They are not easy to find. I had been looking for a while when Gibson reissued a cheap Les Paul Jr single cutaway in faded nitro finish... So I gave up my neverending search and bought one, brand new..
Two weeks later, I came across a double cutaway Custom Shop LP Jr VOS in TV yellow on eBay priced €1200. I did not resist.
Are you wanting a new one (reissue) or an actual 1957? If a reissue is acceptable, you may want to check with local Gibson dealers in your area. Many times I've been able to have a local dealer order me an instrument direct from the factory and I've been able to save a TON of money as, in those circumstances, I've NEVER had to pay full retail price. Many times the dealer actually told me what he was going to pay for it and would just have me pay the shipping charges and a small percentage of the price tacked on for the store's profit and I was out the door.
Hey Jeppe!! Check out Götgatsbacken, both in Hellstone and at Halkans you will be able to find original LP Juniors...
And naturallust, how on earth can you prefer a melody maker or a sg or indeed a standard in front of a roaming P-90 equipped bat that is a Gibson Junior?!?!!
Please explain!! The Junior is THE best Les Paul ever built.
Well Madmax the explanation is easy. My preference is the standard and custom Les Pauls, I use them often, and like the two pickup versatility.
The P90 pickups are great on the LP juniors don't get me wrong but 2 of 'em are even better!
I figure if you want a cutting tone from just a bridge position pickup, the SG's seem to provide that better than even my LP Standards and Customs.
I threw the Melody Maker in there because they are just damn cool guitars and very lightweight and the necks are a blast to play on.
As far as the best LP ever built? I think that was probably the 1957 Gold Top although I've seen some Standards and Customs from that era which are too sweet to settle for second. peace
If you're looking for an original and are willing to travel a little for it, your best bet is probably the New King's Road Vintage Guitar Emporium in London - was in there not so long ago and they had a number of vintage Juniors, including one or two in TV Yellow.
Wrap around tailpiece is ultra slinky but takes some trial and error to intonate but it can be done. Screw the color, try as many as you can until you find a good one. it's not going to be the same as Keith's just because of the color. I have a real old 57 Junior and a modern Melody Maker modded with a SD Humbucker they are both great but each one is one in a thousand, played plenty of mediocre ones in my lifetime. Best thing about a single pickup is there's less to think about and you just play. If you want a fat tone pick toward the neck et et... I think more about music and less about switches whenever I play mine.