Guitar legend Les Paul bought the solid body electric guitar to the music world and re shaped the essence of rock and roll. The pioneering recording techniques like studio multi tracking and the electronic echo also came from this acclaimed musician.
In 1934, Les Paul made his first guitar pickup from some radio headphone spares and by 1941 he had built his first prototype of a solid body electric guitar. He called it "The Log", it comprised of a four foot wooden board with strings, pick up and plug. To give it the appearance of an acoustic guitar he added 2 decorative panels, it also included a piece of rail road tie which was used for the base.
He built his first recording studio in his L.A. garage in 1945. From this studio came his pioneering recording techniques such as echo delay, multi tracking and close miking. He had a car accident in 1948 resulting in a badly broken right elbow which had to be set at a special angle surgically so he could carry on playing guitar.
When the Fender Telecaster was put on the market in 1950, electric guitars suddenly became the must have musical instrument. In reaction to this Les Paul was brought to Gibson Guitar by the president Ted McCarty as a consultant.
The Gibson Les Paul collaboration was originally conceived to offer two models from Les Paul for sale. These were the Goldtop and the Custom which boasted premium hardware and a striking black finish. The series of guitars by Les Paul for sale by Gibson grew quicker than McCarty had expected and they were able to offer a long term series of electric guitar. Covering a range of price points the range was developed to offer guitars for most skill levels, excluding the total newbie guitar player.
In the early fifties Paul had developed and made his famous Recording Guitar which he put to use for his personal recording and he withheld the rights for Gibson to use this particular design of Les Paul for sale 'til 1971.
Authentic Les Paul guitars from the 50's are now some of the most coveted and collectible guitars in the world. It is thought that under two thousand original examples have survived to the present day. Were you to find a Les Paul for sale, in excellent condition from say 1959 you could be expected to have to hand over $200,000 - $750,000 US.
Up until he died in August of 2009, Les Paul played on a Les Paul on stage every week. Paul's favorite guitar was a 1972 Gibson Recording model with a one piece mahogany body to which many alterations and modifications had been added to meet his personal preferences over time.
Enter your Zip code to find ads in your area!
