Welcome to my site on Gibson Les Paul Guitars!
My first ever electric guitar was a Les Paul copy , and I was hooked! – It would be many years before I could afford the “real thing” but that only made the desire stronger. This website is a fan site for all things Gibson Les Paul Guitar.
There are a variety of opinions and interpretations that colour how the introduction of the Les Pas has been seen by history.
In many ways it was a reaction to the boom of interest in electric guitars, and to the introduction of early Fender guitars the fuelled the craze. It was fuelled by the cult than explosion in rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and ultimately heavy rock. It was also very much a craze in its own right. It sounds different to stratocasters.
The Les Paul model was the combined efforts of the Gibson Corporation, and the jazz guitarist Les Paul, who was brought on board by then President Ted Mcarty as a consultant. Les was already an innovator in instrument design.
It is not clear how much of the ultimate design Les Paul was responsible for, and arguments rage as to whether the instrument was developed in essence already by Gibson, and badged by Les Paul, or whether he had a much greater hand in the development of it. Certain parts of the guitar were certainly his – and other parts certainly rejected by Gibson
The design of the Les Paul was certainly way different from the fenders, both in structure – for example neck attachement and also in design styling, the curves all radically different. It was a deviation from the hollowed body models too. When Les Paul first approached Gibson with solid body models they were rejected, only later was he brought into the team. Gibson already had hollow bodied guitars.
Les Paul pressed for the colour black or gold, black because it made the guitarist look better, and gold because it would look expensive. Certainly Gibson Les Paul guitars showed greater class in finishes than the comparitively monotonic colours associated with fenders.
A number of features distinguish the Gibson and Fender Guitars. Stringing being one. The maple and wood choices led to the resonances and classic sound associated with the Les Paul. The design of pickups and introduction of the humbucker another – which revolutionised electric guitars..
The initial offer of two guitars in the range in gold and black eventually became models across the price brackets, offering both the novice and the professional guitarist some choices.
It was for several years that guitars were given serial numbers, and the early models are certainly collectable, although lack some of the features that make them a realistic competitor for later models.
From the early days many models have appeared.
The Gibson Les Paul remains for all time a classic and iconic design
