Are These The Best 5 Les Paul Guitars Ever?

Are These The Best 5 Les Paul Guitars Ever?

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I have been a Gibson Les Paul player for many years and there have been specific individual Les Pauls, played by a few star players that created a big impression on me. They all have a different sound, partly as a result of the guitars and their humbucker pickups and partly on account of the player's style and their amp setup.

So not in any specific order, I give you my five finest Les Pauls ever:

1. Billy Gibbons' Pearly Gates - This guitar just oozes Texas blues. A 1959 Sunburst model with one of the most gorgeous tones ever to come out of a 59 burst. Bought from cash raised from the sale of a car called 'Pearly Gates', this is undoubtedly the best buy the Reverend Billy ever made. The guitar pickups alone would cost you an arm and a leg (rumour has it that Billy turned down $5m for this axe!).

2. Peter Frampton's Black 3 pickup Custom - You just can't forget the iconic image of Frampton strapped to his Les Paul on the cover of the fantastic 'Frampton Comes Alive'. This guitar gave out a wonderfully musical sound and amazingly it was given him by a generous soul by the name of Mark Mariana. Sadly this guitar was destroyed in a tragic plane crash in 1980.

3. Jimmy Page's No1 Standard - A quite amazing 1959 Sunburst model which was bought by Jimmy fom Joe Walsh, who'd been adamant that this particular guitar was just right for him. With a scalloped neck and customised electrics including push-pull controls, Jimmy's No1 was his particular favourite guitar and has been described by Jimmy as his 'mistress'. This guitar can be heard on any Led Zeppelin album and has been captured in an incredible number of iconic Page images from through the years.

4. Mick Ronson's Natural Finish Custom - This is the great Les Paul that can be seen in practically any 'David Bowie and the Spiders From Mars' images. This guitar began its life as a solid black 1968 Custom version but Mick had the top sanded off and re-finished a natural colour. Mick played this guitar amazingly on all the Spiders' albums.

5. Eric Clapton's Beano Les Paul - Thought by many to be the one that started it all, this particular 1960 burst acquired its name from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album, as Clapton can be seen reading a 'Beano' comic, giving rise to the name 'The Beano Album' and hence The 'Beano' Les Paul. Considering the amazing sound achieved by Clapton on this album it's incredible that he defected to a Fender Strat for a huge chunk of his lengthy career.

So there are my favourite 5 superb Les Pauls. I've no idea how I can possibly leave out Jeff Beck's cracking oxblood model or Peter Green's infamous 'Greeny'. I guess something needed to give

About the Author:
The author has played both electric and acoustic guitars for many years and enjoys many different styles of music. He is also a keen guitar builder and highly recommends Tub Guitar Pickups for high quality replacement humbucking pickups and Les Paul pickups.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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