While Les recognized that solid-bodies were the future of electric guitar production, though, Gibson didn’t initially share his enthusiasm. They ridiculed the concept and rejected the prototype.
Flash forward to 1951, however, and the guitar market was a very different place. Fender’s newly named “Telecaster” was creating a small storm in the guitar-playing world, proving that Les Paul’s solid-bodied vision wasn’t as out there as Gibson first thought. Unsurprisingly, that same year, Ted McCarty and his team began work on what would eventually become the Les Paul model… read more >
