Les Paul (guitar)

1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard
Manufacturer	Gibson
Period	1952–1960 1961–1963 (in SG form) 1968–present
Body type	Solid, Hollow, Semi-hollow
Neck joint	Set neck
Body	Mahogany (often with a maple top) Swamp ash (rare)
Neck	Usually mahogany Maple
Fretboard	Usually Rosewood Ebony Maple Richlite
Bridge	Usually Tune-O-Matic
Pickup(s)	Usually 2 humbuckers 2 P-90s 3 humbuckers
Various, often sunburst-type finishes Goldtop Ebony Alpine White Wine Red

External images

Prototypes on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Les Paul House of Sound (2009)

"The Log" prototype

"The Log" (c.1940)

Les Paul's electric guitar "Clunker" based on 1942 Epiphone Broadway

1951 Les Paul prototype (refinished) with Les Paulverizer (a triggering device for sound-on-sound performance)

1951 Les Paul prototype (white)

The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The Les Paul was designed by Gibson president Ted McCarty, factory manager John Huis and their team, along with guitarist/inventor Les Paul.

The Les Paul was originally offered with a gold finish and two P-90 pickups. In 1957, humbucking pickups were added, along with sunburst finishes in 1958. The sunburst 1958–1960 Les Paul – today one of the best-known electric guitar types in the world – was considered a failure, with low production and sales. For 1961, the Les Paul was redesigned into what is now known as the Gibson SG. This design continued as a separate guitar when the traditional single cutaway, carved top bodystyle was re-introduced in 1968. The Les Paul has been continually produced in countless versions and editions since. Along with Fender's Telecaster and , it was one of the first mass-produced electric solid-body guitars. Les Pauls have been used in many genres, including rock, country, pop, soul, rhythm and blues, blues, jazz, reggae, punk, and heavy metal.

In 1950, the ancestors of Fender Telecaster (Fender Esquire and Fender Broadcaster) were introduced to the musical market and solid-body electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction to market demand, Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty brought guitarist Les Paul into the company as a consultant. Les Paul was a respected innovator who had been experimenting with guitar design for years. He hand-built a solid-body prototype called "The Log", often suggested as the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built. "The Log" was given its name from the pine block running through 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 for shape. Although numerous other prototypes and limited-production solid-body models by other makers have since surfaced, it is known that in 1945–1946, Les Paul had approached Gibson with "The Log" prototype, but his solid body design was rejected.