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74-574: The Gibson Les Paul Special is a variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was introduced in 1955. It is designed to be an intermediate level instrument, at a price point and trim level between the low-cost Les Paul Junior and the standard Les Paul. Like most of Gibson's other budget models, the Les Paul Special was produced in a TV Yellow finish, which was made by Gibson as a finish that would look good on black and white television . In 1958,

148-471: A stoptail bridge , although variants exist. 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 1958–1960 sunburst Les Paul, today one of the best-known electric guitar types in the world, was considered a commercial failure, with low production and sales. For 1961, the Les Paul was redesigned into what

222-471: A "pancake" body. The expression "pancake body" actually refers to a body made of a thin layer of maple sandwiched between two slabs of mahogany, with a maple cap. The grain of the maple was placed at 90 degrees to that of the mahogany. The "pancake"-like layers are clearly visible when looking at the edge of the guitar. This process is also known as "crossbanding", and was done to make use of less expensive and more readily available thinner mahogany. Crossbanding

296-594: A TV model). It fit in the model line between the Junior and the Standard, having the two-pickup configuration of the Standard, but featuring the simpler, more basic appointments of the Junior. In 1959, the Special was given the same new double-cutaway body shape as the Junior and the TV received in 1959. Around this time, Les Paul decided to discontinue his affiliation with Gibson; the model

370-402: A chambered mahogany body with either a maple or mahogany cap. The entry level Les Paul Studio "faded" has a weight relieved mahogany body and top and a satin finish. In 2018 neck binding and a pair of Gibson's most popular humbucking pickups, 57 Classic and 57 Classic+, and two push-pull pots were introduced. In order to guarantee the stability of the tuning and an excellent sustain were introduced

444-442: A headstock for purely decorative reasons. Most major guitar brands have signature headstock designs that make their guitars or guitar series easily recognizable. As seen in a section below, even "copied" at the first glance designs retain clear visible changes in dimensions, proportions of elements, etc., so it is almost always possible to tell a major brand of a guitar by looking at the headstock. On some electric guitars and basses

518-557: A highly individualized guitar, adding to the collectability of the model. Many famous original Les Paul standards can be easily identified by their unique appearance. Original production of the Standards lasted from 1958 to early 1961. As Gibson only kept records on shipments of "Les Paul" models, and the Sunburst Standard overlapped production years with both the earlier Goldtop and later SG models, nailing down exact production numbers

592-429: A natural wood or dull yellow appearance, and eventually evolved into the opaque mustard yellow, popularly called "TV yellow". The model was not, as a popular myth says, to avoid glare from old TV cameras, but a modern look and a name to promote "The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show" then on television. Gibson made a radical design change to their Junior and TV models in 1959: to accommodate player requests for more access to

666-414: A nearly finished instrument for approval. McCarty stated 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, this reversal would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was refused. Paul states that the original Custom should have had

740-906: A number of other model lines over the years, including budget/student lines such as the Les Paul Junior and Les Paul Special, studio-quality guitars with basic appointments but upgraded electronics, such as the Les Paul Professional and Les Paul Recording, and other short-lived models, including dozens of celebrity endorsed models. The first Les Paul model Goldtops were produced from 1952 to 1957. Early 1952 Les Pauls were not issued serial numbers, did not have bound fingerboards, and are considered by some as "LP Model prototypes". However, later 1952 Les Pauls were issued serial numbers and also came with bound fingerboards. The design scheme of some of these early models varied. For instance, some early Les Pauls were fitted with black covered P-90 pickups instead of

814-407: A push/pull function allowing to split the pickups and transient suppression. The guitar came in a special hardshell case, with a polished aluminium finish. The model was slightly modified in 2017, when the toggle-switch plate was removed, the knobs changed from ordinary speed knobs to chrome top hat ones, and the pickup rings changed from white to chrome. The model had a major change in 2018, with

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888-732: A rosewood fretboard, two P-90 single coil pickups, and a one-piece, 'trapeze'-style bridge/tailpiece with strings fitted under (instead of over) a steel stop-bar. The guitar made its public debut when Paul used it onstage in June 1952 at the Paramount theatre in New York. On July 24, 1952, at a special musicians clinic at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, it was previewed by prominent guitarists such as Tiger Haynes , George Barnes , Mundell Lowe , Tony Mottola , and Billy Mure . A second Les Paul model

962-664: A single P-90 pickup (in contrast to the two- and three-humbucker pickup configurations on the more expensive models), simple volume and tone controls, an unbound rosewood fingerboard with plain dot-shape position markers , and a combination bridge/tailpiece unit similar to the Goldtop. In 1955, Gibson launched the Les Paul TV model, which was identical to the Junior except for the name and a fashionable contemporary "limed oak" style finish, later more accurately named "limed mahogany". This natural wood finish with white grain filler often aged into

1036-438: A solid-body prototype nicknamed "The Log", named after 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. In 1945 or 1946, Paul had approached Gibson with "The Log" prototype , but his design was rejected. In 1951, McCarty and his team at Gibson began work on what would eventually become

1110-585: A special cable that included an on-board transformer. The model came with either a stop tailpiece or a Gibson-branded Bigsby vibrato tailpiece . Chicago guitarist Terry Kath used a Les Paul Professional both in the studio and on stage. The model was never popular, and was phased out in 1971 and replaced with the Les Paul Recording model, which itself was replaced in 1983 by the Les Paul Studio model. A few Professionals shipped in 1972 and 1973, though

1184-499: Is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul . Its typical design features a solid mahogany body with a carved maple top and a single cutaway , a mahogany set-in neck with a rosewood fretboard, two pickups with independent volume and tone controls, and

1258-459: Is cited as a disadvantage of each style too: single-piece necks are more likely to break on occasional hits and are harder to repair, while glued-in necks can break with time. Apart from its main function, the headstock is an important decorative detail of a guitar. It is the place where the overwhelming majority of guitar manufacturers draw their logo . Some guitars without machine heads (for example, ones equipped with Floyd Rose SpeedLoader ) have

1332-601: Is difficult. Depending on the source, it is estimated anywhere from 1,200 to 1,700 of these early models were made and have subsequently become highly valuable. Production ended in 1961 when Gibson redesigned the Les Paul to feature a "double cutaway" body, which has subsequently become the Gibson SG. The model was quietly reintroduced to dealers as early as 1972 before production of Les Paul Standards "officially" resumed in 1976 due to high demand. They have remained in continuous production since then, as well as periodic reissues from

1406-580: Is now known as the Gibson SG . The original single-cutaway, carved top bodystyle was re-introduced in 1968. The Les Paul has been produced in many versions and editions since. Along with Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster , it was one of the first mass-produced electric solid-body guitars. Due to their versatility, Les Paul electric guitars have been used in a wide range of music genres, including rock , country , pop , soul , rhythm and blues , blues , jazz , reggae , punk , and heavy metal . In 1950,

1480-469: The Gibson SG (which for the first several years was known as the Les Paul SG, before Les Paul's endorsement deal ran out). In the mid-late 1960s, the unique tonal quality of the humbucker-equipped "Burst" models became a favorite among rock guitarists, and this renewed interest caused Gibson to bring back the Standard and Custom models in 1968. They have remained in production ever since; as well Gibson added

1554-681: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band , and recorded most of his work on the band's East-West album with that guitar. A year later, he traded it for a 1959 Standard with which he became most identified. By 1967, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead was using mid-1950s, P-90 pickup-equipped goldtops or black custom models, which he used through 1968. Concurrently in the late 1960s, artists such as Peter Green , Jeff Beck , Paul Kossoff , and Jimmy Page began using sunburst Les Paul Standards. Responding to this influence and increased pressure from

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1628-476: The "Gibson Les Paul", was released in 1952. This style has since been retroactively named "The Goldtop", as the model came only in one finish: an old gold solid paint, with two P-90 pickups and nickel plated hardware. In 1954, the Gibson Les Paul Custom was added to the model line. The Custom featured a solid black finish, gold-plated hardware, and other high-end appointments, including becoming one of

1702-552: The 1957 Goldtop, including PAF humbucker pickups, a maple top, and a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece or Bigsby vibrato tailpiece . The gold color used since 1952 was replaced by a cherry-red version of the Sunburst finish long used on Gibson's flat-top and archtop acoustic and hollow electric guitars. Since the maple cap was now visible, tops were made either with a solid "plaintop" piece of maple or two bookmatched pieces of figured (curly or quilted) maple. To differentiate from

1776-593: The 1957 Goldtop. However, Standards featured a cherry-red sunburst finish. These guitars were priced higher than the Goldtop models, but lower than the Customs. At this time, Gibson instruments were marketed toward an older, jazz-oriented audience rather than young burgeoning guitarists. As a result, over the three-year period of production, only about 1,700 Standards were made. These Les Pauls were considered to be too heavy and old-fashioned, and they initially did not find favor amongst guitarists. In 1961, Gibson stopped producing

1850-404: The 1958–59 models faded rapidly from ultraviolet light exposure, so in early 1960 Gibson switched to a new, fade-resistant formulation which was also less translucent and slightly more orange; this is sometimes called the "tomato soup burst". Fading of the original paint job was unpredictable, as the red color could either lighten or darken depending on the specific formulation and on the conditions

1924-572: The 1970s, the Les Paul body shape was incorporated into other Gibson models, including the S-1 , the Sonex , the L6-S , and other models that did not follow the classic Les Paul layout. In January 1986, Gibson again changed ownership and began manufacturing a range of varied Les Paul models. The 1980s also saw the end to several design characteristics, including the volute and maple neck. However, because of consumer demand,

1998-475: The Custom Shop produces numerous limited-run "historic-spec" models, as well as signature artist models. The first Custom Shop artist guitar was the 1996 Joe Perry Les Paul, and today, several artist models are offered. " Relic'd " or "aged" models, branded by Gibson as "Vintage Original Spec" (VOS), are made in the Custom Shop to replicate well-used vintage guitars. As of 2017 , Gibson offers several variations of

2072-511: The Deluxe featured a one-piece body and slim three-piece neck (It has been thought that some of these early "one-piece" bodies were actually leftovers from original 1950s Les Paul parts). The multi-piece body (a thin layer of maple on top of two layers of Honduran mahogany) arrived later in 1969. Towards the end of that year, a reinforcing neck volute was added. 1969 Deluxes feature the Gibson logo devoid of

2146-629: The G-Force tuner was removed with locking tuners being added. This was the last of the HP series, which was discontinued in 2020. The Gibson Dark Fire is a variant of the Les Paul. It was a second generation Robot Guitar , using an updated version of the Powertune self-tuning system produced by Tronical Gmbh. The Dark Fire also introduced Gibson's Chameleon Tone Technology, a system consisting of onboard electronics designed to simulate various guitar tones. Additionally,

2220-467: The Gibson Custom Shop, using the original 1958–60 specs. In 1954, the Les Paul Junior debuted, targeted the beginning or student guitarist. As a cost-saving measure, many of the appointments of the Standard and Custom models are absent from the Junior. The Junior is characterized by its flat-top "slab" mahogany body (in contrast to the carved maple top on other models), finished in sunburst. It had

2294-550: The Gibson Les Paul Deluxe manufactured were Gold Top. New colors emerged from 1975, less valued than the Gold Top. By late 1975, the neck construction was changed from mahogany to maple. This lasted until the early 1980s, when the construction returned to mahogany. The body changed back to solid mahogany from the pancake design in late 1976 or early 1977. In 1985 Gibson discontinued the Deluxe model. The Les Paul Professional

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2368-537: The Gibson Les Paul guitar is available today in a wide array of choices, ranging from guitars equipped with modern digital electronics to classic re-issue models built to match the look and specifications of the guitar's earliest production runs from 1952 to 1960. In 1986, responding to the high demand for vintage models, Gibson formed a Custom Shop division. Originally, the Custom Shop began producing accurate reproductions of early Les Pauls, as well as one-offs. Today,

2442-599: The Grover tuners, the self-lubricating nut and the aluminium tune-o-matic bridge. Gibson also offered the Studio in a "standard" model. This variant was adorned with neck and body binding, ebony fretboard and sunburst paint job. All Studios at the time had dot fretboard markers and a thinner body. Gibson released the Memphis ES-Les Paul in 2014. It is a semi-acoustic model with f-holes and most with two Alnico humbuckers. There

2516-513: The Les Paul Model. Early prototypes of the Les Paul model are very similar to the final version. The new Les Paul guitar was to be an expensive, well-made instrument in accordance with Gibson's reputation at the time, and distinct from growing rival guitar manufacturer Fender 's models. McCarty approached Les Paul for the right to imprint the musician's name on the headstock with the intention of increasing sales; in 1951, Gibson presented Paul

2590-537: The Les Paul guitar with differences in price, features, electronics and finishes. For example, the modern 'Standard' offers split-coil pickups for a wider range of sounds. The 'Traditional' model offers the more basic features of guitars available during the 1950s to 1980s, and the 'Classic' model offers yet other features. 'Special' and 'Studio' models have a more basic level of finish and are lower-priced. These models are marketed as 'Gibson USA' guitars, capitalizing on their American heritage. The first model, simply called

2664-532: The Memphis ES-Les Paul has become a sought-after and collectible Les Paul model. The Gibson Les Paul HP – which stands for "High Performance" – was introduced in 2016, intending to be a Les Paul version featuring the most modern features, like the G-Force automatic tuner, a compound radius fretboard, a titanium adjustable zero-fret nut, and a carved fast access neck heel, similar to the Axcess model. Each knob had

2738-436: The Special. This model featured "mini-humbuckers", also known as "New York" humbuckers, and did not initially prove popular. The mini-humbucker pickups fit into the pre-carved P-90 pickup cavity using an adaptor ring developed by Gibson in order to use a surplus supply of Epiphone mini-humbuckers. The Deluxe was introduced in 1970 and helped to standardize production among Gibson's U.S.-built Les Pauls. The first incarnation of

2812-479: The ancestors of the 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 had hand-built

2886-454: The breakage problem. In 1960, Gibson experienced a decline in electric guitar sales due to strong competition from Fender's comparable but much lighter double-cutaway design, the Stratocaster . In response, Gibson modified the Les Paul line. For 1961, the Les Paul was thinner and much lighter than earlier models, with two sharply pointed cutaways and a vibrato system. However, the redesign

2960-523: The catalogues had switched to the Recording model by then. The Les Paul Recording was produced from late 1971–1979 (the first models shipped in 1972). It was a slightly modified version of the Professional model, and featured the same low-impedance pickups and same body, though with a lighter-colored stain. The control layout was changed, the rhythm/lead selector switch was moved near the other controls from

3034-535: The color palette in 1974. Also new in 1974 was the optional TP-6 fine-tuner tailpiece, allowing for micro-adjustment of string tuning from the bridge. The mahogany neck was replaced with a three-piece maple neck in 1975 (though mahogany still saw limited use) with this change lasting until around 1982. Popular colors, such as wine red and "silverburst", were added in the 1970s and '80s. Gibson currently produces several Custom models with various finishes and pickups. In 1958, new Standard model retained most specifications of

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3108-404: The complete removal of the pickup rings – the pickups were now mounted at the back of the guitar, with two screws for each pickup. This change made pickup swap noticeably harder, demanding a modification of the mounting piece of each pickup, which had to be bent inwards. The model was again changed in 2019, reversing the 2018 pickup ring removal. The knobs changed to transparent top hat ones, and

3182-405: The dot over the "i" in Gibson. By late 1969/early 1970, the dot over the "i" had returned, plus a "Made In USA" stamp on the back of the headstock. Gibson produced 216 Deluxe Gold Top as specially-ordered guitars with full-size humbucker t-tops pickups between 1972 and 1974 (179 in 1973, 28 in 1974 and 9 in 1972), as a Les Paul Standard pickup specification. Until the end of the year 1974, 90% of

3256-420: The earlier Goldtop model, the new Les Paul was referred to as The Les Paul Standard. Specifications during 1958–60 varied from year to year and also from guitar to guitar. Typical 1958 Les Paul Standard necks had a thicker neck, thinner frets and lower fret height, which changed during the course of 1959 to develop into typical 1960 necks with a thinner cross-section and wider, higher frets. The cherry dye used on

3330-425: The elements of the Gibson Les Paul that contribute to tone and playability, including the carved maple top and standard mechanical and electronic hardware. However, the Studio design, until 2017, omits several stock Gibson ornamentations that do not affect sound quality, including body/neck binding. The first Studios from 1983 to 1986 were made with alder bodies rather than mahogany/maple. The current Studios come with

3404-488: The finish used on the body is also applied to the face of the headstock. Generally, matched-headstock models carry a price premium over their plain counterparts due to the extra processes involved in the finishing process. Although Fender no longer offers matched headstocks on production models made in the United States or Mexico , certain models from Fender Japan are available with matched headstocks. The definition of

3478-545: The first Gibson models to have 3 pickups. The standard goldtop model received PAF humbucking pickups in 1957, and the goldtop paint job was retired in 1958 and replaced with a two-tone translucent sunburst paint job. From 1958 onwards, this main model was known as the Les Paul Standard, nicknamed "the Burst", and is known for its high collectability. The original Les Paul body shape was retired in 1961 and radically redesigned as

3552-411: The guitar be offered in a gold finish, not only for flashiness, but to emphasize the high quality of the Gibson Les Paul instrument. Later Les Paul models included flame maple (tiger stripe) and "quilted" maple tops, again in contrast to the competing Fender line's range of car-like custom color finishes. The 1952 Les Paul featured a mahogany body with a one-inch-thick maple cap, a mahogany neck with

3626-539: The guitar had been exposed to, resulting in a wide array of nicknames, such as "lemon burst" or "tobacco burst", for the resulting colorations. Despite the wide variety of color variations now found on the original 1958–59 models, they all went to market with nearly identical paint jobs. Furthermore, during the production run, Gibson changed the color of plastic used on the pickup bobbins multiple times between black and white again; however during assembly, pickups were assembled semi-randomly, with no attention given to matching

3700-660: The guitar headstock may be missing completely, as in Steinberger guitar or some Chapman stick models. The headstock may be carved separately and glued to the neck using some sort of joint (such as a scarf joint ). There are two major trends in headstock construction, based on how the string will go after passing the nut. The advantages and disadvantages of both trends are very debatable and subjective, so these two variants are used: Luthiers of both styles frequently cite better sound, longer sustain and strings staying in tune longer as advantages of each style. Fragile construction

3774-498: The guitar included an audio interface called the Robot Interface Pack or RIP. Headstock Two traditional layouts of guitar tuners are called "3+3" (3 top tuners and 3 bottom ones) and "6 in line" tuners, though many other combinations are known, especially for bass guitars and non-6-string guitars. When there are no machine heads (i.e. tuners are not needed or located in some other place, for example, on guitar body),

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3848-465: The guitarist's prominent instruments and provided the first impetus to the use of Les Pauls during the British blues boom. In 1965, Eric Clapton began using Les Pauls because of the influence of Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin , and played a 1960 Standard on the groundbreaking album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton . In America, Mike Bloomfield began using a 1954 Les Paul goldtop while touring with

3922-485: The headstock, ebony fingerboard, real mother-of-pearl inlays and two or three-pickup layout. 1950s Customs were all-mahogany, rather than the mahogany-with-maple-cap of the Goldtop. The original Customs were fitted with a P-90 pickup in the bridge position and an Alnico V "staple" pickup in the neck. In 1957, the Custom was fitted with Gibson's new PAF humbucker pickups, and later became available with three pickups instead of

3996-511: The intonation and string height adjustability were limited. A new design, the Tune-o-matic, replaced the stopbar in 1955. It consisted of a separate bridge and tailpiece attached directly to the top of the guitar, combining an easily adjustable bridge with a sustain-carrying tailpiece. This design has been used on most Les Pauls ever since. The tuners were produced by Kluson . The Les Paul Custom features gold hardware, multilayer binding including

4070-454: The maple cap and the Goldtop was to be all mahogany. The Custom did not appear on the market for another two years following the introduction of the Goldtop; it is possible that Gibson had planned a full model range of guitars (with a roll-out over the course of several years) at the time when initial specifications were being set. Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line bearing his name were more than cosmetic; for example, Paul specified that

4144-409: The markings " PAF ", for "Patent Applied For" (referring to U.S. patent 2,896,491 ). This innovation in pickups became the flagship pickup design most associated with Gibson. Many other guitar companies followed suit, outfitting their electrics with versions of the humbucking pickup. In 1958, the Les Paul saw its first major design change. A new model, called the Standard, retained most features of

4218-578: The model received a major change when it was introduced as a doublecut model instead of the traditional singlecut . In 1961, the Les Paul received a drastic change when it was redesigned into what would become known as the Gibson SG . Les Paul's contract had expired by 1963, bringing a change to the submodels. When the contract was renewed in 1968, the original models were rebooted. The list of Special models manufactured since 1955. [REDACTED] Media related to Gibson Les Paul Special at Wikimedia Commons Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul

4292-439: The neck pickup houses an Alnico III. In addition to the factory-installed Bigsby B7 and retro 'Milk Bottle' Grover Rotomatics on some models, other vintage enhancements were added to the guitar. The neck features a Historic-style truss-rod, rolled fingerboard edges, and is fretted over top of the binding. The three-pickup wiring offers modern switching and employs Orange Drop capacitors for less treble-cut. Due to its limited run,

4366-586: The public, Gibson reintroduced the Les Paul single-cutaway guitar in July 1968, and the guitar remains in production today. In 1969, Gibson's parent company ( Chicago Musical Instruments ) was taken over by the conglomerate ECL. Gibson remained under the control of CMI until 1974 when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments. These ownership changes, often called the "Norlin Era", caused Gibson products of

4440-469: The time to undergo changes in manufacturing and construction. Les Paul designs were altered and a reinforced upper neck volute was added to decrease headstock breaks. Neck woods were changed from one-piece mahogany to a three-piece maple design. The body was also changed from one-piece mahogany with a maple top to multiple slabs of mahogany with multiple pieced maple tops. This is referred to as "multipiece" construction, and sometimes incorrectly referred to as

4514-426: The top frets than the previous designs allowed, these electric guitar models were revamped with a new double-cutaway body shape. In addition, Juniors were now available with a cherry red finish, while the re-shaped TV adopted a more yellow-tinged finish. The Les Paul Special was released in 1955, featuring a slab body, two soapbar P-90 single coil pickups, and was finished in a color similar to TV Yellow (but not called

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4588-461: The traditional Les Paul in favor of a lighter redesign which was later called the SG . The mid-1960s, however, brought a resurgence of interest in the Les Paul Standard. In 1964, The Rolling Stones ' Keith Richards began using a sunburst, 1959 Les Paul Standard — becoming the first "star-guitarist" to play a Les Paul on the British scene. The guitar, outfitted with a Bigsby tailpiece, served as one of

4662-399: The two single-coil bobbins to each other when building the humbucking pickups; the guitar was sold with a nickel-plated pickup cover, so Gibson didn't consider the color of the bobbins to be an aesthetic consideration. Additionally, since the translucent finish allowed the wood grain to show, each Sunburst model has a unique combination of finish fade, wood grain, and pickup colors resulting in

4736-475: The upper left to lower right side of the guitar body, and the tone control toggle switches were rotated 90 degrees. The plastic plate to label the switches and knobs was larger than the Professional model as well. Les Paul himself favored the Recording model among all of the guitars to bear his name; it was his main guitar during his years playing at the Iridium Jazz Club and other New York venues. The model

4810-474: The usual cream-colored plastic covers. The weight and the tonal characteristics of the Goldtop Les Paul were largely due to the mahogany and maple construction. In 1953, the trapeze tailpiece was dropped, and a new stopbar design was added. This design combined a pre-intonated bridge and tailpiece with two studs just behind the bridge pickup. This increased the sustain of the Goldtop noticeably; however,

4884-503: The usual two. The traditional Les Paul Custom was discontinued in 1961 and its name transferred to the custom version of the then-new Gibson SG . In 1968, Gibson reintroduced the Les Paul Custom as a two-pickup-only model. The headstock angle was changed from 17 degrees to 14, and a wider headstock and a maple top (in lieu of the original 1953–1961 mahogany top construction) were added. White and two sunburst finish options were added to

4958-536: Was a limited Custom Shop run of VOS Black Beauty ES Les Pauls with three humbuckers. Some of these limited run guitars were also fitted with Bigsby tailpieces. The neck is mahogany, but the sides and back are laminated maple and poplar. A mahogany block runs throughout the body to increase sustain. The Les Paul Memphis ES was released with Gibson's MHS (Memphis Historic Spec) humbuckers. These scatter wound pickups have unbalanced coils to emulate vintage PAFs. The bridge and middle pickups both have Alnico II magnets while

5032-425: Was done without Les Paul's knowledge, and he hated the design, so he asked Gibson to remove his name. The double cutaway design retained the "Les Paul" name until 1963 when Les Paul's endorsement deal with Gibson ended. Without a contract, Gibson could no longer call its guitars "Les Pauls", and it renamed them "SGs" (for "Solid Guitars"). The Deluxe was among the "new" 1968–1969 Les Pauls and seen as an evolution of

5106-559: Was introduced in 1953. Called the Les Paul Custom, this black guitar with gold-plated hardware was dubbed the "Black Beauty". New bridge and tailpiece designs were rapidly adopted. The one-piece "wraparound" stopbar was introduced in 1953. The following year saw the introduction of the fully-adjustable Tune-o-matic bridge. The Goldtop and Custom models continued without significant changes until 1957. New humbucker pickups designed by Seth Lover in 1955 debuted on Les Pauls in 1957 and P-90 pickups were no longer offered. These pickups carried

5180-544: Was manufactured between 1978 and 1982. It included such high end items as Grover tuning keys and the Tune-O-Matic bridge. It has become affectionately referred to as "The Coffee Table Burst" because of its natural finish. The Studio model was introduced in 1983, and is still in production. The guitar is intended for the studio musician; therefore, the design features of the "Les Paul Studio" are centered on optimal sound output and not on flashy appearance. This model retains only

5254-483: Was phased out by 1977. In this era, Gibson began experimenting with new models, such as the Les Paul Recording. This guitar was generally unpopular with guitarists because of its complex electronics. Less noticeable changes included, but were not limited to, optional maple fingerboards (added in 1976), pickup cavity shielding, and the crossover of the ABR1 Tune-o-matic bridge into the wide "Nashville" bridge. During

5328-471: Was produced from 1969 to 1971, it was a rare model as only around 118 were ever produced. Designed primarily as a studio guitar, it featured an unadorned dark-stained mahogany slab body with two low-impedance pickups mounted at an angle and a unique control layout that included not only the standard "rhythm/lead" switch, but also two toggles between the tailpiece and the volume/tone knobs that allowed for additional tone options. The low-impedance pickups required

5402-498: Was re-issued in 2014. A single sharp cutaway Les Paul-style walnut body, set walnut neck, pearl dot inlays, walnut headstock overlay with gold Gibson logo (1978–1981) or Gibson logo branded into the headstock (Firebrand, 1981–1982). Hardware included three-per-side tuners, stop tailpiece, two exposed humbucker pickups, four knobs (two volume, two tone), three-way pickup switch, chrome hardware, available in Natural Walnut finish. It

5476-410: Was renamed "SG Special" in the late 1959. However, when the new design was applied to the two-pickup Special, the cavity for the neck pickup overlapped the neck-to-body joint. This weakened the joint to the point that the neck could break after only moderate handling. The problem was soon resolved when Gibson designers moved the neck pickup farther down the body, producing a stronger joint and eliminating

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