Gibson Les Paul Guitar Legacy, Les Paul BIO & Les Paul Guitar Spotters Guide

The Gibson Les Paul Guitar History and Legacy.

Who was Guitarist Jazz Les Paul?

Les Paul Guitar Spotters Guide.

  -Alan Arnell

The Les Paul Guitar Legacy

The Gibson Les Paul guitar is arguably the most famous and iconic solid body electric guitar ever made and sold to the general public. The infamous Les Paul guitar was designed by Ted McCarthy and famous jazz guitarist Les Paul.  Mr. McCarthy was Gibson's the President of Gibson USA between 1950 to 1966.

In 1938 Chicago was the Jazz capital of the world.

Fender scooped the market by introducing the first solid body electric guitar named the Telecaster in 1950.  This iconic electric guitar quickly became a public sensation.  Guitar lovers flocked to their local music stores and the Telecaster Guitar flew off the racks.  Many rock stars of the time and today put food on the table with the amazing sounds they can product with the Telecaster.  Some of my favorite Telecaster players were:  Jeff Beck, Mike Campbell, Denny Dais, Bob Dylan, Bill Frisell, George Harrison  and Muddy Waters.  Jimmy Page played a Tele, however I choose to remember him playing a Les Paul.

Elvis with a Fender Telecaster in MGM's Girl Happy - 1965

To regain their market share and reputation, Gibson designed and sold a new guitar design to compete with the Stratocaster with the help of legendary, Les Paul.   Gibson named the guitar after Les Paul. The move was a shrewd marketing move as Les Paul has been credited with inventing the electric guitar by putting a phonograph needle in the body of his guitar to amplify the guitars sound.  

Gibson regained its market share and the rest is history.

Les Paul Biography

Lester William Polsfuss who took the stage name of "Les Paul," was born in Wisconsin, North America in 1915. Les Paul became interested in music at the tender age of eight.  His first musical instruments of choice were the harmonica and banjo.  Guitars during Les Paul’s youth did not have the overwhelming interest that they enjoyed later during Les Paul’s musical career.   Les Paul was a child prodigy and at the tender age of thirteen was already playing country music at drive-ins and roadhouses.

Les Paul, as he was, when he was a budding young musician . 

Les Paul was a creative man.  His first creation was the neck-worn harmonica holder like John Lennon and Bob Dylan used years later.  For Les Paul and everyone since then, the neck-worn harmonica holder allowed him to sing, play harmonica and the guitar all at the same time.

Never satisfied with the status quo Les Paul went on to make more inventions to enhance his musical performances.  What he is most famous for is the creation of the electric guitar.  However, like Al Gore and the internet the true story of Les Paul and the electric guitar is not quite that black and white but basically the truth.

Les Paul in his guitar shop.

As Les Played in bigger and louder venues he wanted his guitar to be louder and heard by more people.  With his mind working overtime Les Paul attached and then wired up a phonograph needle to a radio speaker.  His idea amplified the sound of his acoustic guitar and the rest now belongs to the ages.

By 1934 Les Paul had moved to Chicago which was the center of the Universe for jazz music.  With not much adieu Les Paul was was playing jazz guitar regularly in live performances and on the radio.

Les Paul in his glory Days.

Les Paul had a stellar recording career.  His first two albums were released in 1936. His jazz playing was largely influenced by the virtuosic gypsy - jazz guitar player Django Reinhardt.  Les Paul would became close friends with Reinhard in later years.

Django Reinhardt

Still, Les Paul was not happy with the current acoustic-electric guitars that were available to him and his friends.  To solve this problem Les Paul began experimenting with more ideas of his own.

One of Les Paul’s first ideas to make a better electric guitar was to created "The Log,"  The Log  was a piece of 4x4” block of pine wood with a guitar neck, bridge and pick-up attached.

"The Log"

Through arduous trial and error, Les Paul continuously re-invented The Log.  For the sake of appearance, Les Paul placed two sides of an Epiphone guitar body on each side of The Log.   This serendipitous undertaking for a better looking instrument would solve the two main issues Les Paul had been having with his electric guitar designs.  Up until the the body encasement of The Log, Les Paul continuously fought with audio feedback and lack of sustain.

The design's feedback was annoying as we all can imagine.  Sustain was a different problem. Sustain is the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent. The acoustic guitar has plenty of sustain for the musician in most instances, however when playing ringing notes and chord arrangements amplified, Les Paul was not satisfied with the sound his creation was producing through his amp. Les Paul would continue to experiment and use many different designs throughout his career as an artist.

Les Paul in his later years.

Les Paul’s The Log became, what you more than likely already guessed, the Gibson Solid Guitar (SG) .

Les Paul in partnership with Gibson Guitars changed the world with the solid body guitar.  Sadly as with most ingenious inventions, Gibson showed little interest in the SG electric guitar at first.  It took Fender to release the "Esquire" model, later to become the "Telecaster” and receive great sales success for Gibson to come around on Les Paul’s design.  

Gibson was the first to designed the solid body electric guitar, but Fender was the first to offer the SG to guitar musicians.

Years later, Gibson in an effort to boost sales created a new guitar design.  This design was made without Les Paul’s input or knowledge.  Les Paul must have felt betrayed when literally, he passed a guitar store window to discover Gibson's new Guitar design.  He was totally left out of the design process!  Les Paul did not appreciate the new design that still used his name and fame.  He was known to express that he could not qualify the new neck to body problems the new design produced.  Les Paul pulled the plug to end his endorsement and the use of his name on Gibson products.  The new guitars name was simply changed from Les Paul to Gibson SG.

Gibson SG

The original design by Les Paul before the SG later became the most popular electric guitar model ever made by Gibson.  This popularity started when future Rock legends Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton began playing the Les Paul design.  The new success of the former design prompted Les Paul to once again resume his contract with Gibson.

The Gibson Les Paul Guitar is my personal favorite guitar design.  I am not alone in my opinion, as the Les Paul design in its many variations have become famous worldwide.  No one can deny that the fantastic reputation of the Gibson Les Paul designs are is one of the best electric guitars of all time.

Spotters Guide for Les Paul Guitars

How are the different variations of the Les Paul Guitar different from one another?

The same wood is used for the most part on all Gibson Les Paul Guitars.  However, some exotic wood may used in the higher end guitars.  I read yesterday, that Gibson is experimenting with a synthetic ebony fretboard that may have a smoother sound.  The quantity and quality of the materials used for the bindings, inlays and hardware is what makes the different models different, expensive and more sought after by collectors.  Most Les Pauls have mahogany bodies, maple tops and a rosewood fretboard (some models use ebony). Structurally, the "differences" lie in details such as amount of mahogany pieces used in the body, and whether the body is solid, weight relieved, or chambered.

Gibson Les Paul Junior/Melody Maker Guitar

This model is the least expensive Gibson Les Paul Guitar.  Many a guitar buyer loves this guitar for its simplicity.  Often the guitar is offered with just one pickup

Gibson Les Paul/Melody Maker

Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitars

The Studio is the next level up from the Junior/Melody Makers. I have heard of them referred to as a Standard without the bling. Some say that the wood and electronics used are different from the Studio to a Standard, but don’t believe it. Studios are made in exactly the same way as a Standard.  You my find some Studios with a one piece back.

Les Paul Studio

Gibson Les Paul Classics and Les Paul Traditions Guitars

The Classics and Traditions are priced below a Standards.  The difference between the two models is that the Classics and Traditions have, wait for it, classic and traditional hardware and pickups. The Traditionals are like the guitars made in the 1950’s and the Classics more like the guitars made in the 1960’s. The main difference is the neck size. The 1960’s necks are slimmer and tapered.  The 1950’s necks are more rounded.  Many people refer to the 1950’s style neck as a “baseball bat neck”.  The name is an over exaggeration, because in truth the neck is nowhere as big as a baseball bat.

Gibson Les Paul Classic and Traditional

Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitars

Standards are cross between the Traditionals and the Classics designs. Each model year Gibson issued a new Standard. The model is used to showcase new design items such as locking tuners and bridges.  In recently produced models, Gibson produced the Standard model with Push/Pull knobs.  Standards are an expression of the current trends and and the Classics and Traditionals are as their names imply.

Les Paul Standard

Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitars

Custom models are made with specifically selected wood for the best guitar sounds.

The wood is chosen for a particular sound by its density, tone and performance. Customs have triple binding and back binding.  The Custom design produces the ultimate offering of bling.  I  a Custom that had gold plated hardware that was so nice I was afraid to pick it up, not alone play the $40,000 guitar!.

Les Paul Custom

Gibson Les Paul Artist Guitars

Artist models are sometimes referred to, as the Normal Les Pauls.  The Artist usually comes with some specific features for tribute to a selected artist. Or sometimes they are what is called a historical re-issue. The Artist models are the best of the best offered by Gibson.  The most expensive Artist Model will set you back from $10,000 to $30,000.   A good example of an Artist Guitar would be the Eric Clapton Beno model.

Les Paul Artist

The Gibson SG Les Paul Junior-My First Guitar

The Gibson SG Les Paul Junior

My First Guitar

   -Alan Arnell

There are many firsts in a person’s life.  First kiss, first love, first car, et cetera.  Getting that first thing you wanted so bad for so long is a memorable thing.  Although, that is not why I remember my Les Paul Jr. I have many memories of my SG, because I have played it and loved it since I was 12 years old.   This blog post is about my first guitar.  

My first guitar and my first musical instrument was a Gibson Solid Guitar (SG) Les Paul Junior.  My guitar was made at the Kalamazoo Plant, USA in the year 1962. At that time Gibson labeled the solid body guitar at a Les Paul. Not until 1963 when, Les had a falling out with Gibson, was the guitar renamed the SG. I will refer to my guitar as a SG in this post as most people know it as that name and I'm too lazy to keep typing out Les Paul.

The SG was eight years old when my mother purchased it and a amp for me at a neighbor’s garage sale for $200.  The amp was a Gibson Amp that my parents sold in 1982, because I did not have a place to store it in my apartment.  At that time; I told them to sell the amp, because it had tubes that I did not want to mess with them.  Little did I know, right!

The year the SG became mine was 1970.   Before the SG became my first guitar I had gone through years of wanting a guitar.  Maybe the SG was not the best guitar to learn to play at 12 years of age, but the SG was exactly what I wanted.   The SG was and still and is still a great guitar to play.  I can tell you, that I have had dozens of guitars since I received my Les Paul Junior and that she still plays as well or better than the other guitars have play regularly.  I still play my SG. The tuning pegs are in bad shape, I bent the D peg when it fell over once. With weather changes and time make the guitar to loose proper tuning, yet the old girl will stay in tune through a hour playing session. I know the pegs can be replaced, however I just can’t part with the ones I have that are the original pegs.  

My SG was adult owned when I go it and then it grew up with me.  I have put a great deal of wear on the old girl.  The neck shows were I have run the back of my hand up and down the frets over 40 years of playing.   Along with the D tuning knob being bent from when the guitar was knocked over, I have wore down the frets with years of enjoyable play. Just like all first loves, I still love my first love, warts and all!

My SG  has a 60” neck profile with 22 frets and has a rosewood fretboard. The scale is 24.75”.  The neck and body are both mahogany.  It has a cherry finish and the iconic devil horn double cutaway.   The bridge is a fixed stoptail.  The Les Paul Junior only has one pickup which is a IP90. I have never been happy with the sound of my SG when plugged in to an amp. I have never been able to master a sound that makes me happy with just the one pick up that the guitar was equipped with when made by Gibson.

Though, handicapped with a single pick up, still I feel she produces a clean sound with plenty of reverb. I enjoy its rich bright sound that works well with any classic Jimi Hendrix or Pete Townsend riffs.   If  you are a ZZ Top or AC/DC kind of guy the SG gives good overdriven distortion despite its has single pick up.

The hardware has stood up well considering the abuse and the amount of use I have given the guitar. The cherry finish has lost only a little of it glossy cherry-red color.  The only gripe I could give about the finish is that it  has developed a multitude of horizontal hair line cracks.  The cracks have been there since the early 70's and in the last few years the finish has faded as a faster rate that in its first 40 years of life.

From personal experience, I will tell you this guitar has withstood years and years of being often played, which is the best kind of abuse.  There is no pitting or corrosion on any of the hardware. The strap buttons are solid as a rock.  The neck is more solid than other guitars of the same style that are a fraction of the SG’s age.  

My overall impression of my Gibson Les Paul Jr. SG is one of love and respect.  I have been playing that guitar for 46 of its 54 year old life.  If (God forbid) that guitar were stolen, lost or destroyed, I would be devastated.  Some people say, ‘Well, it is just a guitar.”  I say, “Is a mother just a mother?”

Gibson SG Les Paul Junior HIstory

The Gibson SG Junior is a solid-bodied electric guitar manufactured by Gibson from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. Like its earlier sister, the Gibson Les Paul Junior, it had been created for sale at a lower price. It is known for its single P-90 treble pickup, and the single piece 'wrap-around' bridge instead of the two-piece tune-o-matic bridge and tails-stop arrangement found on the SG Standard. From 1961 to 1963, it was branded with the "Les Paul Junior" name. In 1963, "Les Paul" was removed from the headstock and it was officially called the SG Junior. From 1965 to 1971, it had a generic SG pickguard with a soapbar P90 rather than the original dog-ear. It was discontinued in 1971. The late 1960s version has been re-issued by Gibson since 2003. In 2011, Gibson re-released the Junior closer to its early 60s incarnation.[1]

Introduced in 1954 The Les Paul Jr. was a student model version of Gibson’s now famous solid body Les Paul Goldtop. The Junior offered a budget version of the Goldtop and the newly released ornate Les Paul Custom. The Junior utilized a very basic slab body design with one P-90 pickup, a simple wraparound stop tailpiece, lower end open back Kluson strip tuners dot fingerboard inlays and a standard sunburst finish. Due to the growing popularity of television Gibson developed an alternate finish option for the Les Paul Jr, a pale yellow that would show up as bright white on a TV screen, the finish was dubbed “TV” Yellow. The Les Paul Jr. utilized a single cutaway in the body on the treble side of the body similar to its predecessor, the Les Paul Goldtop. It retained this feature until 1958 when Gibson introduced the double cutaway body style. The new double cutaway body style retained all the other features of the Les Paul Jr. but two new finishes would emerge. The Standard finish for the Les Paul Jr. from that point on would be Cherry Red and the TV finish was changed from a light wheat color to a bright banana Yellow. The new body style was initially slab cut like its predecessor but the edges would gradually become more rounded. In 1961 Gibson once again redesigned the Les Paul model across the board and the SG was introduced. The Les Paul Junior followed suit and took on the SG styling. In early 1963 Les Paul’s endorsement signature was removed and it was simply be called the “SG Jr”.

In 1960, Gibson Les Paul sales were significantly lower than in previous years.[citation needed] The following year, the Les Paul was given a thinner, flat-topped mahogany body, a double cutaway which made the upper frets more accessible, and a contoured body. The neck joint was moved by three frets to further ease access to the upper frets. The simpler body construction significantly reduced production costs, and the new Les Paul, with its slender neck profile and small heel was advertised as having the "fastest neck in the world". However, the redesign was done without knowledge from Les Paul himself. Although the new guitar was popular, Les Paul did not care for the new design (nor did he have anything to do with it), and requested the removal of his name from the new model. He remained under contract to Gibson, and was photographed with the new model several times.

Gibson honored Les Paul's request, and the new model was renamed "SG", which stood for "Solid Guitar'". Les Paul's name was officially deleted in 1963, but the SG continued to feature Les Paul nameplates and truss rod covers until the end of 1963.

In the early-to-mid 1960s Gibson's parent corporation, Chicago Musical Instruments, also revived the "Kalamazoo" brand name for a short time. Later models of the Kalamazoo KG-1 and KG-2 featured a body style similar to the Gibson SG, effectively creating a budget-line model until the brand was dropped in the late 1960s. Gibson currently releases lower-cost, internationally sourced versions of the SG through their subsidiary, Epiphone.

Because of its ease of play, holding comfort, popularity and vintage heritage, the body style of the SG is often copied by other manufacturers, although much less frequently than the Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster.

The SG generally has a solid mahogany body, with a black pickguard. The 24.75" scale mahogany neck joins the body at the 22nd fret.[2] The SG's set neck is shallower than the Gibson Les Pauls. The SG features the traditional Gibson combination of two humbucker pickups or P90 pickups and a Tune-o-matic bridge assembly, wraparound bridge, (or vibrato tailpiece, depending on the model).

The SG Standard features pearl trapezoid fretboard inlays, as well as fretboard binding and inlaid "Gibson" logo; the SG Special omits these features, instead using white dot inlays and a silk-screened logo. The Standard has a volume and a tone control for each individual pickup, and a three-way switch that allows the player to select either the bridge pickup, the neck pickup, or both together. The SG does not include switching to coil split the humbuckers in stock form.

Some models use body woods other than mahogany; examples include the Swamp Ash SG Special and SG Voodoo, the 2009 Raw Power, and some walnut bodied 1970s models. High-end models, including the Diablo, occasionally sport decorative maple caps, carved tops, and gold hardware

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_SG

The Gibson Serial Number Decoder

http://www.guitardaterproject.org/gibson.aspx