The Gibson Les Paul (King)
The Gibson Les Paul (King)
The Gibson Les Paul
Is this the heavyweight humbucker champion of guitars? In my opinion, the answer is simply Yes! This is the guitar that all humbucking guitars are compared to. This is where it all started as far as I’m concerned and just never could be duplicated. There’s something special about playing a Les Paul that no other guitar has. The feel and the tone are like no other.
It took me many years to recognize the Gibson Les Paul guitar. When I was growing up, players like Peter Frampton, Jimmy Page, and Ace Frehley influenced me with their use of the Les Paul. Unfortunately at that age, I didn’t know anything about brand-name guitars. I used to think that whatever guitar I saw in my local music store was what everyone used. I would play whatever my parents could afford at the time, which was usually a $45-$75 used guitar. Brands like Kay, Memphis, and Hondo were in my house. I didn’t care since I didn’t have a clue anyway.
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By the time I started to recognize what was happening the trend of guitars changed and the guitar to have would be the super strat style of guitars. Eddie Van Halen brought the superstrat to the forefront. I made sure all the guitars I played had the Floyd Rose system. I remember saving up to buy a used Les Paul standard for $500, but I returned it a few days later. It just didn't click for me. I won't get into all the specifics of what I was using, but I will say that the Les Paul wasn't my thing in the 80s. Over the years I've spent my years trying all kinds of strat-style guitars, only to find myself questioning almost every one of them. Don't get me wrong here, I love the sound and vibe of single coils, especially the H/S/S combination. Later on, I found a great H/S/H with incredible split coil sounds that I used for some time, but I still kept questioning my ability to make them happen. I returned home feeling frustrated with my performance using a Strat-style guitar after a gig and I thought, something's got to change. I had a Les Paul at the time but always felt it wouldn't cover my gigs the way I expected, but I thought why not, let's take it out on the next gig, what do I have to lose? To my surprise, it turned out to be the best gig I had in a long time, but I had to see if it was just by chance. I wound up taking the Les Paul to several more gigs and loving every minute of it. The guitar suited my style, and although it took me some time to connect with it, I came to realize how incredible the Les Paul can be.
The Gibson Les Paul is undoubtedly the king. It's one of the greatest guitar sounds ever and has been a vital part of music history. It paved the way for many other guitar manufacturers to imitate. Yes, some may argue that it has its flaws, but that is not the focus of this post. I’m not here to bash the king but to show my respect. The Gibson Les Paul has become my #1 main guitar and I’ve found a new passion for playing it. It took me a long time to become comfortable with the LP, but the more I play it, the more I understand why it's such an iconic instrument in the guitar world.
Respect!
John Price
Below you can hear my Gibson Les Paul on a few songs from my records Somebody and Somebody's Evil Twin, plus a few others.
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Light Speed - Somebody
I used it on all the rhythm guitar parts for the song Over Mountains.
My Love from Demo's Only record.
JP Society - From Demo's Only.
What A Rush - Somebody's Evil Twin
The Truth - Somebody's Evil Twin
Les Paul's Rock!
