Gibson Les Paul Guitar History

The Gibson Les Paul Guitar is, in my opinion the best and most used electric guitar on the planet! This is a big statement, but take a look at all the popular bands, and all the lead guitarists that are around, and you will notice that a vast amount of these guitarists have a Gibson Les Paul in their hands. Whether you are learning the guitar, want to learn the guitar, or are a guitar god….The Gibson Les Paul is a guitar that you will hear a lot about in the guitar world….Live music sounds better on a Gibson!

The Gibson Les Paul Guitar came about when the Gibson Guitar Corporation and Jazz guitarist Les Paul joined forces in 1950. Before Les Paul was founded by Gibson, he had been experimenting with electrifying guitars for years and had hand made a prototype electric guitar that he named “The Log” as it had a solid body and was quite heavy in comparison to other models around. Les Paul approached Gibson with this design in the mid forties, but the design was rejected.

In 1951 Gibson decided to work with Les Paul on his prototype of the Log, but the plan was to make a guitar that was both well made and expensive. Les Paul’s actual contribution to the eventual production of the “les paul’ guitar, to this day is controversial, as Gibson’s president, Ted McCarty stated that they merely approached Les Paul so they could imprint his name into the headstock of the guitar to improve sales. One thing known, is that Les Paul insisted on with the first Gibson Les Paul’s was the colour – it had to be gold, hence the first model – the “Les Paul Goldtop”

Some of the most famous guitarists around who use a Gibson Les Paul Guitar are:

• Les Paul (who would have guessed!)
• Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
• Slash (Guns N Roses)
• Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
• Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
• Ace Frehley (KISS)
• Billy Joe Armstrong (Greenday)
• Neil Young
• Eric Clapton

Gibson Les Paul Models:

Gibson Les Paul’s come in many different models…here are the most popular ones in history:

Gibson Les Paul Goldtop 1952-1957

The Les Paul Goldtop featured two P-90 single-coil pickups, and a one-piece, ‘trapeze’-style bridge and tailpiece, with strings that were fitted under (instead of over) a steel stop-bar. The weight and the tonal characteristics of the Les Paul were largely due to the mahogany and maple construction.

Gibson Les Paul Standard (1958-1960, 1968-2008)

In 1958, Gibson changed the top finish on the regular Les Paul model from the gold color used since 1952 to the Sunburst finish. These Sunburst finished guitars were later known as Les Paul Standards to differentiate them from the earlier Les Paul Goldtop. The hardware was the same as that of the ’57 Goldtop, featuring humbucker pickups. Today, the Gibson Les Paul Standard has BurstBucker pickups on the Vintage Original Spec models and Burstbucker Pro on the lower end models bearing the ‘Standard’ name.

Gibson Les Paul Custom (1954-1960)

The second issue of the Les Paul guitar was introduced in 1954 and called the Gibson Les Paul Custom, this entirely black guitar was dubbed the Black Beauty. The Gibson Les Paul Custom featured a mahogany top to differentiate the instrument from its Goldtop predecessor’s maple top. It also featured the new tune ‘o’ matic bridge design and a pickup in the neck position. The Les Paul Custom was also fitted with Gibson’s new humbucker pickups.

Gibson Les Paul Special (1955-1960)

The Les Paul Special was released in 1955, and featured two P-90 single coil pickups, it was finished in a TV Yellow variation. In 1959, the Special was given the same new double cutaway body shape that the Junior and the TV received in 1958. However, when the new design was applied to the two-pickup Special, the cavity for the neck pickup overlapped with the neck-to-body joint. This modification caused the joint to become weak and break easily, but Gibson soon fixed this problem by moving the neck pickup further down the body to make a stronger joint.

Gibson Les Paul SG (1961)

This 1961 issue Les Paul guitar was thinner and much lighter than the earlier models, with two sharply pointed cut-aways and a vibrato system. This guitar was made without Les Pauls knowledge, and when he seen the guitar for the first time, he demanded that his name was removed from the guitar as he did not want to be associated with it. Gibson removed the “les paul” logo and called it the SG which stands for “solid body”

Gibson Les Paul Robot (Current model)

Gibson’s new robot guitar combines the power and performance of previous les paul models, but has some amazing features, like the ability to tune itself automatically in any key the guitar player requires at the touch of a button. It also features a Neutrik jack, that secures the cord into the body of the guitar.

The Cost Of A Genuine Gibson Les Paul Guitar

A current model genuine Gibson Les Paul Guitar can be priced anywhere between $2500 – $5000…but an original Gibson Les Paul 1959 model can set you back somewhere between $200,000 – $750,000!!

I hope this has given you a good overview on my favourite electric guitar, if you want to learn the guitar, or are planning on learning the guitar, i would suggest you have your sights set on the best guitar in the world, the Gibson Les Paul as something you simply “must have” sometime in the future.

Scotty Smith
Guitarist Rock ©2008-2009