The earliest electrified guitars

To understand what Les Paul achieved, it is important to transport yourself back to the early 1900's. Swing and Big Band music had replaced the earlier orchestras and were much louder, and the the guitarist was playing mostly rhythm and was in the background. As the bands became bigger, a purely non-amplified instrument could not be heard over the band. There were early attempts at creating an electrified guitar, most notably the Rickenbacker "Frying Pan." But there is a problem with a hollow bodied guitar. They all feed back because the hollow nature of the instrument causes it to resonate when amplified.
Les had experimented with hollow designs and had encountered this problem. Ever the tinkerer, he stuffed different things, even pouring plaster into a guitar to make it stop feeding back. It was in 1941 that he invented his first semihollow, called "The Log," at the Epiphone plant.

Giving Les Credit:
Now, some say that the earliest electric guitars were the Rickenbacker "Frying Pans" made from cast aluminum and tungsten pickups in 1931, but these were hollow bodied lap steels. But in 1928 at the age of 13 Les Paul applied a phonograph pickup to a Silvertone acoustic guitar he bought for $2.49, which makes him the earliest by 3 years!

Les Paul Highlights

Here are some highlights from Les Pauls life:

1915: The birth of Lester William Polsfuss
1928: Begins performing country music
1928: Sticks a phonograph needle into a Silvertone acoustic guitar
1939: The Les Paul’s jazz trio performs at the White House
1941: Builds 'The Log' at the Epiphone plant
1945: First design rejected by Gibson
1950: The Les Paul Show debuts on NBC Radio
1951: First hit with “How High the Moon”
1952: Gibson releases the Les Paul Guitar, available as a Gold Top
1952: First Patent, for a tailpiece
1953: The Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home television show.
1962: Second Patent awarded
1973: Third patent awarded for an improved electrical pick-up.
1988: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2001: Grammy for technical achievements.
2007: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
2008: Honored as the 2008 American Music Master
2009: Passed away on August 13th, 2009

The Day the Music Died, Les Paul dies August 13th 2009

The Day the Music Died

Les Paul, born Lester William Polfuss on June 9th in 1915, died today August 13th, 2009. His death is the passing of the greatest legend in all of the music and recording industry. His tinkering, begun at an early age, led him to build the first electried guitar called 'The Log' in 1941, and the electric guitar was born.

In the need to electrify the guitar, he developed the steel string to solve the problem of a magnetic pickup. Because of the extra tension due to the strings, he developed the solid body guitar, versus the 'jazz boxes' used up to that point. Gibson approached Les in 1952 and that gave birth to the most iconic electric guitar of all, the 'Les Paul.'

Along the way he was playing and performing, becoming a great talent in the industry and playing with a multitude of groups including his own trio. This led to his own television show that ran for 7 years.

When it comes to recording, Les took a simple mono tape machine and tinkered with it, adding extra heads and stacking machines together. This formed the basis of todays multitrack machines, tape echo, tape delay, overdubbing, all techniques and technologies which make recording today possible.

He also developed the use of 'close miking' which uses multiple microphones and sound sources to create individual tracks which can be addressed separately. There is not a song today that doesn't use this technique.

He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. Every audio engineer, singer, artist, performer or any one that has heard a song played, owes this man their gratitude. For those of us who work in the field, we should mourn his passing and celebrate his life. Without him none of us would be living the life we live today.

For a good look at his life, find the documentary 'Chasing Sound.'

Welcome to the History of Les Paul

Welcome to the history of Les Paul, the legendary inventor and guitarist who gave us rock and roll.