Paul attempted to make inroads with Epiphone and Gibson to continue to develop his designs into commercially viable instruments. As an inventor, Les Paul's breakthrough creation of the solid-body electric guitar paved the way for electric music made the sound of rock and roll possible. The first model simply called "Les Paul Bass", had a few interesting features, most notably low impedance circuitry, especially designed for recording in the studio. At the same time, he was inventing a guitar that would revolutionize music using a solid body design to electrify the guitar and usher in Rock and Roll. Is this guitar still manufactured today? Gibson produced Les Paul guitars until 1963, when, due to dissatisfaction with some new design choices, Paul opted out of … The Telecaster had a “basic, single-cutaway solid slab of ash for a body and separate screwed-on maple neck was geared to mass production. Les Paul, the jazz guitarist who died on August 13 aged 94, invented the solid body electric guitar and revolutionised the sound of pop music recordings. Initially something of a commercial failure, the Les Paul was discontinued in 1961. Les Paul’s ‘Log’ guitar took an Epihone archtop, sawed it into pieces, and fashioned the solid center piece. It was released in 1950. 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. He calls it "The Log." Les Paul is a unique blend of musician and inventor. But Paul’s Log, onto which he soon glued two wings from another Epiphone guitar to make it look more guitar-like, was undoubtedly a major step in the development of the modern electric guitar. Radio was brand new and young Les would stay up all night listening to guitar players on his crystal radio. It wasn’t until 1940 that Les Paul—who needs no introduction—created a guitar out of 4×4 wood posts and an Epiphone acoustic archtop (a design that shared almost nothing in common with the well-known solid-body Gibson Les Paul introduced in 1952). The year after that, 2,245 instruments were shipped, making the Les Paul guitar a success. Leo Fender In 1946 Leo Fender designed a solid body electric guitar with one pickup. His performing career started at the age of 13 and by the early 1950s he was the greatest jazz guitarist of his generation. Learn about Les Paul and the Les Paul guitar. While Les Paul was looking for a manufacturer for his log, Leo Fender was working on the Fender Telecaster. Around the same time musician and inventor, Les Paul, was working on ideas for a solid body electric guitar which would later be referred to as a "log guitar" because it was made of a 4x4 block of wood attached to a neck. Les Paul . Fender "Esquire" Gibson ES-150. The Les Paul’s list price was a staggering $3,000. The Gibson Les Paul was first produced early in 1952, the Les Paul was the very first solid body guitar to be produced by the Gibson Company, and was created due to the fact that Leo Fender had proven the viability of such a product with the Fender Telecaster.. With Ted McCarthy at the helm, the Gibson Company wanted to make sure they acquired a share of the solid body market, and came up … 1941: O.W. The Gibson Les Paul – a design that has hardly altered since his first 1941 “log guitar” prototype – is still the best-selling electric guitar in the world. I'm also a seasoned design engineer with 20 years industrial experience designing all kinds of products. This electric guitar was made by the Slingerland Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois, around 1936–39. To counteract these problems, inventors experimented with solid-body guitars. What does "ES-150" stand for? I am an experienced guitar builder so I understand how guitars are designed and manufactured. We’ll start answering these questions by debunking a common misconception. Les Paul - the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and one of the most important developers of multi-track recording - died Thursday at age 94. Paul continued to innovate in guitar and recording technology, and is credited with inventing the eight-track tape recorder. Which of these is regarded as the first commercially successful electric guitar? Born Lester William Polsfuss on June 9th in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Paul began his life-long affair with music at … ... Was this guitar commercially successful? The Les Paul was offered in several models, including the Custom, the Standard, the Special and the Junior. Guitar legend Les Paul in the 1940's developed his affectionately called "The sog" solid-body guitar by attaching a Gibson neck to a solid piece of wood…a railroad tie, hence the name "Log." Les Paul's "Log" Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" NEXT> 3. It pre-dates the experimental "log" guitar of Les Paul from 1940 and is possibly the earliest commercially marketed solid body, Spanish neck electric guitar. The need for an electric guitar arose because the classic guitar was too quiet to contribute to the music a band produced in many settings. This is the insider’s story of the early days of the Gibson Les Paul, the company’s first solidbody electric guitar.Following Fender’s introduction of the Broadcaster and Telecaster in 1950 and 1951, Gibson decided to compete, signing up America’s most famous guitarist of the time, Les Paul, to endorse its new instrument..