Al Di Meola on Gibson Les Pauls: “My 1971 Custom is obscenely heavy and growls like nothing else” By Amit Sharma published 26 April 23 The maestro of jazz-rock discusses his relationship with the iconic Gibson single-cut, and the man who designed it
Jared James Nichols: “I was playing a lot of Strats and Telecasters. And then I tried a Les Paul Standard. The first thing I thought was, ‘Holy f**k, this feels like a Cadillac!’” By Amit Sharma published 19 April 23 When it comes time to unleash a vulgar display of Blues Power, it’s all about expression – JJN explains why the Les Paul is “the best tool for the job”
Slash on his love of Les Pauls: “That Kris Derrig Les Paul came in the 11th hour when we were doing Appetite. It just sounded f**kin’ perfect – like a gift from on high” By Amit Sharma published 12 April 23 The Guns N' Roses guitarist and rock icon talks about the guitars he treasures most – including buying and returning Joe Perry's Dark Burst LP – and reveals how his love for Les Pauls has inspired and shaped him as a player...
Joe Bonamassa on why he loves the Gibson Les Paul: “Pretty much all of the English guitar legends of the 1960s, that’s what they were holding” By Amit Sharma published 10 April 23 Joe Bonamassa has a dazzling array of guitars – but he always goes back to the ’59 LP he describes as “perfect” for him...
Joe Perry on his longstanding love affair with the Gibson Les Paul: “The neck is just right, the radius across the fretboard. It’s just an amazing thing they stumbled on” By Jenna Scaramanga published 7 April 23 The Aerosmith legend demystifies the myth of the vintage classics and discusses his own signature models, and just where the iconic single-cut figures in finding his sound
Joe Bonamassa makes a strong case for fitting your Gibson Les Paul with P-90s as he shares his favorite ’54 Goldtop blues licks By Joe Bonamassa published 30 March 23 The first in a series of exclusive lessons from the Mayor of Nerdville that will not only teach you something to play but also demonstrate what a classic vintage electric guitar can do
Gibson announces the USA Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ Les Paul Standard, bringing its most anticipated signature model to the masses By Matt Parker published 28 March 23 In the meantime, a new $20k Custom Shop edition of the legendary LP – previously owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore – is now available to order
Kirk Hammett just bought one of the rarest Les Pauls ever made – a Factory Black ’59 Les Paul Standard By Jonathan Horsley published 23 March 23 The Metallica guitarist has been unicorn hunting and bagged a true specimen from Carter Vintage Guitars – a guitar to make Greeny green with envy
Joe Perry reveals he used Fender Strats to record most of Aerosmith’s ’70s material By Matt Parker published 16 March 23 The Aerosmith legend explains why he considers Strats to be superior studio guitars, while Gibson Les Pauls make better live instruments
Al Di Meola: “Les Paul would get on his knees to get an up-close look at my hands and say, 'Do that again – I don’t understand how you just played that!'” By Matt Owen published 10 March 23 The fusion virtuoso recalled the time Les Paul offered up some especially high praise for his playing style, saying the entire experience was “almost like a dream”
This guitarist claims to have solved Gibson Les Paul tuning stability issues with the Tune Voodoo Skull By Matt Owen published 9 March 23 The string tree might just put an end to Les Paul tuning frustrations once and for all, with a custom design that straightens the angle of the D and G strings
Jimmy Page reveals why he switched to Gibson Les Pauls – and how Joe Walsh helped shape the sound of Led Zeppelin II By Matt Owen published 6 February 23 The James Gang icon's Les Paul Standard convinced Page to put down the Fender Telecaster he used on Led Zeppelin I and begin a love affair with another single-cut
Why Jeff Beck switched from a Les Paul to a Strat By Jackson Maxwell published 3 February 23 The late guitar hero first began transitioning to the model with which he would become synonymous during the recording of his 1969 album, Beck-Ola
Julian Lage recalls the time Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest gifted him a 1955 Gibson Les Paul – which was signed by Les Paul himself By Matt Owen published 1 February 23 The LP was used by Guest – aka Nigel Tufnel – as his main touring guitar in 1984, with Lage describing it as the perfect convergence of his prized Telecaster and Collings signature guitar
Justin Hawkins: “What?! Split harmonics on the bass?” By Nick Wells published 19 December 22 The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins reacts to the fast and furious licks of Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen of rock supergroup The Winery Dogs
The evolution of the Les Paul: how Gibson’s single-cut design developed from 1952 to 1978 By Jamie Dickson published 19 December 22 We chart the key changes the Les Paul and its variants went through in its seminal early years
20 ways to improve your Les Paul By Huw Price published 15 December 22 Step this way for some modding inspiration that could revitalize the Gibson or Epiphone in your life, from new pickups and hardware to Bigsby installation
Gibson Faded Series Les Paul and SG review By Dave Burrluck published 14 December 22 Some two decades since they first appeared, Gibson’s Faded Series instruments are back in what-you-see-is-what-you-get style: no options, not a lot of finish, either. We find out what’s new with the Les Paul Standard 50s and 60s Faded, and SG Standard ’61 Faded Maestro Vibrola
How the Les Paul transformed from elegant jazz guitar to rock ’n’ roll's weapon of choice By Jamie Dickson published 12 December 22 Gibson’s Mat Koehler has spent countless hours tracing the history of the company’s iconic electrics. We join him to learn more about the first 10 years of the Les Paul's history
1958 Gibson Les Paul played onstage for years by Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band hits the auction block By Sam Roche published 24 November 22 The guitar – which began life as a Goldtop, but was later given a sunburst finish at Betts' request – is expected to sell for between $800,000 and $1.2 million