Les Paul

Though the posts in this blog are about Les Paul guitars, it should be noted that the man himself is still very active, even though he is in his mid 90's. He plays at the Irridium Jazz club in New York City one night a week, and anyone who has the chance should see his live show. It is a small venue and, as you can tell from the photos, audience members can get "up close and personal". I have had the opportunity to go on numerous occasions and have attached a small sample of photos. It should also be noted that Les Paul pioneered the areas of multi-track recording and the use of effects with musical instruments, among other things. These things have had at least as large an impact, if not a larger one, on modern music as the guitars that bear his name.

Gibson Cases

Though not affecting sound in any way, an original case that is correct for the model can enhance a vintage guitar's value and collectibility and are usually preferred to newer, replacements. Shown are: a brown 1959 "alligator" soft-side case, common to smaller or less expensive Gibsons; an early 60's Lifton hardshell case (yellow interior) used for higher-end instruments; an 1980 "Protector" hard plastic case; a tan 1998 Les Paul case with satin/velvet "casket" interior appointments; and a 2005 black "alligator" case (now made in Canada). Also shown is a comparison of 50's "alligator" cases, which came in a variety of thicknesses and styles, specifically for each model instrument.

Speakers

Gibson, like many manufacturers of the time, used Jensen speakers in their amps and shown here are examples of some of the most common types. The Field Coil speaker is likely the earliest and was used in smaller amps or amps of lower wattage, like the Gibsonette shown in an earlier post. The Alnico (which comes from its Aluminum/Nickel/Cobalt magnet) speaker with the large "bell" covering was used on the high-end amps of the 50's, like the Les Paul GA-40, also shown in an earlier post. These are thought to produce a better sound than those with ceramic magnets. The Special Design speaker was first used in the 50's, as shown in the Les Paul Jr. in the first photo, and was later upgraded as shown by the later example from a Kustom cabinet. You can clearly see the speaker code 220843 on the rim. This indicates that it is a Jensen, made in the 43rd week of 1968. This is a very clean example, for its age. Also shown is a lower-end speaker (though still quite good) used by Gibson and others during the 60's. It is a CTS speaker shown in a Gibson "free form" cabinet from the 8th week of '67 (137708 speaker code). Original speakers, in good working order, can significantly increase the value of an amp, and may provide a more vintage tone than newer replacements.

ES-140 vs. Les Paul

Gibson began production of the ES-140, like the one shown here on the left, in 1950, and likely had the design in development for some time before that. It had a 12 3/4" x 17 1/4" body, single cutaway, P-90 pickup, and was eventually made in 1 3/4" thickness. It was billed as a smaller version of the popular ES-175. Then, in 1952, the "radical" design of the Les Paul came onto the market, which consisted of the same 12 3/4" x 17 1/4" x 1 3/4" body, a single cutaway, and P-90 pickups. But for the addition of a second P-90, solid body, and the slight change in the sharpness of the cutaway, the instruments are incredibly similar. The attached picture shows an ES-140 (which appears taller because it is much lighter and doesn't sink into the carpet as far as the LP) and a Les Paul example. I don't have a 52 LP to use in the comparison, but it also had a tailpiece, like the ES-140, not the newer bridge of this example. I have searched a great deal of Gibson literature and can't find any other 50's guitars made in that size and configuration, so it wasn't used for the Les Paul because it was a common size for Gibson. Though thought to be revolutionary, the Les Paul design has always looked to me to be a lot like an upgraded, solid body ES-140. Though a rather obscure model not made in large numbers, the design team at Gibson would have certainly been aware of the ES-140 during design of the Les Paul, since it had been in production for a couple of years. I have not seen this issue discussed in any publications (and there are many) regarding the history of the Les Paul.