TV Yellow was a wood finish developed in the 1950s because it had a better appearance on the black and white television sets of the era. On screen the color appeared as a soft white, off screen the color is a sort of transparent lime color which allows the wood grain to show through. Gibson gave its TV Yellow treatment to a number of guitars in the late 1950′s and the early 1960′s. The guitars that commonly adorned this finish were the Les Paul Juniors and Specials. These TV Yellow student model guitars have become highly sought after by collectors, often times more so than their cherry red finish counterparts.
The foolproof formula.
TV Yellow Fun Facts:
-The finish first appeared in 1955 on the “Les Paul TV model” which was a Les Paul Junior in the TV Yellow.
-The two pickup Les Paul Special was available the same year in the same finish but was not referred to as a TV model.
-The finish was originally referred by Gibson as “natural” similar to Fender’s “Butterscotch” used on early Telecasters.
And now, here’s something we hope you’ll really like. See our trio of TV Yellow Les Pauls by clicking here.
Some of you loyal followers may remember Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) stopping by for a 1961 SG Jr TV Yellow back in August 2010.
