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. The latest Les Pal digital guitar is the Dusk Tiger.  What 2010 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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Les Paul, legendary jazz guitarist and inventor of the Gibson Les Paul guitar, has died as a result of complications from pneumonia.  Details and more at the following sites.

Les Paul Dies - NY Times

Les Paul, True Genius - National Post

Les Paul Wikipedia

The five essential achievements of Les Paul

Kiss, Bon Jovi men pay tribute to Les Paul

Les Paul Remembered: Guitar Greats on Their True Hero - Rolling Stone

SKY News

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I think I want to save my money and get a Gibson Les Paul instead of going out and getting a knockoff les paul, such as a Jay Turser or Epiphone. I figure I’ll never be happy unless it’s the real thing. And also, I think a true Gibson would hold its value over the years. But my question is, how does a knockoff compare to a genuine Les Paul? I’m an intermediate player, I’m not in a band or anything but I like a good sound not a cheap sound. Any input?
Well the Gibson is obviously nicer but for the cost difference I would get the Epiphone. Just my two cents, The cost difference is huge.

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I am planning to buy a Gibson Les Paul Traditional because i love them and i know its a good investment. But i was wondering how much it would be worth 20-30 years from now? (they are about $2300 for a new one) any ideas????
It depends….how much do they appreciate in value every year? If you use the current price as the present value, assume the guitar goes up in value 10% every year, after 20 years it would be worth about $15,000. $40,000 in 30 years at the same rate, all other things being equal. If you think that your guitar would only go up in value say 5% a year, you are looking at values of $6,000 in 20 years and about $10,000 in 30.

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Every guitar player that has ever been born lives for the day when he/she can pick up a Gibson Les Paul or other vintage guitar. Vintage guitars are available in all major manufacturers and brands. But it’s not only musicians and guitar enthusiasts that are attracted to these masterpieces. Vintage guitars can also be viewed as an investment.

You’re probably saying to yourself right now “How can a guitar be an investment?”, “Is buying a vintage guitar really a good investment?” Allow me to enlighten you a little. To the untrained eye, a guitar is a guitar. Now we aren’t talking about the walls of instruments you see at Guitar Center or Sam Ash. We are talking about those special few extraordinary guitars that just scream to be torn into.

Guitars are a great investment for a few reasons. First, they are beautiful and command a room where they are displayed. Second, vintage guitars don’t depreciate or lose value with time. On the contrary, these babies appreciate and gain value as they age, especially if they are kept up nicely. Third, they have superior tonality and action when played due to the quality workmanship that went into their construction.

Undoubtedly, the most popular is the Les Paul by Gibson. This guitar carries the name of the man who invented the solid body electric guitar. In the 1960’s, the Les Paul was just about THE choice of instrument. These are still made today, but the older ones were made of superior materials like mahogany and oak. Some even had gold frets and mother of pearl inlays on the fret board.

Fender also has a stranglehold on a couple of highly sought after guitars, especially the Stratocaster, the Telecaster and the Thunderbird. These were favorites among blues and rock players alike. Again, the ones everybody wants were made in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Certainly among the reigning Kings of vintage guitars are those made by the CF Martin company. Martin emigrated here from Europe in the late 19th century and set up shop in New York. The craftsmanship he imparted is not only extraordinary. It is absolutely earth shattering. Martin pioneered the X-bracing system for acoustic guitars adding years to the longevity of the instruments he made. Many Martin’s are still in use at nearly 100 years old!

Guild is another vintage guitar that is vastly overlooked these days. Guild was only in operation for about 25 years and was bought by Fender in the 1990’s. Some of the older Guild guitars are extremely rare and sought after as they exhibited the same quality as the Martin instruments of the same time period.

Every one of these guitar manufacturers has made an exceptional line of guitars. Players like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins, Roy Clark and Les Paul have chosen them time and time again as their guitar of choice.

When bought as an investment, the vintage ones hold the possibility of giving a fantastic ROI (return on investment).

To see a collection of vintage guitars that are available right now, get on over to http://www.vintageguitarzone.com and see what you can get your fingers around for a great price.

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Mike McFar
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/vintage-guitars-as-an-investment-479352.html

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Make Your Own Electric Guitar is written in a clear, relaxed style, it covers every facet of guitar design and construction, as well as electronic theory and practice, and full woodworking and wiring techniques. The forward is by Queen guitarist, Brian May. Click here to get your copy now.

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You can learn all about the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar and even find your next guitar at this unique blog dedicated to the guitar and its inventor, Les Paul. Videos and articles explore the past present and future of the iconic guitar that is played by many of yesterday’s and today’s top guitarists - The Gibson Les Paul.

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The Gibson Explorer is an electric guitar that was introduced to the world in 1958.  The Explorer was produced by the same company that developed the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar. The Explorer was also marketed many years later as the Futura. The Explorer was produced during 1958 but production was halted in 1959, resuming again in 1975. The initial production of the Explorer was unsuccessful and production was discontinued until other companies began selling guitars with similar designs with great success.

The Explorer and the Les Paul were extremely popular among the heavy metal and hard rock musicians of the 70’s and 80’s. Eric Clapton has been known to play a wide variety of Gibson guitars throughout his long career. Clapton played a 1958 Explorer when making both his EC Was Here and 461 Ocean Boulevard albums.

While playing with Cream as well as John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Clapton played a 1960 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar. Clapton owned a 1964 ES-335 that he played while a member of Cream, Blindfaith, The Yardbirds and while performing solo. He donated this guitar in 2004 to the Crossroads Center and it was auctioned for $750,000.

There are many other well known musicians that depend on Gibson quality. Don Felder of the Eagles uses a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar as well as an EDS-1275. The legendary Jimi Hendrix is widely known for playing a Stratocaster, but he used several Gibsons including a Flying V, SG Custom and a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar. The list of musicians that have enjoyed the quality guitars that Gibson produced is long and varied. Not only are they popular among rockers, there a number of country and western musicians that depend on them as well.

There were very few Gibson Explorers produced during the initial run in 1958. It is unknown exactly how many of the original Korina models were produced since the production records are not clear, but it is estimated that less than fifty were produced. Due to the Explorers extreme rarity the value of this guitar has significantly increased. These originals Explorers that have a verifiable provenance have values in the hundreds of thousands since they are highly regarded among collectors.

A 50th anniversary edition of the vintage Gibson Explorer was released in 2008. This edition features the Korina neck and body, replicating the original 1958 Explorer. Production of this anniversary edition was limited to 100 guitars.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_W._Walker
http://EzineArticles.com/?History-of-the-Gibson-Explorer&id=2004384

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This excellent video is an appraisal of a 1952 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar on the Antiques Road Show. The appraisal was done by expert Gary Sohmers. The owner of the guitar had it sitting under his bed for 25 years! He paid $120.00 for the Les Paul and a Fender amp. Watch it now to see how much it was appraised for!

Duration : 0:3:12

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The 1959 Burst: This stunning film follows the path and the growth of interest in the most valued musical instrument on the planet Earth: 1959 Les Paul Sunburst. This awesome film features interviews with Slash, Billy Gibbons, Rick Neilsen and many others. It reveals a culture of collectors who covet the chance to own one of these rare and beautiful guitars. And why not? One recently sold at Sotheby’s for a whopping $400,000.00!

Duration : 0:4:10

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