RIP Les Paul (1 Viewer)

Sad about Les Paul.

I emailed my brother asking if we had managed to move an old Les Paul tube amp that sat around, unused, at the "old house". I wasn't sure if it had made two moves or had been sent to the junk yard. Dad has done shit like that over the years. I guess we all have.

He did regret selling his Gibson Les Paul (L5 ?) guitar some time around when he got married in 1954. Don't know why he kept the amp. It had the "LP" signature (as the image shows) which is also my Mom's married initials. We were easily amused as kids, always thinking that was the connection.

So my brother tells me the amplifier is still around. Probably needs a tube or three replaced. I do remember hooking the plastic Phillips turntable up to it and playing a Spike Jones 78 we had (Glow Worm/Hawaiian War Chant) through it.

I remember Dad, late at night after work, working on this. He played for, as he says, "his own amazement." Les Paul was definitely one of his inspirations.

LP_1952.jpg
 
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I always wanted my first guitar to be a Les Paul, growing up on lots of Slash...However by the time I bought one, went with a Fender strat due to my love of John Frusciante and Stevie Ray Vaughn... Wish I still had that Fender..

R.I.P Les.
 
Yes R.I.P. I'm living in the birthplace of Les Paul, (Waukesha WI). drive the Les Paul Parkway daily. alot of tributes and what not around here tonight and this weekend.
 
First electric guitar I ever "fucked".

that's all I know

Do you have one minute and 21 seconds to see Les Paul's influence on a Fender guitarist ?
[who is not me or anyone i know]

 
I heard about Les Paul passing from NPR. They went through his whole history in about 5 mins.

and #6 that guy in your clip is from Berlin. Very good.
 
I saw some great footage of him and Keith Richards doing a blues jam from a few years ago. Richards will no doubt play until he drops also.
 
I like the fact that after being involved in a severe car accident, he asked the doctor to set his arm permanently in a guitar-playing position. That's what I call a dedicated guitarist!

R.I.P. Les Paul.
 
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A long and productive life, so RIP indeed.

So my brother tells me the amplifier is still around. Probably needs a tube or three replaced.

Digney, that amp looks to be in quite nice condition. Your brother should consider finding a tube expert who might have some period tubes still floating around. Not sure if that's feasible, or how new replacement tubes affect value (I mean, it's the one thing that's designed to be replaced eventually), but that amp could be worth a fair bit.
 
Actually I took that picture off the web. Not sure the condition of the amp we have. Ultimately I wouldn't mind getting the one we have to a good home, someone who cares about that sort of old stuff. But it's not a high priority at the moment.
 
Here is a link to a Les Paul interview from when he was turning 90.
He was a good old boy. They say he used a phonograph needle as a pick up on a guitar. That was so the he could amplify his music at a drive in restaurant he would play at when he was just a child.
 
Old Gibson amps don't have a lot of value, unfortunately. They were never known as a great amp maker. A lot of times in auctions for old Les Paul Juniors and Specials they will throw in the matching period amp as an afterthought...

"This Les Paul Special has been in my neighbor's attic for the past 50 years. He only played it on Christmas and his birthday. Finest condition you will ever see! $25,000. Oh, and he still had the amp too, so you get that as well."

You often find that the less expensive ("less expensive" is relative these days) models - Junior and Special - will sell with an amp that the original owner bought at the same time. But people who bought gold tops or late 50's Les Paul Customs didn't seem to buy them with an amp. But it's more likely that the buyers of the more expensive models were professional musicians, so they may have had different needs or tastes. the Junior and Special were "student" models, so it makes sense that someone setting out to learn would buy an amp when they bought the guitar.

Les Paul was a visionary. You can tell because no one bought Les Paul guitars when they were introduced. Guitar players thought they were weird. The reason a 59 Les Paul sunburst Standard sells for $400,000 is because there were only 300 of them made. They couldn't give the things away. So if we're getting into the time machine to go buy early Bukowski chapbooks for a dollar, you'll forgive me if I disappear for a few hours to hit some music stores.

In 1979 I bought a Les Paul Deluxe and played that for a couple of years, then I found the Juniors and played them for the next -- jeez, I guess it's been 25 years now. My current weapon of choice is a recent vintage Les Paul Junior.

LPjunior.jpg


I have owned and sold about half a dozen late 50's Juniors, all before they became really valuable (naturally). But soon I may have to spring for a custom shop Special

LPspecial.jpg


and set the Junior free.

So yeah, Les Paul. Quite a character. You could play some of his early multi-track records at a rave or wherever the kids go these days to listen to synthetic music, and they would think they were listening to some analog steampunk artiste. Seriously, they are that fast and weird and electronic sounding.

---

Okay, I offer this image to you for your mocking pleasure. It's me and the Deluxe that I bought when I was 19. I am rocking the late 70's cut off Levis and tank top. That's how awesome I was.

deluxe.jpg


---

And, finally, to make this thread even more about ME than Les Paul, here is ME again, rocking the LP Deluxe in St. Louis and at NYC's CBGB.

mjpbgh.jpg
mjpcbgb.jpg


Okay. That's enough ME for now. I must go find another topic to take over and make ME the focus. Thank you.
 
I am rocking the late 70's cut off Levis and tank top.

don't overlook the 'period' hair - all hail the feathered centerpart!
take that david cassidy!

...i can mock it cause i had it EXACTLY the same.
 
I don't think it was feathered, technically, because I probably cut it myself. But yeah, it is definitely period. Or new-retro or something. I think I saw a kid with the same haircut and outfit the other day.
 
RIP.

On another forum, a douchbag put a photo of James Hetsfield (with a Les Paul) and wrote "RIP". So that I first thought that James died, before reading the following posts !

Okay, I offer this image to you for your mocking pleasure. It's me and the Deluxe that I bought when I was 19. I am rocking the late 70's cut off Levis and tank top. That's how awesome I was.
Pfff, you didn't even have long hair. :p
The guy in black physically reminds me of Nick Cave, same thin and long body.
 
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Pfff, you didn't even have long hair.
Here you go, baby.

v006-172x293.jpg


I'm still waiting for that sandwich.

But before you make it, you may want to start a thread about how great I am, and how much you love me. The people like to see things like that. It helps them to properly idolize me.
 

well, I for one think that is a photoshop job!

not for one second do I believe you played CBGBs!

I say nay!

but, perhaps if I heard evidence to sway me, say a soundboard recording from said alleged show, then maybe I could be convinced.

but only until then!
 
Oddly enough, I do have a board tape of that show. It is in a box with 50 other cassettes that I am going to send off to be digitized after I win the lottery.

I had Ambreen go through my extensive archives and prepare this scan for you, naysayer:

voicecbgb.jpg
 
i've always been an sg man myself... les pauls are too heavy. but my brother bought a les paul standard back when he was well-moneyed, and it's a great guitar, just not my choice.
 
In all my years of playing, I've never played a Les Paul (to my recollection). I did play an SG (red with black PG) back in about '79 at a friend's house and it was nice. Played like buttah and real tight sound. I believe it was originally his older brother's, so it was probably a late 60's/early 70's model.

Dude ended up driving his car into another vehicle (or something stationary) in about 1982 at high speed and I'm not sure if he even plays anymore.
 
I've mostly been a Les Paul player. Started at age 15 with a cheap knockoff brand called "Lark" that was pretty iffy, with bad intonation. Once I found steady work and my reputation* started getting me lots of side gigs, I bought the real thing. A 1981 cream/ivory-colored Les Paul w/flight case included. Never had to jump a plane to make a gig, but man I was ready !

The best Les Paul I ever played was a 1959(?) gold-top. I swear that thing did half the work with a perfect fretboard, intonation, and ..... everything. Played that fucker through a vintage Fender Twin too, with that righteous tube sound. My only regret was not being able to buy it.

* By reputation I mean average-to-above-average skills with a good attitude and lack of ego. Work comes fast with that combination. Remember that, kids.
 
Hey ! I want to be paid back ! No long hair anywhere, just an insignificant red cross !

I had Ambreen go through my extensive archives and prepare this scan for you, naysayer:
Yeah, true. But what our fallen rock star is hiding you is that he's employed me to make fake archives.
The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Television and so many others played in the mythical CBGB. But mjp, never, only in his craziest dreams. That frustrates him a lot, so he's rewriting his past with my help (he told me he would introduce me to the attractive man in black in return). He didn't keep his promise so I'm now retaliating.
 
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les pauls are too heavy.
That's why the Juniors and Specials are great. They are very light weight (and that has a lot to do with the out of control kind of sound you can get from them, with the single coil P90s).

Gibson has been "chambering" Les Pauls for many years to reduce their weight. Chambering basically means leaving big empty spaces in the body under the carved top. They claim these voids are scientifically and acoustically mapped out, but most people who really want a Les Paul sound will avoid the newer, lighter models and buy vintage or cu$tom $hop.

Your Deluxe is very nice, but the LP your other bandmate is playing is really hot. Love me some grey/green burst.
It was a grey Les Paul Custom, yeah. Well, they call it "silverburst," and it was a pretty unusual finish to see at the time. He loved that guitar, but someone stole it from him at a gig somewhere. He had to go buy a replacement, which is a painful proposition when you're replacing a 20-25 year old guitar.

Buying replacement gear is painful in any event. I don't even want to think about how much money I've spent buying back vintage gear that I sold to pay rent, or dumped thinking I would never use it again. One of the disadvantages of age.
 
Les Paul will be buried Friday in Waukesha
By Jackie Loohauis-Bennett of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Aug. 17, 2009 4:30 p.m.

Les Paul, "the Wizard of Waukesha" who pioneered the development of the solid-body electric guitar, will be interred at Waukesha's Prairie Home Cemetery on Friday, the cemetery manager, David Brenner, said Monday.

Paul, a Waukesha native, died of pneumonia Aug. 13 at age 94 in a hospital in White Plains, N.Y. He lived in Mahwah, N.J.

The Gibson Guitar company, known worldwide for its Les Paul Gibson guitar, announced last week that services honoring Paul would be held in New York City, where Paul performed, and in Waukesha.

Asked whether services in Waukesha would be public or private, Brenner said: "It's anticipated there will be a service at Prairie Home Cemetery, but details are pending."
 

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