![]() I n 1958, Gibson phased out the Gold Top finish, replacing it with their enduring Sunburst design. With the pickups in place, the iconic sound of the Les Paul was born. These “PAF” (Patent Applied For) models offered louder output, and a fuller, less toppy tone than their P90 counterparts. The P90s of earlier models were replaced with new “humbucker” pickups designed by Gibson technician Seth Lover. It would be 1957 before the final component of the classic Gibson Les Paul was put in place. ![]() As a result, Gibson abandoned the trapeze altogether in 1954, and the now iconic tune-o-matic bridge was born. While this improved the playing experience vastly, intonation issues still persisted. The following year, after Les Paul’s protests, the tailpiece was corrected. This made right hand string dampening impossible. The strings wrapped under it, rather than over, as they were supposed to. On those 1952 models, the tailpiece was actually implemented incorrectly, much to Les Paul’s chagrin. The pick-ups were P90s and the trapeze tailpiece was similar to that used on Gibson’s hollow bodies of the time. However, there were also some differences. That original guitar bore many of the hallmarks we now associate with the Les Paul the distinctive shape, mahogany body and the iconic “Gold Top” color scheme (chosen to reflect the guitar’s status as a high-end instrument). Whoever was responsible for its design, the first Les Paul was launched in 1952, with Les debuting the guitar during a live performance at New York’s Paramount theater that June. Les, meanwhile, claimed that Gibson gave him final say in every part of the design place. Gibson employees of the time maintain that the version presented to Les Paul was more or less the first production model. How much Les Paul contributed to the design of the instrument at this stage is a subject for debate. In late 1951, they approached Les Paul with a prototype of their new instrument, and an enquiry they wanted to imprint Les’ name on the headstock to increase sales. Gibson wanted a well-made, expensive instrument that fit their reputation as a high-end instrument manufacturer – a clone of the Tele this was not. Unsurprisingly, that same year, Ted McCarty and his team began work on what would eventually become the Les Paul model. Fender’s newly named “Telecaster” was creating a small storm in the guitar-playing world, proving that Les Paul’s solid-bodied vision wasn’t as out there as Gibson first thought. They ridiculed the concept and rejected the prototype.įlash forward to 1951, however, and the guitar market was a very different place. While Les recognized that solid-bodies were the future of electric guitar production, though, Gibson didn’t initially share his enthusiasm. ![]() Les called his prototype “The Log” – not exactly an awe-inspiring name, but entirely apt for what was essentially a chunk of pine with some bits bolted on it. In 1945, Les Paul – already a respected guitar innovator – presented Gibson with his idea for a solid-body Spanish guitar.Ī pine bock ran through the middle of the instrument – ever so slightly deeper and wider than the fretboard – with hollow sides, or “wings” added to give it shape. ![]() But the story of the Les Paul goes back further. When we think of the solid-body electric guitar boom, we inevitably think of the early-to-mid 1950s. Today, we’re taking a look at the history of the Gibson Les Paul how it came to be, and how it changed the electric guitar world. ![]() And even then, the first Les Pauls that arrived on the market were very different beasts from the one we now know. While Les Paul himself saw the potential of a solid bodied electric guitar as far back as 1945, it took seven years for Gibson president Ted McCarty to share his vision. Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Slash, Peter Green, Bob Marley all were Les Paul players and all helped to cement its status.īut, the story of the Les Paul’s genesis is surprisingly protracted. When it comes to electric guitars, you don’t get much more iconic than the Gibson Les Paul.Īlong with the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster, it’s the instrument that cemented the solid-bodied electric as a bona fide guitar phenomenon, rather than just a passing phase. ![]()
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