FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Les Paul, Gibson's first solidbody electric guitar, was introduced in 1952. It derived many of its features from Gibson's archtops. However, it wasn't considered a very good guitar until it was fitted with humbucking pickups in 1957 and even then it was a marketing flop and discontinued in 1960. Its popularity skyrocketed when such players as Mike Bloomfield and Eric Clapton began to use it in the mid to late 1960s. Gibson saw fit to reintroduce the model in 1968 and it has remained in the line-up ever since. The modern Les Paul Standard takes its cues from the original model of 1958-59. It has a chunky, rounded neck as the originals did as well as the famous cherry sunburst finish. However, it has been "modernized" with a chrome plated hardware and hotter pickups. Regardless, the Les Paul Standard remains one of the most popular and most important guitar models from rock to blues.

 Body:  Solid; 1-piece mahogany with 2-piece carved maple top, single bound top

 Finish:  Cherry Sunburst, nitrocellulose lacquer

 Neck:  1-piece mahogany, set-in

 Fingerboard:  Indian rosewood, single bound; pearloid trapazoid markers

 Number of Frets:  22

 Pickguard:  Cream, 1-ply plastic

 Bridge:  Tune-o-matic with stop tailpiece, chrome

 Nut:  Plastic

 Tuners:  Grover "Kluson Deluxe" style, chrome

 Pickups:  Two, Gibson 490R and 498T humbucking with adjustable pole pieces, chrome

 Controls:  Tone and volume for each pickup, 3-way pickup selector

 Scale Length:  24 3/4 inches

 Neck Width at Nut:  1 11/16 inches

 Body Width at Lower Bout:  13 inches

 Body Depth:  2 inches

 Weight:  9.5 lb