The Les Paul by Gibson
When the Fender Telecaster was introduced to the market in 1950, there was a surge in the guitar music world. Subsequent to this introduction, the Gibson Les Paul made its debut. Gibson was and is a leading musical instrument manufacturer. Les Paul was one of the most respected guitarists at the time. Les Paul was known for his innovation in musical instruments and because of this the president of Gibson Company, Ted McCarthy, recruited Les Paul to be a consultant for Gibson.
Les Paul first made a solid body guitar prototype called the The Log. Les Paul had already talked to Gibson in 1945 with this guitar prototype but the idea was not accepted. Then in 1951, Les Paul and Gibson began working together and Les Pauls innovative idea created a shock wave in the music industry. The line of Gibson hollow-body electric guitars inspired new ideas to create the Gibson Les Paul–a kind of hard body and hollow body combination. It differed greatly from Fender because the Fender was a solid body and Gibson Les Paul sported a more curved body and a glued-in neck.
The role of Les Paul and Gibson was not without any controversy. One issue was that the president of Gibson Corporation approached Les Paul and asked him for permission to print his name on the headstock of the guitar. He hoped this would increase the sales of the Gibson Les Paul. It was also claimed by McCarthy that they only had discussions with Les Paul regarding the tailpiece and fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body for increased density and sustain. Les Paul also wanted the new model to have a gold finish but the Gibson gave flame and tiger maple finishes for it to compete with the Fender.
The original Les Paul guitar had only two models– the regular model, later nicknamed the Goldtop and the custom model which had upgraded hardware in a black finish. There was continual improvement seen in the electric pickups, body and hardware patterns. This seemed to really please guitarists. The revolutionary humbucking pickup completely eliminated the 60-cycle humming that previously inundated the amplified guitars.
Gibson Les Paul has evolved through the years. The Gibson Les Paul models are Goldtop (1952-1957), Custom (1954-1960), Gibson Les Paul Junior (1954-1960), Gibson Les Paul TV (1955-1960), Gibson Les Paul Special (1955-1960), Gibson Les Paul Standard (1958-1960), Gibson Les Paul SG 1961, Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 1968, Gibson Les Paul Studio 1983, as well as the modern Gibson Les Paul guitars. In the 1960s, prominent rock guitarists began using the Les Paul and this really solidified the reputation of quality and ease of play. This is why the Gibson Les Paul is so popular today with upcoming and established guitarists.
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