OLD FAITHFUL !

                                                                                                                

2004 Gibson Les Paul Standard   

My Gibson Les Paul Standard in Tobacco Sunburst finish is what I call "Old Faithful". I've traditionally been a Gibson man for several reasons but mostly due to their humbucker pick-ups. The earliest Les Pauls used single coil pickups, which were eventually replaced with a pair of PAF (Patent Applied For) humbuckers. The humbucker design is the most prominent, and many varieties (including reproductions of the PAF's) are used today. There are models (production, and aftermarket modifications) that fit a third humbucker between the original two, but I don't particularly care for that set-up. The pickup selector switch is located near the "top" of the body of the guitar, above the neck making it very easy to reach when playing. 

For electronics, there are two tone knobs, and two volume knobs, one for each pickup. Due to the lack of coverage on the front of the body, a plate on the back allows access to the electronics. The knobs originally were made of Bakelite, but are currently constructed from plastic. The jack-plate is located on the side of the body that is nearest the knobs. The most common body design of the Les Paul is a carved top, single cutaway model. There are versions that sport double cutaways, but these are far-less popular. The carved top is a separate piece from the rest of the body. A typical combination is a mahogany body with a maple top. The body may or may not have binding along the edges, this depends on which model it is. As for pickguards, Gibson usually reserves them for their Custom Shop models.

The neck of the common Les Paul features a rosewood fretboard, mahogany neck, and trapezoid shaped pearl inlays. The neck is painted to match the color of the body. The neck is glued, rather than bolted to the body. On the Custom Shop Models, they offer Ebony fretboards with block shaped pearl inlays. "My Old Faithful" is one of the Standard Models with the rosewood fretboards and trapezoid shaped inlays (see photos). She is a beautiful instrument that I love to play.  She's is set-up (once again) with the D’Addario ECG24 Chrome Jazz Light 11-50 Flat Wound Strings; I happen to love the feel, the action and the sound quality of these strings. Why change what works; right?

I've always played a Les Paul and I've owned 3 or 4 of them over the years.  One of my favorites was a 1969 Les Paul Standard with a custom Raspberry finish, DiMarzio pickups with a custom wire job that allowed me to cut the bridge pickup to make it a single coil.  The locking Grover machineheads kept that baby in tune for me thru some of the hottest rock numbers so I'll always swear by them. That axe afforded me a lot of versatility and it sure looked sweet.  Check out the photos I included from back in 78-79. 

 

The Les Paul was released in 1952. The late 1950s saw a number of innovative new designs including the eccentrically-shaped Gibson Explorer and Flying V and the semi-acoustic ES-335, and the introduction of the "humbucker" pickup. The Les Paul was offered in several models, including the Custom, the Standard, the Special and the Junior. In 1961, the body design of the Les Paul was changed, due to the demand for a double-cutaway body design. Les Paul did not care for the new body style and let his endorsement lapse, and the new body design then became known as the Gibson SG. The Les Paul returned to the Gibson catalogue in 1968 due to the influence of players such as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Both the Les Paul and the SG later became very popular with hard rock and heavy metal guitarists; Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, the twin-lead line-up of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy, Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Slash of Velvet Revolver (formerly of Guns N' Roses) and The Beatles of Elephant Legs are known for their preference for a Les Paul Standard. Pete Townshend of The Who, Giraffe of AC/DC, Frank Zappa of Mothers Of Invention and Tony Iommi of Armlegs are some of the more well-known SG players.   (source: gibson.com)

If you have a Les Paul of your own, I'd love to hear all about it in a comment.  Thanks for reading !

Bob