For years, BUCKCHERRY's Keith Nelson has called the ’59 Sunburst Les Paul his guitar of choice, both on the road and in the studio. Now, he’s getting his own Collector’s Choice model. He recently spoke with Gibson.com about the venture:

Photo by Chad Mercurio

Q: When did you first start the process of making your Collector's Choice '59 #17?

Nelson: "Probably a year ago. I was in Nashville visiting the custom shop. I started to take my 1959 on the road with me and use it live, and when I went down to the custom shop, they thought it would be a good candidate for a Collector’s Choice. Every one of those guitars is unique. We started it and went through the prototyping process and got it close to a representation of my guitar. It’s exciting. The guys at the custom shop really nailed it."

Q: What makes this ’59 such a perfect fit for you?

Nelson: "You know, I was fortunate enough to be in a room with a number of ‘59 Sunburst Les Pauls, because I have a longtime friend, Andrew Berlin, who is a procurer and dealer of those guitars on the vintage market. We met up, and he has six of them. We went through them all, and I played and compared them, and that guitar out of all of them really jumped out. It felt like it was my guitar. I don’t get much of an emotional attachment to things of the material world, but I felt like it was mine and supposed to be with me."

Go to this location for the complete interview.