Who Designed The Les Paul?
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Was it Gibson? Was it Les Paul himself? Was it a team of folks in the factory, or did the idea stem from somewhere else entirely? Today were heading back into the repair shop with Tyler Geske for his thoughts on the matter.
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It was Maurice Berlin, the head of CMI (parent company of Gibson at that time) who suggested the belly carve for the new Les Paul model.
There's an interview with Ted McCarty on Reverb, where he goes into depth on the Les Paul.
8:47 I knew Les the last 25 years of his life. He told me that the first time he saw the Les Paul model was when Ted McCarty brought a prototype to show him and Mary when they were in the Poconos. The patent for the Les Paul does not mention Les. I think this video is very accurate. Also, Forrest White, who worked at Fender in the 1950’s, wrote of a solidbody guitar that he built around 1941. And also of note is the solidbody that Paul Bigsby built for Merle Travis, based on Merle’s design, around 1948, which apparently had an influence on the Fender Broadcaster.
Ap can take credit for the Special, not the Les Paul. Ap and Les both have a roll in the Les Paul coming into existence. They both brought the idea of a solid body to Gibson. But most importantly, He indorsed it. He was famous so without his endorsement it may have never came into fruition. How much he had to do with design of every aspect of the guitar, we'll never know. But he claimed to have had a hand in it all so there is a good chance he had a hand in a lot of it. Who's idea was it to buck to the hum? I wonder if Les worked on that with Seth? Tone and volume layout? However it all came to be, I'm glad it came to be.
Robb Lawerence is a friend of mine. He’s done a couple great books on Les Paul! He told me once that Les had a pretty vivid imagination. It would be great if we could get in the ol’ “way-back machine” and talk to everyone who was working on a solid body guitar..
One quick note. The "wrap under bar" was actually a "wrap over tailpiece" that was used on other models. Some people say that the wrap-under implementation was due to an incorrect neck angle but I think the most likely answer was the one given by Les Paul that the prototype had a thinner flat top & Gibson added the bridge at the request of Les without accounting for the height difference of a carved top. They of course fixed it eventually but it was probably one of those things that Gibson figured would be fine if the strings wrapped under the bridge. Of course we know they eventually learned & made the necessary changes.
It's good to hear you didn't skirt around the topic and had an opinion, rather than just trying to be diplomatic. Cheers.
Tyler listed the personal at Gibson that had a hand with Ted making that guitar. Lore will always give credit to the famous people (Ted and Les). But the most likely reality is that “little guys” we don’t know by name actually did most of it. As for App. He had to get the idea for the single cutaway from somewhere. The super 400 had the same kind of Venetian cutaway. We can go back and forth all day about solid body inventions. But it really comes down to the fact they are easier to make so some would have figured that out just based on that. 😊
There was a step between App and the les paul and that was the bigsby Merle Travis.
Ted McCarty designed the Les Paul, along with many other Gibson guitars.
So you discount what Tyler presented about O.W. Appleton and the very Les Paul-looking guitar of his that he tried to interest Gibson in about 10 years before the Les Paul was introduced?
Sure he did, just like designed the Theodore. In other words, if he did in fact design the Theodore he stole it from Rickenbacker.
@@anthonyc1883 The LP barely looks like the App guitar thought, actually it resemble the Travis Bigsby guitar more. If anything, Gibson took more inspiration from Bigsby when designing the LP
The Log was put together in the Epiphone factory in New York it was the foundation for the future Les Paul
Yet the build is nothing like an actual Les Paul Guitar. Go figure.
@jrtme it looks more like the 1948 Merle Travis guitar
Fascinating story and an insight to one of the worlds most famous guitars. Many years ago I traded my no serial number 52 gold top for a 57 strat#18250,still have it but I've many fond memories of that old gold top.
I did. It was May of '46 and I was recovering on Guam after having my legs blowed off at Iwo. Have the napkins to prove it!
Thanks Tyler. I always enjoy your informative videos. Great work.
Well done !
I enjoyed the history lesson !
I believe Les was way ahead of his time and was also hard to work with.
He really had the concept for the ES-335 ten years before McCarty and Gibson rolled out the solid block with wings
While Appleton should get some credit for the body design, let's be honest what he came up with is far from what became the finished product.
Agreed, if Gibson did "copy" his design, they did a very poor job because it doesn't even look close to what Appleton built. The LP resembles the '48 Bigsby guitar more imo
i gave credit for the single cut solid body to leo fender...Gibson just refined it a bit.
This was a very well done and enjoyable video. Cheers!
That "App" guitar looks a lot like a LesPaul jr with an arched top and lovingly made too.
Fascinating. We need more of these. Please.
O.W. Spent his last years in Nogales AZ. He was a local celebrity.
Probably no one will ever know
Thank you Tyler! It must have been like the wild west of solid body guitars, “Stick ‘em up podner and hand over the designs!” I identify with the little guy toiling away in brilliance …ultimately gifting us with the Les Paul. I am glad you gave him credit.
I was aware of Les Paul's contributions. His name basically. You notice that he had no input on the design change to SGs.
Holy $hit 7:40 look at the size of the pickups on APP's guitar!
As person who has more les Paul’s than anything else I loved this segment! I knew les didn’t design it, but like probably everyone I learned Gibson really didn’t either. Still love my les Paul’s and les too though!
les Paul's what? Ohhh, Les Pauls, plural. I see. Also ... "les"?
This is part of the age old question: Who invented the solid body Spanish style electric guitar? It sounds like this Appleton guy is the one but he never got the patent. Certainly not Les Paul. His “log” was an experiment and not a serious finished instrument. Appleton has a real, finished instrument, but did he build more than one? Leo Fender is my choice.
Does anyone else think the log has a lot more in common with a 335?
More content like this please. And how to identify series like you did on the bursts.
Thanks for the lesson Sir !
Told very well Tyler, thank you.
Being an Iowan myself, I couldn't be more proud of App and his contribution to a part of culture I love some much, and I am so happy to see him getting credit :)
Great video
Is Gibson really not going to even mention the late 40s Paul Bigsby guitars that look just like single and double cutaway LPs and played by famous country artists of the day? Les knew and had contact with Bigsby and his guitars before he and Gibson “invented” the shape. Seems like Gibson has a bit of selective memory themselves just like Les and Leo.
That was fun, next the history of the guitar pickup, where did app get his design? Really enjoyed this.
Loved the Les Paul history video. Very interesting!
Excellent video guys! Spot on! Hope all is well in Seattle…I love my 76 LPC 3 pup…Thanks Nick! I wear my ECG tee with pride! All the best!
Great video! Good info
The 335 is more like the log
Love these videos man, keep em comin
I knew neither man, but I wonder if Les Paul and Dick Dale (both hugely talented and influential) were also both a little or a lot prone to tall tales and taking too much credit for products and innovations.
Interesting
When legend becomes fact, print the legend. (The man who shot Liberty Valance). You provided another great well researched video, Thank you.
Great piece and well told. Brings to mind all of those Gibson lawsuits of late. The Les Paul does not appear to be the offspring of of a single creator but App certainly seems to be the father! Thanks for the great story.
fascinating!
LP even took credit for the electric pickup, and the R2R tape machine (WW2 German invention, as are many things). Les always seemed to me to be a pompous a**, and would take credit for discovering gravity if he could. Just my $0.02.
Gibson should build Appelton's innovative 1940's guitar as a production model and call it the App Paul or just the Gibson App and pay the remaining living relatives a share of any profits ( which is off course exactly WHY this would never happen ,.companies want to own every aspect of their products).
Besides Gibson would want to charge $12,000 per copy,.LoL!
And while we're at it,..Fender can pay Bigsby's remaining relatives for the Stratocaster headstock design they've been using since the mid-fifties !
OMG it's all I can say, awesome info
OW did subsequently invent the the APP and revolutionized modern technology. Lololol 🤑 🤑 🤑
Good one. No doubt his shop was called "the APP Store!"
You put it lightly, les was a bullshiter. He was self centered and a lier.
When Les Paul used to sleep,it was only to breathe in.
I've honestly heard little good about Les Paul . Mustve made a lot of people angry through the years.
Saying someone has a vivid imagination in that way is just a nice way to say he was a pathological liar.
Some say he was a genius...
@@mattrogers1946 noone that knew him personally 🤷♂️
The truth about why a Burst LP cost near half a million is because the Stratocaster rips Gibson LP sales...
So,because Fender Stratocaster is the Best guitar ever created,and the few LP produced at the time, that's the real reason why people nowadays loves to collect Burst LP's
Sorry to offend you!!!
My brother in Christ, the Stratocaster is the best selling guitar of all time. But great video!
So Appleton was the real “authentic” one…
O.W. Appleton The Nikola Tesla of Electric Guitars. .
So the Les Paul was stolen from App. The 335 idea was stolen from Les Paul’s log. Gibson should start lawsuits against itself.
That was interesting...thanks for the info
I own 2. The les paul isn't even the best selling gibson. That would be the SG...
Who cares? Lets just be happy someone did.