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It's expensive, but it certainly looks the part

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Gibson has been making 'official' reissues of its Les Paul range since 1983. Even before this, there was the occasional attempt, as with 1980's Standard 80 and Standard 80 Elite, which looked good but were still miles away from the original specifications.

There had always been the occasional limited runs built for canny US dealers, who recognised a demand that Gibson wasn't fulfilling.

People like guitar shop owners Chris Lovell in Memphis and Jimmy Wallace in Dallas asked Gibson for specific details to be included on strictly limited retail runs, such as flame maple tops, narrower headstocks and correct cutaway binding.

In the intervening 20 years or so, the instruments have got closer to that Holy Grail - in this case, the sunburst Standards built between 1957 and 1960. This latest incarnation, carrying the banner Vintage Original Spec, aims to up the ante even further.

Not only are there one or two added vintage features, but the finish has also been given the look of a well-loved original, and so they're guaranteed to elicit a gasp of awe.

It's certainly a sight to behold. That initial glimpse really does fool you into thinking you've just spied £100,000 of vintage guitar.

Gibson has worked on a way of dulling the cellulose finish to emulate the patina that comes from years of exposure to the elements, including smoky rooms, changes in atmosphere and temperature, and not forgetting good old sweat.

The nickel-plated parts are likewise mildly aged using a tarnishing process that adds real character - as if a '59 Standard needs more character!

Some of the minor changes recently brought to the Reissue range include: a headstock that tapers in thickness; more accurately shaped and coloured 'crown' fingerboard inlays; lightweight aluminium tailpiece bar; thinner rhythm/treble toggle switch ring; thinner jack plate; original-style CTS pots; and old-fashioned 'bumblebee' capacitors.

These small things make a lot of difference to fans of the early models and, whether they improve the instruments or not, they're all very welcome additions.

A more significant change to the Standard came in 1959, with the introduction of jumbo frets. In 1959, the term 'jumbo' really meant slightly wider and taller, and not the kind of railway sleepers we see on rock guitars today.

But it did mean the Les Paul's fingerboard - with the help of a neck slimmed down from the baseball bat of the previous year - was much more playable by those who used finger vibrato and string bends.

History reminds us that this instrument found its way into the hands of players like Eric Clapton and Michael Bloomfield. With these guitars, they instigated the kind of sustain and distortion that we take for granted in rock and blues today.

This sound prompted huge demand for the instrument, but by that time it was unavailable new, Gibson having discontinued it in favour of the SG shape. That was the birth of the vintage guitar phenomenon, and the reason these Reissues exist at all.