Gibson Les Pauls

The Gibson Les Paul electric guitar has a long and interesting history. It was first conceived in the early 1950s in response to the runaway success of Fender’s first solid-body electric guitar, later to be named the Telecaster. The Les Paul began as a design collaboration between Gibson and jazz guitarist Frean Donni. Later, Gibson would invite jazz legend Les Paul into the design process.

It is worthy to note that the Les Paul was not, in fact, Gibson’s first electric guitar. Gibson had been manufacturing hollow-body electric guitars, such as the ES-150, since the 1930s. These early electric models would be used for design cues in the Les Paul guitar. Gibson was developing a new solid-body electric, but one that was very distinct from Fender’s design. It was to have a more traditional shape than the Telecaster, and use a set (glued-in) neck instead of a bolt-on design like Fender’s.

Les Paul was already well-respected at the time – not only as a jazz musician, but as an innovator, having developed a variety of experimental guitar designs for his own personal use. In fact, he had already approached Gibson around 1945 with a solid-body electric guitar design of his own, but was rejected. This initial rejection may have kept the door open for him to be invited back as a collaborator on the guitar that would later bear his name.

In 1951, the collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and Les Paul would begin in earnest. How much input he had in the design process is a subject of fierce debate. Gibson president Ted McCarty stated that Les Paul was shown a “nearly finished instrument”, and was only approached to lend his name to the guitar. He would later concede, however, that Les Paul did have some input on the tailpiece design.

Other sources suggest a much more hands-on design role for Les Paul. He agreed that the guitar should be an expensive, well-made instrument in the Gibson tradition. Some say that he made at least two significant contributions to the design of the guitar. One was that the colors should be “classy” – that is, an expensive-looking gold version, and a black, “tuxedo-like” version should be produced. The other contribution widely credited to Les Paul was the trapese tailpiece design.

The first version of the Les Paul electric guitar, which would become known as the goldtop Les Paul, was introduced in 1952. It was originally known simply as the “Les Paul” – the goldtop designation would come later, as guitars of this era became associated with their gold finish. It was an archtop guitar with a mahogany body, and featured the classic P-90 pickups.

The next major revision in Les Paul guitars came with the introduction of the Les Paul Custom in 1954. This Les Paul model featured alnico pickups designed by Seth Lover. The Les Paul Jr., a budget version, was also introduced in this year. In 1955, the Les Paul Special, a two-pickup version of the Junior, would be introduced.

In 1957, designer Seth Lover created and patented the humbucking pickup, a unique design featuring two coils side-by-side, which reduced noise and gave the Les Paul a warm, distinctive tone. This would form the basis for the Les Paul Standard, introduced in 1958, and produced in various incarnations to this day. Along with the introduction of the Standard was a new look for the Les Paul top, using elaborate wood patterns such as tiger striped, flamed, and figured woods, and a burst lacquer finish. Ironically, as the Gibson Les Paul continued to evolve – many would say improve – interest in the instrument would wane throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was not until the mid to late 1960s, when rock legends such as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton rediscovered the late 50s Les Paul Standards that this guitar would see a resurgence in popularity. The Les Paul Standard remains popular to this day, with a new version introduced in 2008.

• Where to get up to 50% off Gibson Les Pauls