The Guitar Sherpa

Since the 1930s, Gibson Guitar Corporation offered electric hollow-body guitars, such as the ES-150. However after the introduction of the Fender Telecaster in 1950 solid-body, electric guitars became rapidly popular.

In response, Gibson Guitar’s president brought guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul in as a company design consultant in 1951; this after Paul’s hand-built, solid-body guitar prototype - called “The Log”- was rejected by Gibson.

The result of the design collaboration was the development of a solid-body electric guitar that featured a traditional curved body shape and a glue-in “set” neck. This initial guitar model would lead to the creation of the Les Paul line of Gibson guitars.

In the 1952, Gibson released the regular Les Paul model. Known as the “Goldtop” the guitar featured two P-90, single coil pickups, and a one-piece ‘trapeze’-style bridge and tailpiece. The strings of the guitar were fitted under a steel stop-bar.

The second issue of the Les Paul guitar was introduced in 1954. Dubbed the Gibson Les Paul Custom, the entirely black guitar featured a mahogany top to differentiate the instrument from its Goldtop predecessor's maple top. The Custom also featured a Tune-o-Matic bridge design, and a pickup with an alnico-5 magnet in the neck position.

The Les Paul guitar line was originally conceived to include only these two models; however advancements in pickup, body, and hardware designs allowed Gibson to manufacture a variety of Les Paul models.

Advancements included Gibson introducing the humbucker in 1957. The humbucker is credited with revolutionizing the sound of the electric guitar and giving Les Paul’s their unique, classic tone. These pickups helped produce a higher output signal, while also giving the Les Paul's tone a mellow quality with decreased treble frequencies. 

The heavy-wood body of the Les Paul also contributed to its full and mellow tone, as the weight of the guitar allowed the instrument to sustain a deeper bass.

Hardware on nearly every Les Paul is standard, and consists of two volume pots, two humbucking pickups, and tone controls.  A pickup switch enables three separate sound combinations.

When the switch is flipped downwards the bridge pickup is selected, which generates a crunchy sound used for lead guitars. In the middle position both pickups are active and a balanced tone results. In the upwards position the neck pickup is active creating a deeper sound with rich sustain.

Les Paul models come in a variety of colors including wine red, ebony, classic white, fire burst, and alpine white. They also come with a mix of finishes and decorative levels.

Guitarists known for playing Les Pauls include: Slash, Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley, Billy Gibbons, Gary Moore, Zakk Wylde, Alex Lifeson, Frank Zappa, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, and Carl Perkins. Many of these artists have signature Les Pauls that carry their name.

Over the years, authentic 1950s Les Pauls have become some of the most sought after and expensive electric guitars in the world, as it is estimated that only 1,700 were made between 1958 and 1960. In the current re-sale market, a good condition, 1959 Les Paul in is commonly priced between $200,000 and $750,000. However, a reissue of a 1958, 1959, or 1960 Les Paul can be purchased for $3,000 to S6,000.

Due to the popularity of the Les Paul guitar, hundreds of unendorsed imitations or copycat versions have been sold in the U.S. and overseas.

Models

Aside from the Goldtop and Custom, other earlier Les Paul models included the Junior, TV, Special, Standard, 1961 Les Paul SG, and Deluxe.

In 1954, Gibson issued the Les Paul Junior, which featured marked differences when compared to the other Les Paul models. The Junior was characterized by its flat-top "slab" mahogany body, finished in traditional Gibson Sunburst. Touted as an inexpensive option for Gibson electric guitar buyers, the guitar had a single P-90 pickup; and simple volume and tone controls.

Gibson launched the Les Paul TV model in 1955. The TV was a Junior with what Gibson called a ‘natural finish.’ The finish created a translucent mustard yellow color that would not cast a glare on television. During that time it was found that white guitars would glare too much on early black and white televisions.

In 1958, Gibson made a design change to their Junior and TV models. To accommodate player requests for more access to the top frets, Gibson revamped both these guitar models with a new, double-cutaway body shape.

Released in 1955, the Les Paul Special featured two soapbar, P-90 single coil pickups, 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 applied to the two-pickup Special the design allowed the neck of the guitar to possibly break after moderate handling. As a result Gibson designer’s moved the neck pickup farther down the body.

In 1958, Gibson changed the top finish on the regular Les Paul model from the gold color to the Sunburst finish. Eventually known as the Les Paul Standard, the model was produced from 1958 to 1963 with only 2,000 made. The hardware specifications were the same as that of the '57 Goldtops and featured PAF humbucker pickups. Gibson began manufacturing the Standard again in 1968 and continues to produce the model.

In 1961 Gibson modified the Les Paul line and issued a guitar that was thinner and much lighter than the earlier models, with two sharply pointed cut-aways and a vibrato system. Dubbed the Les Paul SG, the redesign was done without Les Paul's knowledge. When the musician saw the guitar, he asked Gibson to remove his name from the instrument and parted ways with the company. Following this the guitar was officially known as the SG, which stands for solid guitar.

Another model released in the late 1960s was the DeLuxe. This model featured "mini-humbuckers", also known as "New York" humbuckers. In 1978 the Les Paul Pro DeLuxe was introduced, and featured P-90 pickups, instead of the mini-humbuckers.

Since being purchased by Gibson in the 1950s, Epiphone has been manufacturing lower quality, less expensive guitars based on Gibson’s Les Paul designs. Epiphone has manufactured around 20 Les Paul models, and currently produces the Les Paul Special II, the Les Paul 100, the Les Paul Standard Plain Top, and the Les Paul Standard Plus Top. Epiphone guitars are manufactured outside of the U.S.

In 1969 Gibson became the property of Norlin, a company formed by the merger of CMI and ECI, an Ecuadorian brewery. During the "Norlin Era," Les Paul body designs were greatly altered and the company began experimenting with new models such as the Les Paul Recording. This model featured low-impedance pickups, a number of switches and buttons, and a specialized cable for impedance-matching to the amplifier.

Les Paul models in the Norlin era: Studio, Custom Shop models, Gibson Robot Guitar, and Gibson Dark Fire. In January 1986, Gibson changed ownership and began manufacturing a range of varied Les Paul models to suit different user needs.

Due to consumer demand, the Les Paul guitar is currently available in an array of choices, ranging from guitars equipped with modern digital electronics to classic re-issue models.

Gibson's new version of the Les Paul Standard was released August 1, 2008; and features a long neck tenon, an asymmetrical neck profile, frets leveled by Plek machine, and locking Grover tuners with an improved ratio of 18:1. In 2008 Gibson also introduced the Les Paul Traditional, which is built using Kluson style tuners, 57 Classic pickups, and an unchambered body.

To mark the 50^th anniversary of the 1960 Les Pauls, Gibson released 1960 Custom Shop recreations earlier this year. Three versions of the guitar were released with slightly different features to represent the production variation from that year.

On a sad note, Les Paul – best known as an early innovator in the development of the solid body guitar – passed away on August 13, 2009 at the age of 94. Among Paul's most lasting contributions are those in the technological realm including developments in multi-track recording, guitar effects, and the mechanics of sound.