Some of the world's biggest names in music have lead tributes to Les Paul, the "father of the electric guitar", who died in August 2009 at the age of 94.
The Les Paul Studio enhances the solid, proven design of the world's most famous guitar with a wide choice of finishes, a sleek, no-frills look. The Les Paul Studio is the favorite of guitarists who demand traditional Les Paul performance with a modern attitude.
Les Paul Standard guitars Les Paul Studio series guitars Les Paul Custom guitars Les Paul Classic guitars Les Paul Deluxe series guitars Les Paul Special guitars Les Paul Supreme guitars
As the name indicates, Gibson Les Pauls are manufactured in the United States. Today, the three basic families are the Les Paul Studio, Les Paul Standard, and Les Paul Custom (a rough way of looking at them would be Good, Better, and Best). We'll start with the Les Paul that sets the standard . . . the Les Paul Standard.
Gibson Les Paul Standard ’50s Neck Electric GuitarLes Paul StandardBurstBucker Pro pickups with Alnico 5 magnets - a nearly exact reproduction of the original "Patent Applied For" pickup including mismatched windings, and using wire from original vendor.
Just about every Gibson Les Paul model has a "cousin" that bears the Epiphone name on the headstock. Epiphone got its name from its founder, Epaminodas Stathopoulo, known as "Epi." In the 1930s, Epiphone was a competitor to Gibson, with the two companies going head-to-head with archtop guitars and pickups. In 1957, Gibson acquired Epiphone. In addition to high-quality standup basses, famous guitars from the Epiphone line include the Casino used by The Beatles. Les Paul’s early efforts at making a solid body electric guitar incorporated Epiphone guitars.
Given what we now know about the various Les Paul families and features, we can break them down in the several rough price categories, working our way up from basic, introductory guitars to more fully-featured guitars.
Inexpensive - Epiphone Les Paul Junior or Epiphone LP Special