Les Paul Guitar Is Slash's Identity

To Slash, Les Paul goes to his very soul. The innovator passed away from pneumonia at 94 on August 13th, 2009. Paul was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar when in 1939 he built "The Log" which was one of the first sold body guitars. Gibson Guitar was so impressed they signed Les Paul to a contract to make the "Les Paul" model and the rest as they say was history. The great Les Paul is also credited with inventing many recording techniques including overdubbing, delay and phasing effects, and multitrack recording which finally allowed him to record multiple guitar parts in his songs. Les Paul also had quite an innovative playing style as well, coming up with phrasing techniques like licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which inspired generations of guitarists. Many of the worlds greatest guitar players play Les Pauls like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Duane Allman, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, Warren Haynes, Wes Montgomery, George Benson and Slash, to name just a small sampling.

Video clip :

Artisan News caught up with Slash during the unveiling of his Slash signature series Les Paul guitar to get his thoughts on why the Les Paul is so special to him and why he can't play any other guitar.

 Slash On Les Paul Being His Identity

"That's just something that came in the very, very first year that I started playing. I think when I graduated to an electric guitar from an acoustic I just naturally sort of went towards the Les Paul body shape and I had a Les Paul copy for awhile. And you know as any young guitar player I sort of experimented with a lot of different types of guitars and just kept coming back to a Les Paul. Eventually I think in 1985 I just stayed. That was it. I had gone through enough guitars and realized that that was where my identity was."

Les Paul won his first Grammy Award in 1977 for best country instrumental, for "Chester And Lester," an album of duets with Chet Atkins. A year later he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and he was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005 and President George W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Arts in 2007. Les Paul leaves two sons, Robert and Lester Jr., a daughter, Colleen; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A private ceremony is being held for him in New York, and a service in his hometown of Waukesha, Wisconsin and a public memorial will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers the family urges wellwishers to donate to the Les Paul Foundation, 236 West 30th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

Comments

[Crimson Ghost]

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

[DrakeTheOne]

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

[BLAZEDGHANDI]

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

I totally agree

[NightEmbers]

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

I do aswell

[syngates07]

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

well michael was the king of pop, if you remember. the whole idea of pop is to appeal to the mainstream, which michael did amazingly. les was an innovator mainly for musicians. both made amazing impacts on modern music as we know it today.

[2mins2midnite]

it was on the news, for about 2 mins
thats the last i ever heard of it

[thedarkblues06]

syngates07 wrote:

well michael was the king of pop, if you remember. the whole idea of pop is to appeal to the mainstream, which michael did amazingly. les was an innovator mainly for musicians. both made amazing impacts on modern music as we know it today.

I couldn't agree more. He was a great man, deserves respect from everyone, and he'll be sorely missed.

But can we please keep this about a celebration of Les Paul's life, and not turn it into a freakin' "vs. Michael Jackson" please?!?! The moderators should delete all comments like DrakeTheOne's.

[kgesme21]

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

Jackson was a real legend too, so don't be stupid, but I think the only reason there isn't some hoopla over Les is because he A) didn't die from drugs/guns/something mysterious, and B) outside of people that play or have knowledge of guitar, did anybody else really know who he was? He was probably the most improtant man to devoloping music as we know it today, but still ask any random guy and they will most likely tell you about how influental Micheal was before how much Les was, if they even know who Les is.

[ozzstriker]

Exactly, les died at the amazig age of 94, Michael passed away mysteriously and at the age of 50, beore a line of concerts. You can understand where te hype will be.

[Brave Moonlight]

No. The top hat is his Identity. where's the article on that?

[thbeekk]

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

[Tanooki]

slash?

les pauls?

first i'm hearing out it.

[Fera_rawr]

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

Why would u want more on it?
The guy died like people do not really a bug news story fair enough a small report to let people know but not much to report on, maybe the media should start reporting on worthwhile things than drag on the news of people dying to fill space.

[kerokero]

Funny, I always thought that the first electric guitar Slash got/associated himself with was a B.C Rich....

Guess all those photos mean nothing then.

[Dopey_Trout]

Why do they have to make this about Slash too? couldn't they just make it about the actual guitar genius and musical innovator?

[WesBizarre]

I wish uns N' Roses got back together
I bet they will will its there 25 year

[Ponyexpress]

the video doesn't work...

[BorfJr]

thbeekk wrote:

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

Ace Frehley?

[ChucklesMginty]

Ponyexpress wrote:

the video doesn't work...

No I've never had any luck with it, I think there's so plugin I'm missing.

I envy Slash, I still haven't found a guitar that I can truly say is my identity.

[flashmdg]

Slash obviously hasn't tried out a strat yet.

[daeqwon10000]

RIP Les Paul, I would say it was tragic, but the man was 94, he lived a long fulfilling life it seems.

[LFC468]

R.I.P Les Paul

[Sam Wotrey]

thbeekk wrote:

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

Buckethead.

[/*******]

[Callum_29]

flashmdg wrote:

Slash obviously hasn't tried out a strat yet.

He did, ive seen pics of him playing a fender strat And its sad Les Paul died The worlds down another legend.

[Brian 1.0]

flashmdg wrote:

Slash obviously hasn't tried out a strat yet.

This.

Les Paul was a great man, but if you're looking for tone, playability and overall just a great axe, a strat (or my favorite, rounded big-bodied superstrats) are really just perfect. I can't see myself playing a Les Paul over a strat guitar simply for playability and great tone.

The Les Paul offers nice tone but it never plays well for me. He's still a hell of a man for inventing the guitar that billions of guitar players since then have identified themselves with, let alone inventing countless guitar techniques, multi-track recording...if you were to ask anyone who didn't know, no one would tell you one man would invent all of it in his lifetime.

Genius, like all other geniuses his death will get him the recognition he deserved -- too late.

[OnspringFan]

uh...zakk wylde? how do they not mention him, he has more les paul signature models than I can count on one hand.

[CelestialChaos]

Strats are nice, but some people, including myself, aren't a huge fan of the twangy, single coil type tone.

RIP Les Paul

[Aleks_Ring]

Brian 1.0 wrote:

flashmdg wrote:

Slash obviously hasn't tried out a strat yet.

This.

Les Paul was a great man, but if you're looking for tone, playability and overall just a great axe, a strat (or my favorite, rounded big-bodied superstrats) are really just perfect. I can't see myself playing a Les Paul over a strat guitar simply for playability and great tone.

The Les Paul offers nice tone but it never plays well for me. He's still a hell of a man for inventing the guitar that billions of guitar players since then have identified themselves with, let alone inventing countless guitar techniques, multi-track recording...if you were to ask anyone who didn't know, no one would tell you one man would invent all of it in his lifetime.

Genius, like all other geniuses his death will get him the recognition he deserved -- too late.

There is no such as a "best" guitar! It has to do with what you're style and prefrences, besides if there wasn't for Les Paul we might have been hollow body guitars

[R0B0_Ninja]

to get his thoughts on why the Les Paul is so special to him and why he can't play any other guitar.

He can't play any other guitars???

[LD_Luke D]

someday, like Di Vinci, the world will realize his brillance

[Obie]

BLAZEDGHANDI wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

I totally agree

yeah its bullshit considering how the same people were calling michael jackson a pedophile just a few years back.

[g00fy_130]

What's a Les Paul? I've never even heard of it...

[Oosh.]

OnspringFan wrote:

uh...zakk wylde? how do they not mention him, he has more les paul signature models than I can count on one hand.

Three? (On sale now)

[str84ever]

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

For some reason i think Jackson had a more significant impact since people outside the guitar playing world know who he is..

['chillin']

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

I know it sucks nobody cared about Les Paul...

BorfJr wrote:

thbeekk wrote:

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

Ace Frehley?

Ace Frehley was known more for wearing makeup than his guitar playing. That's not a knock on Kiss, but they've hardly been known for their musical prowess.

Checked.

[451F]

If I'm playing clean, I get the strat. If I'm playing in overdrive, I get the Les Paul. LP's with P-90s are pretty good, as are strats with humbuckers, with getting the best of both worlds, but when it comes to playing, I'd rather play a Les Paul. Strats feel too light. At the same time, my old guitar instructor would never consider anything other than a Strat. But this could go on forever. Everyone has their own ideas about this.

A couple of months ago I realized I knew practically nothing about Les Paul so I started to look into what he accomplished. His techniques are far more deeply rooted in playing today than I ever realized.

Regardless of the obligatory "LP v. Strat" argument, I think we can all agree he was a true musical legend. My opinion on Michael Jackson shall remain reserved.

[FoxBox]

I prefer an SG.

[nesveikuolis]

Um... Off-topic, but UG. Please use a flash-based video player...

[FlyingPirahna]

syngates07 wrote:

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

well michael was the king of pop, if you remember. the whole idea of pop is to appeal to the mainstream, which michael did amazingly. les was an innovator mainly for musicians. both made amazing impacts on modern music as we know it today.

WE wouldn't have ROCK if it wasn't for Les Paul. How many bands can you think of that use the electric guitar?

[blenk]

in the 2 years ive been playing ive never picked up a les paul i really feel like im missing something

[Haunt3dAng3l]

I'm not going to deny the importance of Les Paul himself.

But am I the only one who thinks his guitars are a bit over rated?

[foster.getagrip]

Michael Jackson dies, everyone freaks out. Les Paul dies, no one cares. Sure he was old and everyone knew it was coming, but he invented the freaking electric guitar!!! Michael Jackson wou;dn't even be famous if it wasn't for this guy!!!

[foster.getagrip]

g00fy_130 wrote:

What's a Les Paul? I've never even heard of it...

Are you serious???

[foster.getagrip]

Haunt3dAng3l wrote:

I'm not going to deny the importance of Les Paul himself.

But am I the only one who thinks his guitars are a bit over rated?

I agree

[Odlid]

kgesme21 wrote:

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

Jackson was a real legend too, so don't be stupid, but I think the only reason there isn't some hoopla over Les is because he A) didn't die from drugs/guns/something mysterious, and B) outside of people that play or have knowledge of guitar, did anybody else really know who he was? He was probably the most improtant man to devoloping music as we know it today, but still ask any random guy and they will most likely tell you about how influental Micheal was before how much Les was, if they even know who Les is.

Sadly enough, this is true. I told my friend that he had died and his response was "isn't a les paul a guitar?"

[Bozjoarmstrong]

Haunt3dAng3l :
I'm not going to deny the importance of Les Paul himself.

But am I the only one who thinks his guitars are a bit over rated?

yes

[metallica-#1]

uhhh,
i for one cant stand the Strats, i refuse to play any Fender guitar just for the fact that i cant stand the playability of them... bolt on necks are shitty as **** and the 'twang, twang' tone that comes out of them is annoying as hell. they dont have enough frets either for me to feel comfertable soloing.

for ME, the guitar of choice is an ESP Explorer, gotta love their tone and durability

[dcdossett65]

Strats dont

metallica-#1 wrote:

uhhh,
i for one cant stand the Strats, i refuse to play any Fender guitar just for the fact that i cant stand the playability of them... bolt on necks are shitty as **** and the 'twang, twang' tone that comes out of them is annoying as hell. they dont have enough frets either for me to feel comfertable soloing.

for ME, the guitar of choice is an ESP Explorer, gotta love their tone and durability

After seeing your username, of course your guitar is the ESP explorer.

Metallica fanboiiii

Enough frets, you idiot they have at most one less than an explorer.

Checked.

[Kapalen]

str84ever wrote:

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

For some reason i think Jackson had a more significant impact since people outside the guitar playing world know who he is..

For this reason, you're wrong.

Les Paul invented multitrack recording, ie, the thing that makes modern music production possible. regardless of how well he's known, he had A FAR FAR WAAAY HUGER impact on music. Kinda like how people remember Edison inventing the lightbulb but forget that Tesla inventing alternating current.

[trashbeast]

I feel the same as slash.. the les paul is MY guitar

[Bighair]

Haunt3dAng3l wrote:

I'm not going to deny the importance of Les Paul himself.

But am I the only one who thinks his guitars are a bit over rated?

yes.

[maowcat]

metallica-#1 wrote:

uhhh,
i for one cant stand the Strats, i refuse to play any Fender guitar just for the fact that i cant stand the playability of them... bolt on necks are shitty as **** and the 'twang, twang' tone that comes out of them is annoying as hell. they dont have enough frets either for me to feel comfertable soloing.

for ME, the guitar of choice is an ESP Explorer, gotta love their tone and durability

Lol your such a fag i bet you didn't know that kirk hammet played a strat yeah that's right dipshit. Do you honestly think james esp explorer actually sounds good? It's his freaking amps, not saying esp's are bad but they aren't the greatest, and you aren't a good player if you can't play on a bolt on neck, i prefer neck-thru design but i am more than happy with my strat, which is worth 2 grand. And if you weren't so ignorant you would know that you can bend up to a 24, they do not make a twang twang sound unless it's clean, even then you just dial your knobs in. I for one have a good amp that i can get any tone out of, you obviously don't know much about guitar, and metallica is my favourite band, your just another one of those dipshits that say you can't play metal with a strat.

Anyways it's sad that les paul died and sure he invented the electric guitar but he died at an old age and probably died knowing how much he'd acomplished in life. I for one don't like les pauls that much but each to there own, and stop comparing MJ to les paul, it's annoying and disrespectful.

RIP Les Paul

[Green_Jelly]

foster.getagrip wrote:

Michael Jackson dies, everyone freaks out. Les Paul dies, no one cares. Sure he was old and everyone knew it was coming, but he invented the freaking electric guitar!!! Michael Jackson wou;dn't even be famous if it wasn't for this guy!!!

Paul Adelbert Bigsby invented the solid body electric.

[calger14]

RIP Les paul
A legend!!!!

[syke5]

Rust in Peace Les Paul well miss your innovations and your influence on guitars forever

[slashfan189]

What type of news is this? this was kinda obvious

[Nameless742]

syke5 wrote:

Rust in Peace Les Paul well miss your innovations and your influence on guitars forever

Was that deliberate or have you been listening to too much Megadeath

[davedoom]

Slash....um okay sure.

Page more.

[Synyster915]

maowcat wrote:

metallica-#1 wrote:

uhhh,
i for one cant stand the Strats, i refuse to play any Fender guitar just for the fact that i cant stand the playability of them... bolt on necks are shitty as **** and the 'twang, twang' tone that comes out of them is annoying as hell. they dont have enough frets either for me to feel comfertable soloing.

for ME, the guitar of choice is an ESP Explorer, gotta love their tone and durability

Lol your such a fag i bet you didn't know that kirk hammet played a strat yeah that's right dipshit. Do you honestly think james esp explorer actually sounds good? It's his freaking amps, not saying esp's are bad but they aren't the greatest, and you aren't a good player if you can't play on a bolt on neck, i prefer neck-thru design but i am more than happy with my strat, which is worth 2 grand. And if you weren't so ignorant you would know that you can bend up to a 24, they do not make a twang twang sound unless it's clean, even then you just dial your knobs in. I for one have a good amp that i can get any tone out of, you obviously don't know much about guitar, and metallica is my favourite band, your just another one of those dipshits that say you can't play metal with a strat.

Anyways it's sad that les paul died and sure he invented the electric guitar but he died at an old age and probably died knowing how much he'd acomplished in life. I for one don't like les pauls that much but each to there own, and stop comparing MJ to les paul, it's annoying and disrespectful.

RIP Les Paul

I haven't faceplamed so hard at a post so hard for a LONG time.

[lul]

does anybody know exactly how many Slash Signature guitars are? gibson and epiphone.. he has more than 15 signature is that correct?

[[x]Huffy[x]]

The Les Paul is his identity?

I KNEW IT!! BENEATH ALL THAT HAIR, THERE'S JUST ANOTHER SUNBURST LES PAUL!!!

[VertigodowN]

BorfJr wrote:

thbeekk wrote:

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

Ace Frehley?

washburn buddy

[bucssharktooth]

Okay I'm sorry but this article lists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Eddie Van Halen using Les Paul Guitars....WTF.

I've always seen Clapton and Beck playing Stratocasters, I've always seen Richards playing a Telecaster...I've always seen Eddie Van Halen playing his Frankenstrat and Wolfgang guitars...how the hell are any of these guys mainstream Les Paul players?

What's next, are they going to say that David Gilmour, Brian May, and Kurt Cobain exclusively used les paul guitars?

[TOMMYB22]

I don't think you should be mourning his death but rather celebrating his life. Unlike MJ or Hendrix his lived until the age of 94 where he lived his dream, started a large family and created such an impact on the music industry that he will never be truly topped.

Tbh, i really only realised how important he truly was recently but it seems he is the example of a perfect and fulfilled life. He may be dead but he will live on through his guitar, and through the millions of musicians that succeed him.

[cedaguol]

For a second I thought this was one of those Gibson news/ADS

[ethan is hot]

bucssharktooth wrote:
I've always seen Clapton and Beck playing Stratocasters

In the movie Tommy, Eric is playing a Les Paul in the church i think. So he has played one publicly but I understand what you are saying

[beau05]

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

haha ridiculous. both deserve respect

tis a shame, but can you imagine the awesome funeral he'll have, when considering possible attendee's?

[Xeus]

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

i agree

i hate you money

[reedplaysgeetar]

ethan is hot wrote:

bucssharktooth wrote:
I've always seen Clapton and Beck playing Stratocasters
he played pauls a lot in his earlier bands like cream and blind faith...

In the movie Tommy, Eric is playing a Les Paul in the church i think. So he has played one publicly but I understand what you are saying

[celticstorm84]

A legend dies and people argue which guitar is better. Nice. Maybe play whatever feels and sounds good to you?

RIP Les Paul

[Pontius2000]

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

I associate myself with the Les Paul and I suck so much ass at playing that Les is probably already rolling over in his grave about somebody as bad as me associating myself with his guitar.

[cj878]

since when did EVH play les pauls?

[musicforpeace]

Bighair wrote:

Haunt3dAng3l wrote:

I'm not going to deny the importance of Les Paul himself.

But am I the only one who thinks his guitars are a bit over rated? yes.

Nope, great and amazing individual Les Paul was.
But yeah, a tad overrated.
Nevermind Fender Strats, Deans do a pretty kickass job aswell.

[g00fy_130]

foster.getagrip wrote:

g00fy_130 wrote:

What's a Les Paul? I've never even heard of it...

Are you serious???

Totally serious, that's why I come to this website....

[FREAKAZOID_69]

R.I.P Les Paul

When One door closes another one opens - the tragic loss creates more room for new innovation

[Geothermal]

Shame they had to make this more about Slash rather than Les Paul, coulda mentioned his name in the title at least :/

[Geothermal]

Geothermal wrote:

Shame they had to make this more about Slash rather than Les Paul, coulda mentioned his name in the title at least :/

In the non-guitar context... yeah im a dipshit

[outlaw_torn989]

Obie wrote:

BLAZEDGHANDI wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

I totally agree

yeah its bullshit considering how the same people were calling michael jackson a pedophile just a few years back.

Aint that the truth. Before Micheal died, no one listened to his music or even gave 2 shits about him, bashing him and labeling him as a pedophile. Then all of a sudden when he dies, everyone starts listening to his music and claiming that they "never believed he did all those nasty things" or that they "are true MJ fans". Its pathetic bullshit, this ****ing Pop scene. It really is...

[Deep*Kick]

BLAZEDGHANDI wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

I totally agree

+1, but I'm glad for Les, he lived a full and awesome life and had a great musical and technical influence
Jacko on the other hand lived a controversial life and that was his biggest effect on people in his later years. I feel sorry for Michael, I know which life I respect more.

thbeekk wrote:

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

Beck used his black LP for a long time.

Brian 1.0 wrote:
flashmdg wrote:

Slash obviously hasn't tried out a strat yet.

This.

Les Paul was a great man, but if you're looking for tone, playability and overall just a great axe, a strat (or my favorite, rounded big-bodied superstrats) are really just perfect. I can't see myself playing a Les Paul over a strat guitar simply for playability and great tone.

The Les Paul offers nice tone but it never plays well for me. He's still a hell of a man for inventing the guitar that billions of guitar players since then have identified themselves with, let alone inventing countless guitar techniques, multi-track recording...if you were to ask anyone who didn't know, no one would tell you one man would invent all of it in his lifetime.

Genius, like all other geniuses his death will get him the recognition he deserved -- too late.

I didn't know that many people played guitar

FlyingPirahna wrote:

[quote]bucssharktooth wrote:

Okay I'm sorry but this article lists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Eddie Van Halen using Les Paul Guitars....WTF.

I've always seen Clapton and Beck playing Stratocasters, I've always seen Richards playing a Telecaster...I've always seen Eddie Van Halen playing his Frankenstrat and Wolfgang guitars...how the hell are any of these guys mainstream Les Paul players?

What's next, are they going to say that David Gilmour, Brian May, and Kurt Cobain exclusively used les paul guitars?

Jeff Beck was a huge LP user. He doesn't use one now, but he has his signature LP, and is seen with it on the cover of a lot of records.

Checked

[Rhyan_EG]

Aleks_Ring wrote:

Brian 1.0 wrote:

flashmdg wrote:

Slash obviously hasn't tried out a strat yet.

This.

Les Paul was a great man, but if you're looking for tone, playability and overall just a great axe, a strat (or my favorite, rounded big-bodied superstrats) are really just perfect. I can't see myself playing a Les Paul over a strat guitar simply for playability and great tone.

The Les Paul offers nice tone but it never plays well for me. He's still a hell of a man for inventing the guitar that billions of guitar players since then have identified themselves with, let alone inventing countless guitar techniques, multi-track recording...if you were to ask anyone who didn't know, no one would tell you one man would invent all of it in his lifetime.

Genius, like all other geniuses his death will get him the recognition he deserved -- too late.

There is no such as a "best" guitar! It has to do with what you're style and prefrences, besides if there wasn't for Les Paul we might have been hollow body guitars

True, a lesser known invention of Les Paul was a serum that prevented humans from mutating into guitars. Not as famous as inventing the Les Paul guitar, or multi-tracking but arguably his most famous invention.

[dustyboy316]

Dont worry Geo, UG has definetely paid its tribute, anf everyone here knows the main context of the story

[MasterExploder0]

FlyingPirahna wrote:

syngates07 wrote:

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

well michael was the king of pop, if you remember. the whole idea of pop is to appeal to the mainstream, which michael did amazingly. les was an innovator mainly for musicians. both made amazing impacts on modern music as we know it today.
WE wouldn't have ROCK if it wasn't for Les Paul. How many bands can you think of that use the electric guitar?

3.

[livewire76]

I havn't read the thread (dont have time im afraid) but id like pay my respects to a great man who has influenced, touched, inspired - to a greater or lesser extent - millions of people. Through the universal language of music and a an iconic guitar that i, like so many others love, he has left a legacy in the truest meaning of the word. RIP Lester Polfous aka Les Paul.

On a different note why is it every time i read the story of the "birth" of the Les Paul guitar it reads slightly differently? Les has his version, Ted McCarthy another, people who worked at Gibson at the time tell it yet another way and then theres all the different interpretations. The mists of time and the stature the LP has attained has left many clamouring for a share of its glory it seems. Whatever the true story, after a few tweaks, "they" certainly got it right. For a guitar that wasnt particularly popular when released and eventually "redesigned" into the (completely different and new model really) SG, its gone on to great heights and any guitar player worth his salt would say deserevedly so. The argument "the tele/strat/les paul" is best is a part of guitar heritage or folklore. All three have their unique place and sound. Its amazing to think that these guitars where designed and first produced within 2 years of each other and where among the first ever electric guitars in mass production. Imagine us all coveting the "Model T" still?? Amazing. And i couldnt imagine a world without the electric guitar.

[Sami Philadelph]

smh...

Michael Jackson = Makes people burst into tears and faint at the sight of his awesome performances.

Les Paul = Les Paul...

Now,I love Les Paul,the man,and Les Pauls in general,with that said it's not hard to believe that I have a distaste for Fenders (and pretty much every other brand) BUT...I play an SG,go figure,anyways R.I.P and all that jazz,the guy was 94,and everybody who NEEDED to know who he was,knew who he was,he wasn't a pop icon and wasn't trying to be,and I honestly thing the comparisons are ignorant...I'd say idiots like you guys are the people that make rock music stay behind,but then again,rockers don't pay copyright taxes on ignorance

[wesselbindt]

Slash has got such a soothing voice.

[Lord_Doku]

thbeekk wrote:

Crimson Ghost wrote:

Many guitarists associate themselves with the Les Paul

True, but aside from Jimmy Page can you think of a more iconic guitarist who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively?

Jan Akkerman. If you've never heard of him, hes a Dutch guitar legend.

And i believe Joan Jett exclusively plays the Les Paul as well.

[Andy2k64]

I think the Michael Jackson comparisons are ridiculous! they are totally different famous for different reasons. I think Les Paul was very modest and humble which is why you didn't see him all the time. Because they have both died recently it hardly warrants a comparison. If you want to pay respect do so but you don't have to disrespect the dead to get a point across

[Oyface]

Lord_Doku wrote:

Jan Akkerman. If you've never heard of him, hes a Dutch guitar legend.

Uhhm, corect me if i'm wrong, but is he the guy from Hocus Pocus?

[Oyface]

Oyface wrote:

Lord_Doku wrote:

Jan Akkerman. If you've never heard of him, hes a Dutch guitar legend.

Uhhm, corect me if i'm wrong, but is he the guy from Hocus Pocus?

I ment Focus xD

[ihavenoname93]

FlyingPirahna wrote:

syngates07 wrote:

DrakeTheOne wrote:

Damn man. I wish they put more about this. I mean Micheal Jackson dies and the world stops. A real legend dies and noone cares. WTF man

well michael was the king of pop, if you remember. the whole idea of pop is to appeal to the mainstream, which michael did amazingly. les was an innovator mainly for musicians. both made amazing impacts on modern music as we know it today.

WE wouldn't have ROCK if it wasn't for Les Paul. How many bands can you think of that use the electric guitar?

les paul didnt invent the electric guitar

[born-chaos]

[quote]Geothermal wrote:

Geothermal wrote:

Shame they had to make this more about Slash rather than Les Paul, coulda mentioned his name in the title at least :/

In the non-guitar context... yeah im a dipshit[/quote

I read the biggest article I think i've ever seen on ultimate guitar yesterday about Les Paul and his life,its in the interviews section. It takes like half an hour to read but its definitely worth it]

[avengedchicken]

Fender vs Gibson?

Guitars are all opinion...different legends = different guitars.

i.e. i think all Fenders and most Gibsons are ass-ugly (with full respect to the late Les Paul). ESPs and Schecters rock the best...although I think most of UG users would disagree.

Music, guitars, whether or not you think Michael Jackson was a weird, overated pedophile...its all opinion...and not worth this much space on a blog.

[KanNNiBaL]

Haunt3dAng3l wrote:

I'm not going to deny the importance of Les Paul himself.

But am I the only one who thinks his guitars are a bit over rated?

no, you are not, personally, i don't like LP's

[AngryGoldfish]

What a man.

[Torres7]

I love Les Paul. Rest in peace.

P.S : Eric Clapton use Fender