Legends of the Paul
       13 Players Who Defined the Las Paul's Classic Sound

                          By the staff of Guitar Player 

                Duane Allman
                Jeff Beck
                Michael Bloomfield
                Eric Clapton
                Al DiMeola
                Ace Frehley
                Billy Gibbons 
                                       Peter Green
                                       Freddie King
                                       Jimmy Page
                                       Mick Ronson
                                       Slash
                                       Hubert Sumlin
                                       New Kids on the Paul 


                 From Guitar Player, December '98

                 Everything about the Les Paul says "glorious." It's brawny and sexy, and
                 can sing like an angel or invoke Thor's mighty thunder. It's a totem you
                 can hang around your neck to symbolize power and grace. And, though
                 many of its most well-known proponents have been Brits, it's one of the
                 finest examples of classic form-follows-function American design. 

                 Of course, none of this was appreciated when the first Pauls were issued
  in 1952. The guitar was an "artist model" -- an attempt by Gibson to hitch its first solidbody to
  the success of then-popular recording artist Les Paul. Although the guitar sold relatively well
  and was favored by top '50s players such as Freddie King and Carl Perkins, Gibson put the
  kibosh on the Les Paul series in 1963. (See "You've Come a Long Way, Baby!" on p. 94 for the
  whole story.) 

  Unfortunately, the stuff that the Les Paul does best -- its singing sustain, chunk-style bottom
  end (ideal for power chords), and creamy blues expressivity -- had no place in the popular
  music of the '50s. The Les Paul was a rebel without a cause. 

  But when the electric blues and rock explosion happened in the mid '60s, Gibson's hardbody
  found its calling. No other guitar could cry or moan in quite the same way, and the Paul
  became the favorite of the era's top rockers -- Michael Bloomfield and Eric Clapton. Following
  these pioneering Paulsters' lead, other players took up the Les Paul and found more magic
  sounds (Duane Allman's jelly roll slide, Billy Gibbons' squealing Texas tornado, and Al
  DiMeola's blistering jazz-rock volleys, to mention a few). 

  That's the Les Paul's gift: A Paul always sounds like itself, but its variety of tones -- rich,
  throaty, thunderous, squawky -- is malleable enough to let players find their own personal
  voices. 

  The Paul slingers profiled here are players we feel have used the Les Paul to express
  themselves in ways that they couldn't have on other guitars. Some built their whole careers
  around Pauls; for others, the Les Paul was just a passing fancy. But in each case, the guitar
  and the music are inseparable. 



 


  SLASH 

  In the Jan. '94 issue of GP, Slash claimed to own 81 guitars. But for the ex-Guns N' Roses lead
  guitarist, his first and still favored 6-string is a handmade '59 yellow flame-top Les Paul replica
  (built by Max Guitars). When you listen to the unforgettable opening lick for "Sweet Child o'
  Mine," you're hearing that prized guitar at its finest. 

  Les Pauls, Marshall half-stacks, Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings, and super-rigid Dunlop
  Tortex picks are the key ingredients of Slash's famed sound. In addition to his Max guitar,
  Slash has a penchant for vintage Pauls, including a tobacco-burst '59 once owned by Joe
  Perry, a '58 sunburst, and yet another '59 with original pickups, hardware, and finish. For GN'R
  tours, Slash's main guitar was an '85 Standard, which was subjected to so much bashing and
  hard strumming that, in 1994, he said, "It looks like it's 25 years old at this point." 

  Marshall made a limited-edition version of their Jubilee Anniversary amp called the Slash
  Signature, and Gibson even made an attempt at a Slash Signature series Les Paul. But aside
  from a few goldtops used live, the new Pauls didn't quite capture his heart like the vintage
  versions. 

  Nowadays, Slash and his mighty Pauls are an in-demand commodity around the globe. The
  tonal team can be heard on his own Slash's Snakepit records and on albums by hip-hoppers
  Insane Clown Posse, Spanish star Maria Sanchez, Alice Cooper, Lenny Kravitz, and ex-GN'R
  rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. Michael Jackson personally called Slash and agreed to postpone
  his album Dangerous so that Slash could add his signature wail to one song (which led to
  further wailing on Jackson's HIStory). 

  Prime Paul Cuts. With Guns N' Roses: "Paradise City," "Sweet Child o' Mine," "Welcome to
  the Jungle," Appetite for Destruction; "Perfect Crime," "Right Next Door to Hell," Use Your
  Illusion I; "Breakdown," "Civil War," Use Your Illusion II. With Slash's Snakepit: "Be the Ball,"
  "Beggars & Hangers-On," "Good to Be Alive," It's Five O'clock Somewhere. With Lenny
  Kravitz: "Fields of Joy," Mama Said. -- KS