In 1945, jazz guitarist and inventor Les Paul took his concept for a solid-body electric guitar to the Gibson guitar company. They turned him down and called the prototype a “broom-stick with a pickup on it”.

However, seven years later, the growing popularity of the Fender Telecaster prompted Gibson to introduce the Les Paul as it’s first solid-body guitar.

There are different stories about who designed what when it comes to the first models. However, once the dust settled, the result was a guitar that proved to be what the market was looking for.

In 1954, Gibson released the Les Paul Custom which sold for $325.00 and the Les Paul Junior that went for $99.50. Today, these guitars go for thousands of dollars.

The humbucker (aka PDF) pickup came into use in 1957. Engineer Seth Lover designed them to eliminate the hum and interference caused by single coil pickups.

In 1958, the cherry red sunburst Les Paul replaced the Les Paul Gold Top. The ‘bursts’ have become the most sought after and expensive Les Pauls of all time.

There have been many different models of the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar since it’s release in 1952 including the 2008 Robot model which tunes itself. In December 2008, Gibson took the Les Paul one step further with the introduction of the Dark Fire Les Paul-style digital guitar. What 2009 will bring remains to be seen with eagar anticipation.

However, no mater the changes and inovations, the one thing that remains constant is the Les Paul’s position as guitar of choice for some of the world’s greatest guitarists.

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Song Big City Nights by Scorpions

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Expert: Frank Pope
Bio: Frank Pope, founder of FBI Guitars, been building guitars for more than 10 years and has constructed more than 30 finished products.
Filmmaker: Charles Stewart Jr.

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