Crank It Up To Eleven! 02.17.09: Axegrinding - Part II

Posted by Sandeep Murali on 02.17.2009

The Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. Two names that are instantly recognzable to the average rock fan. We examine them each and see what makes them special.





Hello folks and welcome to the second part of our spotlight on the most important guitars in rock 'n roll history. Work has been killer and I've been working over the weekend, so apologies in advance if this column is not as comprehensive as it should be. I really am writing this at WTF'o clock, you see...


If you haven't checked it out by now, here's Part I, where we discussed the Fender Stratocaster. Which brings us to:

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The Gibson Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss, better known as Les Paul is a Jazz guitarist and more importantly, an inventor. He was one of the pioneers who experimented extensively with different configurations when the electric guitar was first invented. So when the Gibson Guitar company decided to counter the success of the Fender Stratocaster with a model of their own, they decided to bring the man in as a consultant. The result, as they say, is History. For it gave the company their most famous design ever. One that Proved its worth when they unsuccessfully tried to replace it with another design (We'll come to that later). It was called; what else? And believe it or not, this guitar, originally designed as per the specifications of a Jazz player went on to become an indispensable part of rock 'n roll!


Prior to the Les Paul, Gibson's offerings were largely solid body electric guitars. But the new model, based on the inventor's prototype known as "The Log" (Because it literally was a log of wood with electronics thrown in) was a proper solidbody that rivaled the Fender offerings. That is not to say that the design was a "Me-too" copy. The Les Paul was markedly different from the Strat because it featured a single cutaway, Strings on top of the body, only 2 pickups (P 90s, later changed to Humbuckers) and of course, the shorter "Gibson scale". Add to that the fact that Les Pauls employed a Mahogany body with a Maple top (Thus making it a lot heavier than the Fenders) and one sees that WAS a different instrument and it felt different when played.


There is some controversy about the extent of Les Paul's contributions depending on where you look. The book, "50 years of Gibson Les Paul" pretty much says that the artist's involvement was limited to cosmetic suggestions, endorsement and little else. What IS undisputed however, is that he came up with the concept of the Les Paul custom, known fondly as "The Tuxedo model". Quite simply, the most beautiful guitar ever made.







The step that significantly altered the Les Paul's destiny was the invention of the "Humbucker" pickup. As mentioned in part one of this column,the one aspect of the Strat that players disliked was how the single coil pick ups "Hummed" as the distortion levels climbed up. Several artists and technicians were looking for ways around it and one Gibson engineer by the name of Seth Lover, finally chanced upon a solution. Known as the PAF (Patent applied for) in some circles, this was the humbucker pickup.


It was simple, and elegant. Instead of the one row of electromagnets in a single coil pickup, the "Humbucker" featured two. The two coils for each string were wound out of phase, thereby canceling out each other's hums. The result was a pickup that was hum-free even at the highest distortion levels. Sure, that made the humbucker lose some of the clarity and edge single coils had, but it gave the gibson guitars a tone of their own and the famous "Les Paul growl" became increasingly popular among artists who preferred a deeper, darker sound.

Oh no you don't!

Towards the beginning of the 60's, Gibson experienced a slowdown in the sales of the Les paul, which were partly their fault. The guitar was much more expensive than Fender's competing models, was heavier and had only a single cutaway, thereby restricting upper fret access. The company decided to rectify this by replacing the Les Paul with a cheaper, lighter double cutaway model. Mission accomplished?


Not really. You see, they didn't exactly consult the man who's name was on the guitar while they went ahead with the redesign and when Les Paul himself saw the guitar, he asked his name to be removed off the it and promptly ended his endorsement deal. This new design was sold under the Les Paul name for a couple more years, after which it gained the moniker that everyone would recognize: The Gibson SG.


Apologies to Black Sabbath and AC/ DC fans (One Dan Haggerty in particular), but I can never really see the SG as a replacement from the Les Paul. The original is a work of art, the other, just another instrument. There's nothing on the SG that invokes that special feeling one gets as they straddle a Les Paul. The beautiful headstock, the carefully carved maple top, the machineheads, the finish and most importantly, the feel and the tone; it was all missing on the SG.


The original Les Paul carried on however, and went through several changes. Constructional changes were incorporated to improve the strength of body, as was choice of pickups. In 1983, the cheaper Les Paul Studio variant aimed at the recording artist was introduced and proved to be wildly popular from there on. The custom shop of course, was at hand for any musician who wanted to make personal changes. In recent years, the Les Paul has taken a leap towards the digital era with the Robot Guitar (and its successor, the Dark Fire) which featured robotized tuners, alternate tuning selection via a knob, piezo electric pickups etc. Sufficed to say, the Les Paul would continue to go from strength to strength for the foreseeable future, adapting itself to the needs of the musicians as time moves on.



Just don't change the original design, please.

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Never say goodbye:

Unlike the Strat, which I gladly recommended to the budding guitarist, the Les Paul is not a beginner's instrument. It is heavy and is more difficult to play. But once you get the hang of it, you'll guard yours with your life. Trust me, there's something magical about a Les Paul that you won't find elsewhere.


Rock on and see y'all next Tuesday.