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QUESTION
I have a what I believe to be 1958 Les Paul Jr. but it only has a 4 digit serial number. Is this possible.
REPLY
Great question. Not too many people know this but in 1958 the first run of 1958 Les Paul Jr’s have a 4 digit serial number that is correct. These are usually found of the slab body or thicker body Jr’s and the heel joint is much deeper on the early 1958 double cut Jr’s. I have only seen this serial number example on double cut Jr’s.
Also a cool little known fact is 98% of the ones i have seen also has a soap bar p90 under the dog ear cover. This is to accommodate the deeper neck angle on the slab early body 58 Jr’s . This is so the pickup sits down deeper in the body due to the shallow neck angle a regular dog ear p90 will be too high!! so yes the serial number is different and also is many little details on that guitar that other people do not know.
So If one is not sure here is list of thing to check. The neck with be almost uncomfortably large in 1958 . will likely have 4 digit serial number, check pot dates. carefully pull of p90 cover chances are it it is s soap bar pickup it is a 1958. also the heel joint will be deeper on the body. The body will also be a bit more squared off and thicker hence the name slab body.
I hope this helps thank you for your question
Jim Pasch