It was during the 1950s that the Les Paul solid-body electric guitar was first introduced to the music industry. It was desined by Ted McCarty and officially endoced by guitarist Les Paul. Les Paul was not just a pop star, but he was also an electronics inventor and a very accomplished jazz guitarist.
It was created to compete directly with the very popular Fender Telecaster which was quickly becoming the most popular guitar in the industry.
Ted brought Paul into the company and a consultant and as an endorser of their new line of solid-body electric guitars. Les Paul up until that point had been experimenting with creating the perfect guitar for quite some time and had already produced his own which he called, “The Log”. This particular design was accredited as being the first solid-body Spanish style guitar, which was in contrast to the lap-steel guitar of the time.
In an attempt to get Gibson to produce The Log, he was quickly rejected. However, Ted McCarty determined that it would be in the company’s best interest to bring Les Paul on board to develop a guitar that could compete.
Of course there is a bit of controversy surrounding the input into the design of the Gibson Les Pall by the artist. Some accounts insist that he played a crucial role in the guitar’s design while others insist that there was none or very little. The most controversial aspect is that of two contributions which includes the color preference of the guitar and the tailpiece design. At the same time, Gibson’s president, Ted McCarty also insists that Les was only brought on to endorse the design and nothing more.
There have been a number of model variations of the Les Pall produced over the years. These include the original two designs that includes the Goldtop and Custom. The Goldtop was the standard version while the custom came complete with upgraded hardware as well as a more formal look with regards to the body’s finish. In no time the Melody Maker model was introduced which was one of the cheapest versions of the Les Paul produced. While not bearing the namesake, it was none the less a Les Paul. Gibson also chose to introduce the Les Paul Junior which was a retro design based on the original upmarket version.
Also, over the years many new color options have been introduced. While it is the body lines and shape that set the Les Paul apart from the rest of the Gibson’s, there was a need to introduce color options such as Classic White, Ebony, Wine Red, Alpine and Fire Burst so as to make it attractive to a larger audience.
A number of well-known names have used the Les Paul including Paul McCartney who has been known to play a 1960 version of the left-handed cherry-burst. Neil Young’s Les Paul has been dubbed, “Old Black”. And many other big names have used one at some point during their career.
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