Birth of the Gibson Les Paul Guitar

Origin of the Les Paul Guitar

 















In 1950, the ancestors of Fender Telecaster (Fender Esquire and Fender Broadcaster) were introduced to the music market and solid-body electric guitars became a public madness. In response to market demand, Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty brought guitarist Les Paul to the company as an advisor. Les Paul was a respected innovator who had been experimenting with guitar design for years. He built by hand a solid body prototype called "The Log", often suggested as the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built. "The Log" received its name from the block of pines that crosses the middle of the guitar, whose width and depth are a little more than the width of the fretboard; Conventional hollow guitar sides or "wings" were added to shape it. Although many other prototypes and solid body models of limited production from other manufacturers have emerged since then, it is known that in 1945-1946, Les Paul approached Gibson with the prototype "The Log", but his solid body design was rejected. In 1951, Paul, McCarty and his Gibson Guitar Corporation team began working on what would eventually become the Les Paul Model. The first prototypes are very similar to the final version. The new Les Paul guitar was going to be an expensive and well-made instrument according to Gibson's reputation at that time. Although the memories differ with respect to who contributed what design of Les Paul, it was far from being a replica of the Fender models of the rival guitar maker. In addition, Gibson president Ted McCarty stated that Gibson Guitar Corporation approached Les Paul for the right to print the musician's name on the pegbox with the intention of increasing sales; In 1951, Gibson presented Paul with an almost finished instrument for approval. Subsequently, McCarty claimed that the design discussions with Les Paul were limited to the tailpiece and the adjustment of a maple top over the mahogany body for greater density and sustain, which Les Paul had requested to reverse. However, this investment would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was rejected. Paul states that the original Customs should have had the maple top and that the Goldtop should be all mahogany. Customs did not appear in the market for another two years after the introduction of Goldtop; it is possible that Gibson has planned a complete range of guitars (with a deployment over the course of several years) at the time the initial specifications were established. Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line that bears his name were more than cosmetic, but they certainly included them. For example, Paul specified that the guitar would be offered in a golden finish, not only for ostentation, but to emphasize the high quality of the Gibson Les Paul instrument. [Les Paul's later models included flamed maple (tiger stripes) and "quilted" maple tops, once again in contrast to the rival range of custom colors of the Fender line. The 1952 Les Pauls featured two P-90 single-coil pickups and a one-piece trapeze bridge / tailpiece with ropes installed below (instead of above) a steel stop bar. The guitar made its public debut when Paul used it on stage in June 1952, at the Paramount Theater in New York. On July 24, 1952, at a special music clinic at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, she was spotted by prominent guitarists such as Tiger Haynes, George Barnes, Mundell Lowe, Tony Mottola and Billy Mure. The clinic preceded the annual NAMM Show that was held at the New Yorker Hotel from July 27, where the guitar was first received by the general public at Gibson's exhibition in rooms 611 through 615. Mid 1950s (1953-1957)