The Les Paul Standard "Goldtop" made its debut in 1952, and two years later, Gibson introduced a more upscale version, which it is said Les Paul himself requested. The 1954 Les Paul Custom had a solid black (or Ebony) finish over a mahogany body, a pair of Seth Lover-designed pickups, which included a new Alnico V pickup in the neck position. But it was the combination of an ebony fingerboard with low and flat frets that quickly earned the Les Paul Custom the neckname, "fretless wonder." Because of the Ebony finish, this model has also been called the "black beauty."

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