At the beginning of the '40s, both the musician and the inventor, Orbra Wallace Appleton, with his APP guitar, and Les Paul, with his Epiphone "Log", had already shown Gibson some projects of solid body electric guitars, but without arousing the interest of the Kalamazoo company.
However, after Fender unveiled its first solid body, the Esquire, at the 1950 NAMM show, suddenly almost all the western swing guitarists took an interest in Leo Fender's new instrument. Even if some electric solid body guitars had already been built, like the one made by Paul Bigsby for Merle Travis or the small Slingerland 401, it was Leo who started real large-scale production.
However, after Fender unveiled its first solid body, the Esquire, at the 1950 NAMM show, suddenly almost all the western swing guitarists took an interest in Leo Fender's new instrument. Even if some electric solid body guitars had already been built, like the one made by Paul Bigsby for Merle Travis or the small Slingerland 401, it was Leo who started real large-scale production.
The first prototypes
Conceptual representation of the Ranger model from a vintage catalog artwork (Courtesy of Mitchell Costa)
After the success of the Fender Esquire, Ted McCarty and Maurice Berlin decided that it was time to design a Gibson solid-body guitar to compete with Leo's company and appointed a team headed by Larry Allers, probably the most important figure in the development of Les Paul, under the supervision of Clarence Havenga, Gibson Sales Director.
Although Fender made the bodies using a flat ash board, Gibson, distinguished itself by continuing to churn out guitars with carved tops, just like that of its "archtop" guitars: “Look, if we are going to make a guitar, we are going to make one that will be different than anything that Leo was making,” Ted McCarty said.
The first experiments, carried out in 1950, consisted essentially in guitars similar to Gibson ES-125. They had different sizes, flat top and back, no cutaway, unbound mahogany sunburst body and a P-90 pickup in the center. These prototypes were essential for studying the tone of solid body guitars.
The first models were large and too heavy, so that smaller size guitars, called Ranger, were tested instead. These instruments, with flat tops and only one pickup, had the writing “RANGER” on the pickguard. Conceptually they had to be very similar to Les Paul Junior, but had no cutaway and probably had a small tailpiece like that of the ES-125.
The next step was adding a Florentine cutaway, like that of the ES-140 (to facilitate access to the higher frets) and replacing the mahogany body, which didn't guarantee enough sustain, with a maple one, or testing "mixed" maple and mahogany bodies. Some prototypes with the wood grain running in different directions were designed too, in order to analyze their influence on sound, and also different inclinations of the necks were tested. Some of these instruments made in 1950 remained unfinished, others were Cremona Sunburst or Natural finished.
Although Fender made the bodies using a flat ash board, Gibson, distinguished itself by continuing to churn out guitars with carved tops, just like that of its "archtop" guitars: “Look, if we are going to make a guitar, we are going to make one that will be different than anything that Leo was making,” Ted McCarty said.
The first experiments, carried out in 1950, consisted essentially in guitars similar to Gibson ES-125. They had different sizes, flat top and back, no cutaway, unbound mahogany sunburst body and a P-90 pickup in the center. These prototypes were essential for studying the tone of solid body guitars.
The first models were large and too heavy, so that smaller size guitars, called Ranger, were tested instead. These instruments, with flat tops and only one pickup, had the writing “RANGER” on the pickguard. Conceptually they had to be very similar to Les Paul Junior, but had no cutaway and probably had a small tailpiece like that of the ES-125.
The next step was adding a Florentine cutaway, like that of the ES-140 (to facilitate access to the higher frets) and replacing the mahogany body, which didn't guarantee enough sustain, with a maple one, or testing "mixed" maple and mahogany bodies. Some prototypes with the wood grain running in different directions were designed too, in order to analyze their influence on sound, and also different inclinations of the necks were tested. Some of these instruments made in 1950 remained unfinished, others were Cremona Sunburst or Natural finished.
Larry Allers with his prototype
One of the 1951 prototypes has been carefully preserved by Ron Allers, Larry’s son. The Natural finished body was slightly smaller than that of the previous prototypes - the scale of the instrument was 25 ½ "- and had a sharp Florentine cutaway. The carved top was composed of a single maple board, though the two-piece top was later preferred because it was more stable; its thickness was very pronounced, exposing the maple not only in the cutaway, but also on both the sides of the neck. The mahogany neck had a rosewood fretboard, equipped with dot fret-markers and no binding. The entire neck width entered the body and was glued 12-13 cm to the beginning of the pickup cavity, but two screws, covered by two pearloid dots, fixed it further to the body. A small ledge of the body extended over the neck heel, creating a very deep heel.
The switch was fixed to the body by means of a rectangular gray plastic plate and four screws.
This instrument underwent important changes over time: its P-90s were replaced with humbuckers; different types of bridges were experimented and it was given a Sunburst finish. It changed owners several times: for some time it remained at Kalamazoo, but, at the end of the '70s, it was bought by a musician from Mill Valley, California; its next owners were Lee Michaels, first, and then Warren Klein. In 1983 Scott Lentz and David Flood restored the instrument to its original finish.
The switch was fixed to the body by means of a rectangular gray plastic plate and four screws.
This instrument underwent important changes over time: its P-90s were replaced with humbuckers; different types of bridges were experimented and it was given a Sunburst finish. It changed owners several times: for some time it remained at Kalamazoo, but, at the end of the '70s, it was bought by a musician from Mill Valley, California; its next owners were Lee Michaels, first, and then Warren Klein. In 1983 Scott Lentz and David Flood restored the instrument to its original finish.
The small ledge of the body extends over the neck heel and the exposed maple, sign of its was very pronounced thickness (Courtsy of Ron Allers)
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Old photo of the "Allers" prototype already modified
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The prototype restored by Scott Lentz e David Flood, close to what it's believed was they way it would have appeared in 1951-1952
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Les Paul
Now that the solid body Gibson was ready, a name and the way to promote it had to be found. For a long time it was assumed that Gibson did not want to put its own brand on this guitar as it was a very conservative company, but Ted McCarty always denied it. In the previous decades, the Gibson Nick Lucas and Roy Smeck signature models were successful and it was time for a new model. “So we made our solid-body guitar. Now we needed somebody with a reputation, a player to give it some publicity,” Ted declared.
After drawing up a list of possible candidates, the choice fell on Les Paul, already present in the Gibson 1939 and 1949 catalogues. He was one of the most important guitarists at the time and had already dedicated himself to solid bodies, thanks to his experiments with the Log. But Ted feared it would not be easy to convince him because in that period Les played the Epiphones and he was a friend of the owner Anastasios Stathopoulos.
Maurice Berlin asked his assistant, Mark Carlucci, to find the guy with the "broomstick and the pickups on it" to present the project to. Mark met Les in Chicago. At first Les thought it was a flat top guitar, but when Mark explained that it was an instrument with a carved top, the guitarist was enthusiastic.
It was therefore time to show the prototypes to Les. Ted McCarty personally went to the guitarist, who was in Pennsylvania engaged in some recordings with Mary Ford. Les played a few notes with the prototype and exclaimed: “I think we should join them!”
Together they decided to call the new instrument Les Paul Model and stipulated the contract (renewable after five years) that established that 5% of the profits would go to the musician. Les, on his part, would be a consultant for Gibson and would play only Gibson guitars during the period covered by the contract. He was even asked to put the Gibson logo on his Epiphones, until the production of the new instruments had not begun! Over the years the agreement was renewed twice, for another ten years in total.
One of the first changes wanted by Les was to round up the cutaway: “It would knock your wrist if you weren't careful.” He also asked for a top with a golden finish because it would give the instrument a royal aura and a unique and innovative appearance. He wanted to use a bridge that he had invented, and developed in 1945 and had already tested on one of his L-12.
After drawing up a list of possible candidates, the choice fell on Les Paul, already present in the Gibson 1939 and 1949 catalogues. He was one of the most important guitarists at the time and had already dedicated himself to solid bodies, thanks to his experiments with the Log. But Ted feared it would not be easy to convince him because in that period Les played the Epiphones and he was a friend of the owner Anastasios Stathopoulos.
Maurice Berlin asked his assistant, Mark Carlucci, to find the guy with the "broomstick and the pickups on it" to present the project to. Mark met Les in Chicago. At first Les thought it was a flat top guitar, but when Mark explained that it was an instrument with a carved top, the guitarist was enthusiastic.
It was therefore time to show the prototypes to Les. Ted McCarty personally went to the guitarist, who was in Pennsylvania engaged in some recordings with Mary Ford. Les played a few notes with the prototype and exclaimed: “I think we should join them!”
Together they decided to call the new instrument Les Paul Model and stipulated the contract (renewable after five years) that established that 5% of the profits would go to the musician. Les, on his part, would be a consultant for Gibson and would play only Gibson guitars during the period covered by the contract. He was even asked to put the Gibson logo on his Epiphones, until the production of the new instruments had not begun! Over the years the agreement was renewed twice, for another ten years in total.
One of the first changes wanted by Les was to round up the cutaway: “It would knock your wrist if you weren't careful.” He also asked for a top with a golden finish because it would give the instrument a royal aura and a unique and innovative appearance. He wanted to use a bridge that he had invented, and developed in 1945 and had already tested on one of his L-12.
Courtesy of Guitar Point
The golden finish had already been used on an ES-175 custom, which Les had ordered to give to a friend of his. “The finish in the guitar, the Goldtop, is bronze powder mixed in lacquer. That's what makes it reflective and brilliant,” Ted declared. The painting process of the top was completely different from that of the mahogany body: maple was a smooth and dense wood and it did not need a sealer, and it was sufficient to prepare it for the final finish with a thin layer of nitrocellulose. The layer of color was finally protected by four layers of clear-coat. Some Goldtops, due to intense use, had lost part of their clear-coat and undergone a slight variation in color, with a tendency to green due to the oxidation of the bronze particles. Collectors and Les Paul’s lovers often refer to these models with the nickname Bullion Gold.
Les Paul had already developed the trapeze tailpiece in 1945, but he registered it in 1952 as "Combined Bridge and Tailpiece for Stringed Instruments", a patent which was secured in 1956. It was a bridge and tailpiece all-in-one unit, composed of a thick metallic bar where the strings were anchored, fixed, by means of two smaller rods and a flange, to the bottom edge of the guitar, close to the strap lock. This first system did not compensate for individual strings, but it was adjustable in height and relative intonation lengthwise and guaranteed an excellent sustain.
On the original bridge the strings were anchored to the solid steel bar and then wrapped over the top, so it is known as the "wrap-over" trapeze tailpiece. However, the bar of the Les Paul model was brass nickel coated and the wrap-over would have caused the nickel coating to wear out by exposing the brass. So the strings now went under the bar (“under-wrap”) instead of over the top. The low angled neck and the pickup's short height also pushed Gibson towards this solution. In any case, this new system wouldn’t have allowed the muting technique and the muffled sound that Les liked so much, but, above all, the strings, when picked strongly, tended to slide sideways, causing a slight loss in tuning.
On the original bridge the strings were anchored to the solid steel bar and then wrapped over the top, so it is known as the "wrap-over" trapeze tailpiece. However, the bar of the Les Paul model was brass nickel coated and the wrap-over would have caused the nickel coating to wear out by exposing the brass. So the strings now went under the bar (“under-wrap”) instead of over the top. The low angled neck and the pickup's short height also pushed Gibson towards this solution. In any case, this new system wouldn’t have allowed the muting technique and the muffled sound that Les liked so much, but, above all, the strings, when picked strongly, tended to slide sideways, causing a slight loss in tuning.
Trapeze Tailpiece patent
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The Trapeze Tailpiece on the Goldtop: unlike the original Les Paul project, it was "under-wrap". In the photo it is also evident the oxidation of the bronze powder which has brought some green halos on the top (Courtesy of Chicago Music Exchange).
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Both the body and the neck of the Les Paul were made of Honduras mahogany. The maple top was glued onto the body and its carving was less pronounced and more harmonious than that of the prototypes. The neck, quite thick for the current standards, was reinforced by the truss rod, patented in 1920 by Ted McHugh. The Brazilian rosewood fretboard (only in the very first models without the characteristic side binding) had trapezoidal markers made of nitrocellulose. Its radius was between 10" and 12". The side markers, which looked black on the models with binding, were actually a very dark red / amber color. The official scale was 24.75", but it was actually slightly shorter: 24.5625". The pickups chosen for the Les Paul were two PU-90 model 480 single-coils, better known as P-90s, designed by Walt Fuller in the '40s and which debuted in 1946. These pickups could be controlled through two volume knobs, two tone knobs, and a Switchcraft three-position switch without the typical plastic ring found in later products.
1953 Gibson Les Paul advert
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One of the first Les Paul adverts
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In May 1952 Gibson unveiled the new guitar: “The guitar everyone has been waiting for and asking about is here at last! It's the new and smart-looking gold finished Gibson Les Paul Model, solid-body electric Spanish cutaway.” The first Les Pauls were sent to the dealers in June. In 1952 the instruments sent were 1716, in 1953 2245, and in 1954 and 1955, respectively 1504 and 862. The list price was $210, plus $39.50 for the case.
Antonio Calvosa
