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1973 Gibson Les Paul Standard
worked on by John Jordan famous for his violins
 

 

 



   

In 1954 the gibson les paul custom guitar was introduced with a single cutaways ,22 fret bound ebony fingerboard , raised black bound pickguard , multi bound mahogany body with a carved top ,

gold hardware ,tune o matic bridges with stop tailpiece and optional bigsby vibratoes ( see top pic to the left ) , 2 single coil pickups ( alnico v & p-90 ) , block inlays on fingerboard and were made in black finishes .

In 1957 gibson replaced the 2 single coil pickups with 3 humbucking pickups ( see top pic to the right courtesy of vintageoneguitars.com )

these gibson guitars were considered very prestigious but did not sell well until the demand got stronger during the sixties forcing the gibson company to make reissues ( with minor changes ) in 1968 .




In 1961 gibson changed the body to an sg type body with 2 pointed cutaways , gibson decided to discontinue the name " les paul custom " in 1963 on these guitars and continue production under the name " gibson sg custom " until 1980 .

During the 60s the original single cutaway model was in high demand , therefore in 1968 the gibson company introduced the gibson les paul custom reissue with a single cutaway , one piece body/neck , maple top, 2 humbucking pickups , black finish , no neck volute and were made only in 1968 .

In 1969 Gibson decided to continue their line of les paul custom reissue models with a 3 piece mahogany/maple body , very similar specs like the 68 reissue except were made in various finishes and are still going strong today, 2 or 3 pickups were optional troughout the 70s , and 80s .



Throughout the years these gibson guitars were endorsed and played by numorous rockstars and famous guitar players such as eric clapton , jimmy page , ace frehley , zakk wylde , pete townshend , marc anthony , santana , randy rhoads and jimi hendrix ...just to name a few .

Gibson also issued some anniversary & historic models of their les paul custom guitars during the 70s, 80s, and 90s which were in addition very succesful .

The prices below are according to 4 different price guides , in my opinion from 1954 to 1959 les paul custom guitars can be sold for more due to demand vs supply. Also , the les paul custom guitars with no factory bigsby tend to sell for more .

JORDAN ELECTRIC VIOLINS / JORDAN MUSIC SERVICES is the workshop of John Jordan. After more than a decade of running a multi-employee shop, John has chosen to concentrate almost entirely on building instruments while working alone.

John Jordan concentrates on instrument design and construction. He has done a large amount of repair in the past and  continues to do some repair work.

A condensed history of Jordan Music Services/ Jordan Electric Violins
1977 John Jordan starts building his first guitar.
1979 Built the earliest Jordan guitar still in use today.
1980  John Jordan starts an apprenticeship with Ervin Somogyi, a well respected acoustic guitarmaker.
1981  John Jordan completes apprenticeship and establishes own shop.
1984  The shop's workload becomes sufficient to support John Jordan without  working part-time nights. Jordan guitars and other stringed instruments receive their first  newspaper and  television coverage, and gallery exhibits. Many others follow in later years.
1985  John Jordan writes the first of  his many technical articles in music trade publications.
1986  The shop's workload surpasses John Jordan's capacity. Mark Miller starts repairing guitars at Jordan Music Services after working in other shops over the past decade. John Jordan is included in the book "The Violin Makers of the United States" by Thomas Wenberg. Coverage in other books follows in later years
1987  The first Jordan Electric Violins are built. Colin Kaminski starts doing repair in San Rafael,CA.
1988  Two Jordan guitars and a viola da gamba are prominently featured in FRETS Magazine, the most important acoustic music magazine of its era.
1989  Thanked on a CD for the first time for use of an instrument on an album. Many others follow in later years.
1992  Granted a U.S. patent for the electric violin. An article in the New York Times follows shortly after. Colin Kaminski starts repairing orchestral stringed instruments at Jordan Music Services after working for other shops in the area for the past five years.
1997   TEMPEST, featuring Michael Mullen, plays for a festival crowd of 30,000, marking the largest  live audience to hear a Jordan Electric Violin to date. A Jordan Electric Violin appears on The Nashville Network (TNN) for the first time.
1998  Starving Musician of Santa Clara,CA becomes the first dealer for Jordan Electric Violins which had been available only directly up until then. Elderly Instruments of Lansing, MI and Kamimoto String Instruments of San Jose, CA also starts selling our violins. Jordan Electric Violins are featured in two books, several trade publications, television and radio this year.
1999 Thomas Metzler Violin Shop  of Glendale, CA and Music Explorium of Carrboro, NC and Singing Strings Music of Belmont, NH become dealers for Jordan Electric Violins.
2000 Miri Ben-Ari endorses Jordan Electric Violins. John Jordan chooses to concentrate on building instruments while his employees leave to start their own repair businesses with his best wishes. The STRAD runs an article on Jordan Electric Violins. STRINGS Magazine reviews Jordan Electric Violins in the November/December issue. The church choir for which John  Jordan plays upright bass and electric cello records a CD titled Led By The Spirit marking John's first recording work that appeared in CD format. Jordan Custom Guitars are profiled in the book "Custom Guitars - A Complete Guide to Contemporary Handcrafted Guitars" by String Letter Publishing covering 203 guitarmakers worldwide. The book features a photo of the headstock of one of my archtop guitars on the Archtops chapter title page.
2001 Discount String Center - The Woodwind and the Brasswind of South Bend IN, becomes a dealer for Jordan Electric Violins. ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN and FIDDLER magazines feature articles about Jordan Electric Violins. Information about John Jordan and Jordan Electric Violins is included in the book "The Contemporary Violin - Extended Performance Techniques" by Patricia and Allen Strange. Several great recordings are released prominently feature Jordan Electric Violins.
2002 Gryphon Stringed Instruments of Palo Alto, CA becomes a dealer for Jordan Electric Violins. The Tri-City Herald writes a feature article on John Jordan and his electric violins.
2003 Groth Music of  Bloomington, MN becomes a dealer for Jordan Electric Violins. The New Design Jordan Electric Cello is introduced and promptly profiled in STRINGS Magazine August /September issue and FIDDLER magazine's winter issue. A Jordan Electric Violin is used to evaluate amplifiers in the April issue of STRINGS Magazine
2004  Phillip Injeian Violin Shop  of Pittsburgh, PA and Judicael Strings of West Yorkshire, UK  become dealers for Jordan Electric Violins.
The Jordan Electric Upright Bass is introduced and promptly profiled in the April issue of Bass Player Magazine  The Jordan Electric Cello is featured in the April issue of  STRINGS Magazine in an article titled, "A Guide to Electric Cellos". John Jordan appears as a guest cellist on Katy and Dell's CD titled "Anytime".
2005 Maison Tasset sprl of  Liege, Belgium becomes a dealer for Jordan Electric Violins. John Jordan starts playing regularly as the bassist and cellist with Katy and Dell.  John Jordan is quoted extensively for an article titled "The Electric Company" in the first issue of TEEN STRINGS magazine. Greg Downs starts assisting in the building and repairing of instruments in the shop.
2006 Fiddle Center of  East Brookfield, Massachusetts becomes a dealer for Jordan Electric Violins. FIDDLER magazine's winter issue features an article titled "Neyveli S. Radhakrisna's Jordan Violin" about the Double-necked Violin built for Mr. Radhakrishna. Violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn uses a Jordan Electric Violin in concert with And You will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

What went on in between the outlined highlights? Repairs, restorations, and customizations on tens of thousands of instruments collectively by John Jordan, and his employees, for a wide spectrum of musicians from beginners to world renowned  professional musicians. Visit our Repair / Restoration Services page for more details.

More than 300 fine instruments have been designed and built by John Jordan often  involving design ideas from both the customer involved and from employees. The range of instruments built are mostly acoustic and electric violins, guitars, cellos, and basses. Also included on occasion have been harps, electric mandolins, and viola da gambas.
Visit our Electric Violin Page, Electric Cello Page, and Custom Guitars and Basses page for more details.