Episode 21 - The Story of My Les Paul
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- In today's episode, I wanted to break down a few of the reasons I love my Gibson Les Paul so much, including the cool story of how I came to own it, and a few of the things I've changed on it along the way to make it the (almost) perfect guitar for my needs.
Again, sorry about the autofocus on this one, hopefully you can make it through and enjoy the episode anyway! I'll see you in focus on the next one... :-)
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Cheers,
Jack
Still the most iconic and epic electric guitar!
16:06 That smile says it all 😎
Thanks for the story. My grandmother passed away in '92, when I was 15, and she left me the money to buy, specifically, a Les Paul. I also was really into Page and Slash, so she knew that would be my choice. I played every Les Paul in town, and ironically, the best playing and sounding was a Studio. Almost 30 years later now, and I still play that guitar every day.
You're probably one of the most accomplished guitarist I've seen in my life. You really know how to get the full strength of every guitar you play! Great stuff man, your channel and Peach's are pure joy for me.
Keep it up
One of the most tasteful and talented players I’ve seen. Great stuff Jack ✊🏻
Wow. That’s a great dad. Nice story and what a great guitar. Awesome as usual Jack.
Jimmy Page and Duane Allman are my guitar idols. Why I play a les paul. I just love all of the tonal ranges I can get out of it. Especially just from playing with the volume and tone knobs (50s wiring). I love the clean tones and it screams with over drive. It just feels like a monster and looks so so so cool. It's a work of art the way it's made. It's the coolest guitar i've ever seen and I get so much enjoyment out of playing mine.
My first was a Black Beauty copy bought in 1974. I now have a couple of Gibson Custom Shop Les Pauls, my favorite being a GO which is a replica of a 1960 Les Paul that was displayed at the Hollywood Guitar Center. Absolutely love that thing.
do you have any videos? Id love to hear it!
@@thezosokid Yeah ua-cam.com/video/YHLv8F7TtkM/v-deo.html
Nice story: thanks for sharing Jack ! It took no less than 48 years to find mine. An R9, all stock with CustomBuckers. I used to have a '69 LP that I had fitted with Bill Lawrence double bladed pickups and a phase inverter. It was my main guitar for years, but it was (very) heavy and the neck carve wasn't that comfortable. With my actual R9, everything is perfect. It has the honk, the growl, the clarity and screaming tones one would expect from a LP. It is made of solid mahogany but still light, and the neck carve fits to my hand as if it was made to measure. Plus it has the nicest flame I've ever seen on a LP top. Love it and shall keep it until my grandson inherits it ;-) Good choice these 10-48 strings. Gives a very good balance in feel and tone. If I can advise you, keep those Klusons. I had swapped them for Grovers on my previous one and regretted it afterwards but couldn't turn back: the holes in the headstock had been enlarged. For the record (and little story) I bought my R9 from the gentleman who supplied Kirk Hammett with Greenie (discovered it later ;-) Keep those vids coming Jack: great playing ! Cheers
You got any pics of that R9? You got me all intrigued haha. Instagram perhaps? Funnily enough I've just picked up my dream Les Paul too. Just done an unboxing video of on my channel if you fancy taking a look.
@@TonyEmeryGuitar I’m going to your channel to have a look
I'm really loving my Epiphone Limited-Edition 1959 Les Paul Standard. Your demo of it on Peach Guitars inspired me to get it!
Great story. Thanks for sharing. I bought my 1st LP by mail order from a Music Store in Philadelphia Pennsylvania (a new Gibson Black Beauty Custom) over 40 years ago when I was in my senior year at a Texas University. I bought mine with money I made at an after-school job. The frets were the "fretless wonder" type that did not work for rock music. Ended up selling it five years later.
Great video, great story! I have a 94 heritage cherry burst, LP, great guitar. I recently bought a squire 50’s classic vibe Strat, and what blew me away was How natural theStrat felt in my hands, it was instantaneous the second I picked it up. But you are right, it doesn’t matter what names on the headstock it’s the feel and the tone to your ear that makes it your guitar. I never thought I would put down my Les Paul for a squire, but it blew me away I guess you just never know
what a beautiful story
....
Got to say I have the exact same taste in guitar, love everything in this video, very honest and real, find that quite rare these days on youtube
I've had a Les Paul tribute for about 4 months and my favorite sound is both pickups on with the volume and tone controls wide open.
The new Tributes are great!
You remind me of me when I was younger. ;) My LP story is parents bought me a Hohner LP copy for xmas one year (14 yrs old), worked as a janitor after school 3 hours a day ($4.25/hr), saved enough for a new '79 LP custom (silverburst, $620 out the door), rode it home on my bike. That was my everything guitar. Currently have a 2004 standard (50's fatter neck) bought new, played a ton, refret with stainless (don't do that) and now has throbak pickups in it. Got a new LP custom a couple years ago. Nothing else really sounds like a LP. If I have "tips", I'd say try dialing in the amp with the bridge tone control on say 5, and then the extra brightness when you switch to the neck is really helpful in making the guitar sound good across both pickups. You'll probably find you lose some volume on the bridge pickup and compensate for that by lowering the neck pickup. You can also make the neck pickup a little brighter by unscrewing the pole pieces a little. Milage will vary depending on pickups and wiring, but it can really help balance the tonality of the guitar overall and make the whole thing more useable in general. Nice vid, nice playing, and nice tone.
Totally agree! To me, the perfect Les Paul sound is bright and clear, Tele-Ish but fatter. I usually put a lower output neck pickup to tame the low end a bit and have a nicer clean sound. With the right OD, the neck pickup can even sound straty if you manage to control the mids on the amp! Very versatile when you understand how to play with the tone and volume controls. And its middle position is unique and offers a lot on tonal possibilities!
***and the tobacco burst Les Paul is the best looking guitar in my humble opinion :)
@@pascal006
Your cherry burst is a real looker as well!
Hi Jack. I've just purchased a 58 on the strength of one of your demos. Can't wait to receive it and get wailing!!! Many thanks and rock on🤘🤘😊
Congrats Matt, you’ll love it! 👌
Top story, top bloke, top parents - some real life lessons taught there about value and sentiment. You got yourself a Sub my friend.
Hell yea! That intro KILLED!
Stormy Mondays in that tobacco burst makes a lot of sense
I couldn’t agree more. I’m not sure after owning more than 15 Gibson Les Paul’s and never owning a custom shop what the magic is? I lived right down the road from Gibson for 14 yrs and relocated up north. A few years later I was invited for a factory tour of all the Nashville facilities. Great experience. However my questions are as follows...I have a 2000 Gibson Les Paul Studio, 2004 Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960 and a 2018 Gibson Les Paul Traditional. My Studio and Classic sustains the most great mid punch and my Traditional does not. I even put 498t and 490r in my Traditional but can’t get the tone or sustain. Is it the bridge hardware material, potentiometers or wiring? Thank for the great video Jack! Good story too!
What a great story man, and fantastic playing as always
That's a beauty with monste tone, thx Jack
Loving the soft focus shots mate... cool tones
Man it is a beauty and a beast all in one,cheers!
Great video thank you.... The Gibson Les Paul inspired me as well
Intro jam is epic!!
@JackGriffiths I know Hugh whom used to run Shugz looms. He yells me today hello to you and he's glad you are still using the loom
Love these stories man. Keep it up.
God forbid your house should ever be on fire, but Jack you're wrong. If in that perilous moment you had to choose only one of your guitars, you would actually grab the 335. ;-)
I’ve got two hands, I suppose!
I am a Tobacco Burst fan Also! Great Playing As Always!
Being a lefty the choice of Custom Les Pauls is more limited than for righties. Luckily Peach stock lefty Gibson Custom Les Pauls so I was able to try 3 different guitars. While they were all great I was able to find my special one (a 60th anniversary 1959). I have kept it stock except for removing some of the stickiness on the back of the neck which I find a lot of the new Custom Gibsons have. D’addario NYXL 10-46
are my preferred stings (although I also like a German brand called Pyramid).
Great as always!
Good colour choice 👍 Perry, Frehley, Slash and Griffiths🚀
Amazing guitar dude & great playing 👌👌
I had the same idea when I got my first electric guitar - a 96' Korean made Epiphone Les Paul. I replaced the plastic style tuners - I could never keep that thing in tune with those, and put some Pings on there. Stays in tune great now. I've tried all types of string gauges, tunings, nothing ever goes wrong with it. Finally I replaced the switch after 25 years. I have more expensive guitars but it always feels like coming home when I play that one. I really like having a trem system so for that its not great (thinking of maybe getting a Wolfgang Special to get the best of both worlds, no pun intended). I love my strat but I think the 24.75" scale length is a little easier to play. Or it could just be the guitar. I've tried plenty of Gibsons and I would put mine up against many of them when it comes to tone and playability. One friend of mine got a black Gibson Les Paul Studio or something, I thought my Epiphone played much better, like not even close. But that was years ago. I haven't tried wrapping the strings around the bridge, might do that.
Tasty playing Jack! On the cheaper side of Les Paul I'm going with a Special (slab mahogany - no maple cap) with Burstbucker 2&3 pickups with the Nashville tuneomatic
LP R8, I mean, thats my dream guitar. I will probably went with lemon burst, but that Tobacco burst is classy and classic ;).
ps: aint finnishes outside cherry burst very much also relics? 😁
ps2: to me, LP sound is Clapton on Beano album first track 😎 So far, I only have Epi LP, but I love it. I feel like until you go at least to Standard Gibson LP, the price jump is unjust. Played in my life 1 custom shop LP and that time had bit of a breakdown, as non guitar sounded lively to me.
That intro was just INSANE. 🤣 crikeeeey.
So what is the secret in keeping LP and SG's in tune.......?
Do you mind losing the fret edge binding when you refret your guitar?
Nice to hear a younger player stating that Ace Frehley was one of his role models. He has been mine as well, though I'm a lot older than you Jack. Have to say though, that I don't hear that so much in your playing. Why is that?
This one really surprised me just watching you demo guitars through Peach Guitars I would’ve guessed that a telecaster would’ve been your first love. It’s a great guitar and thanks for sharing it’s story with us. 🤘🏻
Have you ever played a PRS single cut 🤷🏻♀️
Its all about jimmy page for me. LP is my #1 R0
Hey id make faces to if i had to play a Les Paul...which would never ever happen!!!
Jimmy Page is PICASSO, Ace Frehley is a house painter.
Cause it won't stay in tune?
having good parents is more valuable than any guitar on the planet xx
Such a great history. In my case, I got my r9 exclusively for its clean tones. I just love the true acoustic natural of the instrument projected.
I always like to hear the story of how one obtains their preferred guitar🎸
Expensive instrument. Great parents.
Great video, Jack. Love that guitar. I agree with you on the LP being the most versatile guitars on the market. I have a 94 standard in tobacco burst. It belonged to my brother who passed away in 99. I recently swapped out the pickups for a set of Duncan antiquities and put a vintage style harness with bumblebee caps in. It’s absolutely rocking. Keep up the good work, dude 🤟
I totally understand the tobacco burst thing. I've been hunting "the one" for years after letting it go. Finally ended up with a Traditional and just love it. Tobacco bursts are the bee's knees!
Tobacco burst n Cherry 🍒 Burst are my 2 Favorites
I have a 2011 R8 vos in iced tea. Stays in tune perfectly with a huge neck. Pick ups are burstbuckers I believe. Great guitars and one of the few I've ever gotten on with. My pick ups are quite low output which I actually prefer. Loads of dynamic range. This period of R8's defo worth hunting down for those not totally sure about les Paul's.
Jack, you are easily one of the best guitarists on the internet. Within seconds you go from one style to the next gracefully. Perfect blend of shred and tastefulness, making one musical statement after another. Very humbling to watch you play and I love the story of your guitar. Cheers mate👊
Sorry for disjointed post but om writing this on my phone UA-cam app whilst watching your vid on TV ..
Love LP story and your parents. I too had incredibly supportive parents ...I remember my dad borrowing £60 of hid brother when I was only 14 to buy me a second hand AC30 that I then used for at least 4/5 years because he was a miner not earning much and it was for my first local gig not first gig in my village of Measham.
My Les Paul is a 1983 std tobacco sunburst ... the ones they fitted Bill Lawrence pickups to for a short time ..it was loaned to me for a session back in the late 90s... and my friend Kenny Pickering who was suffering from MS had three Les Pauls ... i picked this one .it has the original pickups in the case. But had replacement ones in do not know what they were , but I put the originals back in .
Kenny let me keep it to use and a few years later I asked him how much I could buy it of him and he said to me ..." I will never take any money off you for that Guitar !!! And he would not be moved on that ...
Amazing.....
I tried a set of JB Seymour's on it a few years ago but the Bill Lawrence ones just sounded so much better
Apologies long story..
Also I wired it out of phase in the middle
Love it
Great story, and great sounding guitar. 🥰 On a side note. Jack knows Joss Allen...😳 Full circle! 🙌🏻
Your Dad is such a joker 😂 excellent results son...but they’ve sold your guitar to Australia
Jack can you share where you got the electronics with the push pull pot and did you have to turn the magnet around on the neck pick up to get the out of phase, thanks Mate, awesome video as always
Hey Rich, I had a guitar tech just install the pot for me and use it to reverse the phase electronically using the pickup cabling. No reversal of the magnet required!
Jacky Boy, your old man should be very proud of you. Uncle Gazza.
Love that story Jack, I’m so happy to have found your channel, very inspiring, humble and very talented. Cheers from TO 🇨🇦
Love that power chord slide man that’s a neat trick I’ll have to tey
I have four Les Pauls. A 1973 Les Paul Custom, 1994 Goldtop Classic, 2000 Black Standard, and a 2011 Junior. All stock, nothing changed.....well except the 73. The only thing stock on it is the neck and body haha. I love Les Pauls. So versitle. So many cool sounds. I wanted one cause of Slash, Doug Aldrich and Jimmy Page. Plug them all into some sort of marshall....and yes please.
Super interesting video... and the "australian" Story is wonderful... back in the days i bought a 78 tobacco sunburst Les Paul... had it just for a few months before it was stolen in Hamburg 1993. I love the neck pickup sound of the still got the blues era of Gary Moore. Sounds like an "ü" for me. i don't know how english speaking people would pronounce this letter. cool video. greetz ✌🏼Best example for me is Parisienne Walkways Gary Moore ZDF Rockpop 1983. Almost like a panflute sound.
UA-cam finally recommended Episode 1, and I watched it this morning. In it you describe your goals for this channel and these episodes. I understand better that this is your humble person/person channel and you save your intense productions for professional applications. I have been hoping to see more intense jams but will be happy with discussions instead. Best wishes Jack and Co. Happy Holidays to you and yours. ❤️
Nothing, hands down , beats the tone of a Les Paul. Kossoff, Page, Dickie Betts and now Joe B are some of my fave Les Paul players and I have two: 58 Custom Shop Murphy Aged Reissue and 59 Collectors Choice #2 Goldie. IMHO, It’s the most iconic and beautiful guitar of all time.
Dude, Les Pauls are a different whole world... It even gives me anxiety. It's a guitar full of nuances, with perfect imperfections that makes it unique and charismatic. BUT get ready to fight with pickups and screws heights... You will have too much of a thing and after a quarter turn of a screw you will have 0 of that thing. Mine is a Japanese Tokai that I put Throbak pickups in because of how good it sounds unplugged. Plus, it's very easy to play... So easy that if you're not focused it's very easy to end up playing badly.
Awesome vid dude. Really thinking about getting a LP. I have Suhr Strat which I do love, but I'm just really leaning towards swapping it for a Les Paul.
Random question but do you miss the trem arm?
love yr playing bro.
good luck on yr post Peach journey. 👊
I own since new 2013 Epiphone les paul 1960 outfit which came with switcraft switch and gibson 57 classic PUs. I did upgrade the bridge and stoptail to Gotoh and bone nut. Great ugprades!! but when I put in SD skinnerburst Bonamassa PUs and proper 50s wiring (Acys guitars) guitar rocks like a hell! Sounds so warm and vintage and sustains for ages! Even clean sounds are amazing for jazz stuff! Rock on, guys!!
Jack your story really resonated with me. When I was 18 my grandfather bought me a Fender Classic Player 60's Strat (widely considered some of the best guitars to ever come out Fender Mexico, and has custom shop 69 pickups) in almost that exact same finish as your Les Paul there, but with an off-white "mint green pickguard". A few years later my grandfather passed away, so I always think of him whenever I play that strat.
I had a similar experience when I was the same age. Albeit my budget was vastly reduced and I had to sell my Flying V to get half way to the price of the Epiphone Les Paul I had my eye on. Me and my Dad went round Edinburgh and I played every one until I found the one. I still have it. I hope one day I can have a real one, but for now this one is fine and it’s served me well for 15 years. Yours is a beauty tho, I’d defo go for the Tobacco burst.
Jack, always such great playing. Thanks for the ongoing inspiration.
That story about the Australian guy that bought that guitar is really funny. Great story! Wonderful parents. I still remember when my older brother was 16 and asked for his most desired amp: a Fender The Twin red knobs (very famous in the eighties). He was very good at school so my parents decided to purchase that big and superheavy amp. Our parents got us in the car and we made hundreds of kilometres through Italy to reach one of the most famous guitar shop in Italy back then (Emporio musicale senese in Siena, Tuscany) and buy that beast. I was... still wasn't a teen, just a kid and had never seen so many guitars and amps before. I was SO impressed... the colours I watched, the sounds I heard, the smell, the brands...
Well, thanks too to that first parental input, both him and I are now guitars and amps collectors and players. Music is one of the best way to enjoy our own life.
Here’s the best LP tone I’ve ever heard : ua-cam.com/video/R_AeOCxiv_c/v-deo.htmlsi=HvjM0PP81rsKrCi9 (I’m talking about Robben). The snap he gets on the low notes…sounds like single coils…tone is really in the hands…
Bare Knuckle Pickups Black Dog in the Bridge position in mine!!! Love it!!!
Great story. You are deeply emotionally invested in that guitar and that adds to how you play it.
I cannot find a dark burst like yours,I have 2018 goldtop Brazil,2018 59 Brazilian vintage cherry but can’t find dark bursts
I have to LP's. a 1986 prehistoric reissue nice and light crazy flame top, cost nearly 7 grand but worth it. The Shaws to me get the top end you need and the air around the notes with the hollow woody sound. The other is a Tokai LS-200 from 1985, also nice and light and with Arcane pickups nails early 72 Page tone. I've had maybe 26-27 custom shops and settled on these two.
Hey man! first a Big THANK YOU from Niagara Falls Canada -
I have burning questions ALL about your Les paul, I just got into the LP style guitar world and I REALLY
*need your help*
My *Les paul won't stay in tune* and I don't want to put thicker strings , my guitar has a decent spec to it and i like my guitars to play smooth/ easy with 9-46 i don't usually go up string gages from that.
(Please read bellow🙏🏻)!
*
*How do you keep the damn thing in tune so well?*
I have an unsung Canadian les paul I.e the godin LG same gibson short scale and it really is not holding tune despite a graptech tusq nut that it came with and schaller tulip style kluson tuners. Almost every time when I whack a big G chord or play a fast lick followed by a big bend it falls out.
:
- Right now I have 9-46 strings on it right now.
so im wondering :
- What can I do next ?
- Do I have to swap out these pesky tulip tuners ? Yours seem to do the job, how ?
- I like big behind the nut ( fake whammy bar !) bends famously done by John Sykes and mastered by Phil X too so tuning is really important..
- using like 12 gauge strings is not an option i play on my esp vintage plus HSS superstrat with 9-46 so jumping up so many string gaiges probably will feel crazy stiff and just uncomfortable to play.
- do I need to just jump ship altogether and get 3 on 3 modern staggered locking tuners by schaller hipshot etc quality locking tuners and ditch the vintage ones if nothing else works ?
***
I am new to the les paul game, have played superstrats since I started but the godin single cut LG caught my eye for price specs and looking unique in a cool way
( I think prs's are tacky looking and gibsons are too classic everyone has one and I wanted to try a different kind of single cut).
*
I really look forward to hearing some advice from you about the above ^ the Godin LG feels phenomenal of the damn thing would just stay in tune it would be my next main player. Until I figure out these tuning woes I've just been playing my strat.
*
Just looking for some clarity and I thought there was no one better to ask who is a bit more familiar in dialing in these beasts.
Your big heavy and underrated riffs you play on it and candid videos of you sharing your secrets, playing style and lessons in general are a real treat - the les paul specifically yours looks like it plays in your wheel house 100% so I hope you can tell me all the ins and out about keeping it in tune.
.
Thanks in advance for any help and advice; stay safe keep rocking and giving us this amazing content my friend.
All the best 🤘🏻🙏🏻
- Adam
I agree the les paul is the Swiss Army knife of guitars BUT……I owned an Eastman LP59 sunburst and boy was it good I’d say as good as an R9 for a fraction of the money.
Gorgeous tone, but this could have been a much shorter more effective video,
if you made your points concisely with less waffle.
More words do not = more intelligence.
[I've noticed this tendency of yours in previous videos]
It's the equivalent of an over indulgent many minutes too long lead solo jam
which needs to be ruthlessly edited down to just a few killer bars in the final mix.
Yes, I'm a grumpy impatient old bloke with not a lot of time left.
But you have potential to be a significant UA-camr if you care to improve your presentation.
This is intended as constructive criticism.
Very Rare Les Paul ua-cam.com/video/DOPvIdlH6B8/v-deo.html
Absolutely fantastic Les Paul.
Jack,..What is your opinion on the Boogie Fillmore 25 ? Where does it rank on your list ? Thanks
hey Jack, what is the finish on the pickup cover? love it that it doesnt reflect like a mirror. is it raw nickel? maybe something aged?
it would be great to see you and jos playing together one day jack.
I have been watching Joss for years on UA-cam and it would be great to have you two do a video together. Two awesome players that seem like really nice people.
Happy to be like 1000 for this video. Just become a recent subscriber. You have some proper talent there young man.
I'll take a Strat (Hendrix, Gilmour, and SRV) over a Les Paul (Page, Frehley and Slash) any day.
Those BKs sound really good Nod to Duanne Allman ?
The R8 is the best value Les Paul Gibson make. If you spend less you get less and if you spend more you gain nothing.
I love your playing. I'm more of a cherry or unburst guy. Never could get into the tobacco bursts.
so you love les paul ... but i thought you like esp too in this video of peach where you made me starve at their guitars..
I put throbak PAFs in my std and it kicks ass yes they were £399 but they are instant mojo.
I don't know which I'm more jealous if his guitar prowess or his great hair
When you stop playing and the smile is still in your face , then you know that this guitar is right for you!
That tone has eric johnson and bonamassa all over it ❤
You should do an Ace Frehley video.
what do you think about frets wear?
This fellow is quite good, isn’t he.