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Gibson Les Paul
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The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold in 1952. The Les Paul was designed by Ted McCarty in collaboration with popular guitarist Les Paul, whom Gibson enlisted to endorse the new model. It is one of the best-known electric guitar types in the world, along with Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster. The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the radically innovative Fender Telecaster to the musical market, solid-body electric guitars became a public craze (hollow-body electric guitars have more acoustic resonance but are, therefore, more prone to amplifier feedback and have less natural note duration "sustain".) In reaction, 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 to benefit his own music. In fact, he had hand-built a solid-body prototype called "The Log", a design widely considered the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built, as opposed to the "Hawaiian", or lap-steel guitar. This guitar is known as "The Log" because the solid core is a pine block whose width and depth are a little more than the width of the fret board; conventional hollow guitar sides were added for shape, a design similar to the popular Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow body guitar introduced in 1958. 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.In 1951, this initial rejection became a design collaboration between the Gibson Guitar Corporation and Les Paul. It was agreed that the new Les Paul guitar was to be an expensive, well-made instrument in Gibson's tradition. Although recollections differ regarding who contributed what to the Les Paul design, it was far from a market replica of Fender models. Founded in 1902, Gibson began offering electric hollow-body guitars in the 1930s, such as the ES-150; at minimum, these hollow-body electric models provided a set of basic design cues for the new Gibson solid-body, including a more traditionally curved body shape than offered by competitor Fender, and a glued-in ("set-in") neck, in contrast to Fender's bolt-on neck.
The significance of Les Paul's contributions to his Gibson guitar design remains controversial. The book "50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul" limits Paul's contributions to two: advice on the trapeze tailpiece, and a preference for color (stating that Paul preferred gold as "it looks expensive", and a second choice of black because "it makes your fingers appear to move faster on the box", and "looks classy―like a tuxedo").
Additionally, Gibson's president Ted McCarty states that the Gibson Guitar Corporation merely approached Les Paul for the right to imprint the musician's name on the headstock to increase model sales, and that in 1951, Gibson showed Paul a nearly finished instrument. McCarty also claims that design discussions with Les Paul were limited to the tailpiece and the fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body for increased density and sustain, which Les Paul had requested reversed. However, according to Gibson Guitar, this reversal would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was refused. Another switch: the original Custom was to be all mahogany and the Gold top was to have the maple cap/mahogany body. Beyond these requests, Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line bearing his name were stated to be cosmetic. For example, ever the showman, Paul had specified that the guitar be offered in a gold finish, not only for flashiness, but to emphasize the high quality of the Les Paul instrument, as well. The later-issue Les Paul models included flame maple (tiger stripe) and "quilted" maple finishes, again in contrast to the competing Fender line's range of car-like color finishes. Gibson was notably inconsistent with its wood choices, and some gold tops have had their finish stripped to reveal beautifully figured wood hidden underneath.
Gibson Les Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold in 1952. The Les Paul was designed by Ted McCarty in collaboration with popular guitarist Les Paul, whom Gibson enlisted to endorse the new model. It is one of the best-known electric guitar types in the world, along with Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster. The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the radically innovative Fender Telecaster to the musical market, solid-body electric guitars became a public craze (hollow-body electric guitars have more acoustic resonance but are, therefore, more prone to amplifier feedback and have less natural note duration "sustain".) In reaction, 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 to benefit his own music. In fact, he had hand-built a solid-body prototype called "The Log", a design widely considered the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built, as opposed to the "Hawaiian", or lap-steel guitar. This guitar is known as "The Log" because the solid core is a pine block whose width and depth are a little more than the width of the fret board; conventional hollow guitar sides were added for shape, a design similar to the popular Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow body guitar introduced in 1958. 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.In 1951, this initial rejection became a design collaboration between the Gibson Guitar Corporation and Les Paul. It was agreed that the new Les Paul guitar was to be an expensive, well-made instrument in Gibson's tradition. Although recollections differ regarding who contributed what to the Les Paul design, it was far from a market replica of Fender models. Founded in 1902, Gibson began offering electric hollow-body guitars in the 1930s, such as the ES-150; at minimum, these hollow-body electric models provided a set of basic design cues for the new Gibson solid-body, including a more traditionally curved body shape than offered by competitor Fender, and a glued-in ("set-in") neck, in contrast to Fender's bolt-on neck.
The significance of Les Paul's contributions to his Gibson guitar design remains controversial. The book "50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul" limits Paul's contributions to two: advice on the trapeze tailpiece, and a preference for color (stating that Paul preferred gold as "it looks expensive", and a second choice of black because "it makes your fingers appear to move faster on the box", and "looks classy―like a tuxedo").
Additionally, Gibson's president Ted McCarty states that the Gibson Guitar Corporation merely approached Les Paul for the right to imprint the musician's name on the headstock to increase model sales, and that in 1951, Gibson showed Paul a nearly finished instrument. McCarty also claims that design discussions with Les Paul were limited to the tailpiece and the fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body for increased density and sustain, which Les Paul had requested reversed. However, according to Gibson Guitar, this reversal would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was refused. Another switch: the original Custom was to be all mahogany and the Gold top was to have the maple cap/mahogany body. Beyond these requests, Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line bearing his name were stated to be cosmetic. For example, ever the showman, Paul had specified that the guitar be offered in a gold finish, not only for flashiness, but to emphasize the high quality of the Les Paul instrument, as well. The later-issue Les Paul models included flame maple (tiger stripe) and "quilted" maple finishes, again in contrast to the competing Fender line's range of car-like color finishes. Gibson was notably inconsistent with its wood choices, and some gold tops have had their finish stripped to reveal beautifully figured wood hidden underneath.
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Les Paul Log
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Les Paul Log
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Les Paul Log
Les Paul
Around 1940
During the 1930's, inventive individuals experimented with guitar bodies made from a solid piece of wood rather than soundboards over a hollow chamber—partly for ease of fabrication, partly to prevent feedback.
One of the most prominent innovators was Les Paul. He made this guitar by taking a 4x4-inch solid block of pine, fitting it with two homemade electronic pickups, and then gluing on the halves of a hollow-body guitar to make it look slightly more conventional.
Around 1946, Paul took his "log" idea to Gibson. Although the company did not use his design as a prototype, it did work with him and use his name to promote its first line of solid-body guitars in the 1950's.
Lester William Polsfuss, stage name "Les Paul," was born in Wisconsin, North America in 1915. His interest in music sparked at the age of eight when he began playing the harmonica and banjo, by the time he was thirteen he was playing country music at drive-ins and roadhouses, this led to his first invention, a neck-worn harmonica holder, which allowed him to sing, play harmonica and the guitar all at the same time. However, he wanted his guitar to be louder and heard by more people at the venues he played, so he wired a phonograph needle to a radio speaker, attaching this to his acoustic to amplify the sound. By 1934 Paul had moved to Chicago, he was playing Jazz guitar and was performing regularly on the radio. His first two albums were released in 1936. His jazz playing was largely influenced by the virtuosic gypsy - jazz guitar player Django Reinhardt, whomPaul would eventually became close friends with. Unsatisfied with the current acoustic-electric guitars, Paul began experimenting with ideas of his own. First he created "The Log," which was a piece of 4x4 piece of pine wood with a guitar neck, bridge and pick-up attached. Continuously re-inventing it he would come to attach two sides of an Epiphone body to each side of the log for the sake of appearance, the acoustic body would also solve the two main issues with electric guitars which were feedback and sustain. Paul would continue to use these early models throughout most of his years as a recording artist. What was first known as "The Log," was also one of the first solid body electric guitars and Paul approached the Gibson Guitar Corporation with his new idea of a solid body guitar, initially they showed no interest untilFender released the "Esquire" model, later to become the "Telecaster." So Paul went on to create the Gibson Les Paul as it is known today, with its round shape and cutaway horn. Paul's first contract with Gibson lasted until 1961, when Paul came across the new model of the Les Paul in a shop window, which had been re-designed and released by Gibsonwithout his knowledge due to the declining sales of the original model. The new instrument was thinner, lighter and had two cutaway horns instead of one. Paul disliked the new model, claiming it was not "his" design and asked Gibson to take his name off the headstock. Paul ended his endorsement with Gibson and they would re-name the new model the "Gibson SG," which stood for "Solid Guitar," the model would become one ofGibson's best sellers. The original model of the Les Paul would regain recognition when guitar players such asJimmy Page and Eric Clapton began playing them. This led to Paul resuming his contract with Gibson. The Gibson Les Paul Guitar is now famous worldwide and has a fantastic reputation as one of the best electric guitars available; a less expensive copy of the original model has been released by Epiphone. To this day Les Paul stands as one of the key developers in the evolution of the electric guitar.
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Gibson hummingbird
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The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model/series produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Unlike the other flat-top Gibson acoustics, the Hummingbird was Gibson's first square-shoulder dreadnought, similar to the dreadnoughts produced by C.F. Martin & Company. Introduced in 1960, the Hummingbird was Gibson's second-most expensive acoustic guitar, behind the Gibson J-200, until the introduction of the Gibson Dove in 1962, (a blend between the Hummingbird and the J-200.) The Hummingbird features a mahogany back and sides, a decorative pickguard with a hummingbird design, and split-parallelogram Mother of Pearl fretboard and headstock inlays, Spruce top and Rosewood bridge. The Gibson Hummingbird was winner of Acoustic Guitar's Player's Choice Award for the Dreadnought Category in 2000, and was described thus: "The Hummingbird has a very wide range of sound, from gutsy and loud, to sweet and soft. Superb for all styles of playing, whether just chording or playing intricate solos."The Hummingbird model was introduced in 1960 with a solid Sitka Spruce top and solid mahogany back. The sides are mahogany but not all of them are solid, many are laminated. They ]have adjustable saddles, 3-ply maple bridge plates, single X-bracing, engraved hummingbird pickguards with 2 points on upper treble bout and 1 point level with bridge, as well as bound fretboards with double parallelogram inlays, crown peghead inlay on headstocks, gold tuners, and cherryburst (a.k.a. cherry sunburst) finish.Some Hummingbirds produced in 1962 and 1963 have maple back and sides. Natural top with cherry back and sides finish was available in 1963. Also since then, the size of the pickguard has been slightly reduced. Some Hummingbirds produced in 1965 had their sides around the neck and at the end pin painted black to hide where Gibson over-sanded the body, and sanded through the top layer of the mahogany laminated sides. In 1968, the bottom belly bridge became more squarish. Some hummingbirds with tobacco sunburst finish were produced. Some have pickguards attached with screws. The bracing was changed to be large and bulky in 1969; a double X-bracing has been used since 1971. Since 1970, the saddles are no longer adjustable, and the necks are made of laminated three-piece mahogany. The fretboard inlays were changed to block ones, then restored to double parallelograms in 1984.The Hummingbird Modern Classic model is an electric-acoustic model. It has a AAA-grade solid Sitka spruce top, with mahogany back and sides, as well as a rosewood fretboard with double parallelogram inlays, a crown peghead inlay headstock, nickel Grover rotomatic tuners and a custom-made hummingbird tortoise-shell pickguard. An L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup system is also installed. This model is available in cherryburst, heritage cherryburst and natural finishes.The True Vintage model features vintage appearance and sound. It has gold Gotoh green button tuners and a vintage cherryburst finish, which make the guitar look like a 1960 model. It has no electronics.The Icon '60's Hummingbird is a natural finished model with block inlays in the fretboard rather than the double parallelograms. It also has an adjustable saddle and an original 1960's style hummingbird pickguard; all of these make it look like a 1960's vintage model. The Hummingbird Artist model is quite different, it is a Guitar Center exclusive release, with a shape between a square-shoulder dreadnought (e.g. Hummingbird Modern Classic) and a round-shoulder dreadnought (e.g. J-45). It does not have a Hummingbird pickguard (it uses a modern sculpted pickguard instead). An L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup system is also installed. This model has a washed heritage cherry finish.The Hummingbird Pro model is also an exclusive release for the Guitar Center, which has the same shape as the Artist model. A cutaway model (Hummingbird Pro EC) is also available. The Hummingbird Pro comes with a L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup system, while the cutaway model has a Fishman Prefix Plus-T pre-amp system equipped. This model has a vintage sunburst finish.The Hummingbird Custom KOA model is a custom model, with back and sides constructed from highly figured koa wood. It has gold Grover mother of pearl keystone tuners, custom in-flight hummingbirds peghead logo and hummingbird floral tortoise-shell pickguard, all expressed in genuine abalone and mother of pearl. It also has ebony fretboard with rolled edges and Orpheum-style abalone inlays. This model has an antique natural finish. The Gibson custom shop also produces several special or limited models, such as the Silverburst special edition which has a silverburst finish, the Hummingbird Quilted model with quilted mahogany back and sides. Most of them are based on the Modern Classic model. In 2008 Gibson also released a very few Hummingbird Modern Classics with a Vintage Sunburst finish, the same finish seen on a J-45 Standard. The Gibson label found on the inside of this Hummingbird says "Hummingbird, Fuller's Vintage Edition". All the other specifications, such as materials and tuning keys, are the same as the specifications of the standard model. In 2010, Gibson introduced the Limited Edition 50th Anniversary 1960 Hummingbird series, including the Standard (Heritage Dark Cherry Sunburst), the Rosewood (Heritage Dark Cherry Sunburst) and the KOA (Gold Honey Burst) models.