ original design from the 50s at Clemens’ request. Our goal was to capture the “spirit” of what is probably the most sought-after guitar model of all time – the 1959 Standard – and transport it in a modern guitar. We wanted to keep what’s good and modernize a few spots where we felt it was appropriate.
In the beginning there was the choice of wood. Here we have opted for extra light Cedro. Cedro is also a close relative of mahogany, both soundwise and visually. However, it is a good amount lighter and therefore closer to the Swietenia Mahogany, which was used in the 50s and is hard to find in this quality today. So Cedro was our choice for the body and neck. Local plum was used for the fretboard as a substitute for brazilian rosewood – still an insider tip among fretboard materials. For the top we used a beautifully flamed piece of Bosnian maple.
For all plastic parts, we have found replicas that are very true to the original, which were manufactured according to old original recipes and meticulous color matching. The unpotted pickups were hand-wound by Amber from Berlin and were created after years of detailed work with old original pickups and are intended to recreate the 1959 PAF sound as best as possible.
Of course, only braided shield wire was used for the wiring, as well as CTS pots with 530K impedance, fat Bumblebee caps and a solid Switchcraft switch and output jack.
A solid brass ABR-1 bridge replica from ABM was installed, as well as an aluminum tailpiece for best sustain and a nice open and “woody” sound character. As a minor modern upgrade, we used Grover Griplock tuners for best tuning stability. Further upgrades are the 2-way truss rod, the volute at the transition between neck and headstock for more stability and stainless steel frets for absolutely wear-free play and smooth bending. The fingerboard radius was also designed as a 12-16″ compound.
The finish, on the other hand, is again absolutely traditional and made with 100% nitro . All surfaces have been subtly aged and complete the concept down to the last detail. We find the weight of almost 3.9kg absolutely convincing for a LP.
I have to admit that I haven’t had the pleasure of playing a real ’59 yet, so unfortunately I don’t have a direct comparison. But one thing is for sure: optically, haptically and tonally this is a damn awesome single cut and Clemens is more than happy 🙂