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In the early 1950s, the Gibson Guitar Corporation was thrown for a loop when Fender released the exceedingly popular Telecaster electric guitar. Gibson had long held a reputation for producing high-end instruments – especially electric guitars. Most historians agree that Gibson produced the first commercially successful electric guitar, the ES-150, which debuted in 1936. After enjoying such a successful reputation for so long, there’s no question that the introduction of the trend-setting Telecaster put pressure on Gibson to come up with something new. Around this same time, Ted McCarty became president of Gibson. Knowing that his company needed something spectacular to go up against Fender, McCarty enlisted the help of inventor, jazz guitarist and innovative musician Les Paul. Paul had been tinkering with guitar design for many years already – in fact, one of his designs was rejected by Gibson between 1945 and 1946. McCarty felt that having such a legendary name on Gibson’s newest line of guitars would help enhance its image. The collaboration between Les Paul, McCarty and Gibson resulted in the Gibson Les Paul line of guitars. Right from the start, Gibson wanted its newest line of guitars to be well made, expensive and of the utmost quality. With Les Paul’s name tacked on, the company was sure that it would have a winner on its hands. From the get-go, the Gibson Les Paul boasted a solid body design, a glued-in or set-in neck and a curved body shape that would become signature across the line. Unlike other electric slash guitar gibson– most notably Fender models – the Les Paul’s strings were mounted on top of the guitar body, instead of through it. Customization and innovation were trademarks of the Gibson Les Paul line from the beginning. Each model came with many different decorative levels and finishes. A wide range of color options was always available; Les Paul himself favored a gold finish, but colors like Classic White, Ebony, Alpine White, Fire Burst and Wine Red were generally offered. A vast array of hardware options was always par for the course with Les Paul models, too. Most significantly, though, a dizzying selection of electric pick-up options was always available. This fact alone is a huge part of the reason for the slash guitar enduring popularity – new pick-up options were always being developed. Do you want to know more about guitars, pls visit: http://www.vintageguitarhome.com/Fender-J5-Telecaster-Copy-For-Sale_643.html
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