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Guitar, Studio Wizard Les Paul Dies At 94

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the he-will-be-missed dept.

beeshman noted that Les Paul has died. Paul was quite the hardware hacker of his day, innovating with guitar hardware, and later multi track recording. The Gibson Les Paul is one of the single most iconic instruments associated with Rock 'n Roll, and was of course played by Pete Townshend. Someday I'm going to get me one.

30 of 227 comments (clear)

  1. Played by? by Stargoat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Played by Pete Townshend? More like destroyed by.

    --
    Hoist Number One and Number Six.
    1. Re:Played by? by lumpenprole · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, he used to put his good les pauls on a stand behind the amp, pull out a cheap copy and smash the crap out of it. He wasn't totally stupid.

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    2. Re:Played by? by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Informative
      Geez, the obvious person to mention, who's name is synonymous with the Les Paul is Jimmy Page.

      Pete has played with the LP for a bit, but, has never been quite as associated with any one guitar like Jimmy Page.

      Page == Les Paul (and a telecaster in early days)

      Jimi Hendrix == Strat

      To me...I always picture Pete mostly with a Gibson SG during the 60's.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:Played by? by Golias · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Townsend also played/smashed a lot of Fender Stratocasters.

      If there's any rock artist closely associated with the Les Paul, it's Jimmy Page. He played the occasional Telecaster on some album tracks, but almost never played live with anything other than an LP.

      Which is kind of a silly thing to bring up when talking about the inventions of Les Paul anyway. His total contribution to that design consists of a tailpiece (which they ended up not using), and his signature. Everything else about the guitar was designed by other people.

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      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    4. Re:Played by? by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      "Actually, he used to put his good les pauls on a stand behind the amp, pull out a cheap copy and smash the crap out of it. He wasn't totally stupid."

      Not always .

      This has always been one of my favorite pics of Pete.."This Guitar Has Seconds To Live"

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    5. Re:Played by? by Shikaku · · Score: 5, Funny

      Godo Frock? Is that his Lord of the Rings name or something? Why is it one of the tags?

  2. May I be the first to say... by scribblej · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't fret.

    1. Re:May I be the first to say... by flaming+error · · Score: 4, Funny

      Who is Pete Townshend

    2. Re:May I be the first to say... by Captain+Spam · · Score: 4, Funny

      I just told you. The rest of the band.

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    3. Re:May I be the first to say... by dr_dank · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is not the time to string us along with silly puns.

      --
      Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
    4. Re:May I be the first to say... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, Pete Townshend never played with The Band.

    5. Re:May I be the first to say... by Kompressor · · Score: 4, Funny

      Pete Townsend's grandchildren!

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    6. Re:May I be the first to say... by operagost · · Score: 4, Funny

      What? Just when the thread was starting to pickup.

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      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    7. Re:May I be the first to say... by Golias · · Score: 3, Funny

      If people don't like the puns, they should just tune them out.

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      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  3. Les Paul, real Guitar Hero by Fritz+T.+Coyote · · Score: 3, Insightful

    He will be missed. Amazing how long he kept playing, and how many people he influenced.

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    http://visualizecommonsense.com/
  4. Chet Atkins and now Les Paul by Sturm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What a loss. I love everything Chet Atkins and Les Paul did together. I loved hearing Chet and Les banter back and forth before doing a song. Their music was so technical but because of their great skill it ended up sounding effortless (the trademark of truly great musicians).

    Most people will obviously associate Les Paul with a particular guitar, and although that particular piece of hardware will be his legacy, his musical skills will be greatly missed. His style was so unique and is almost impossible to emulate.

    Thank you for all your wonderful contributions to the musical world, Les. You will be greatly missed.

    1. Re:Chet Atkins and now Les Paul by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Its not a loss. Its a great success! Look at all the stuff he got done before today! At 94 I'd say his lifes work was complete. And we still have all of his inventions. No need to miss him. Don't miss him, celebrate his work with the epic sustain of a Les Paul Standard.

    2. Re:Chet Atkins and now Les Paul by Critical+Facilities · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I will absolutely second this. My dad is a huge Chet Atkins fan, and a fan of Les Paul as well. As a result, I grew up listening to them both. I got to see Chet play live several times, but never got to see Les. I heard all the old 10 inch (yes, I do mean 10 inch) Les and Mary records, and it was the first time I considered the significance of multi track recording.

      As a kid, my favorite story about Les Paul was the one briefly alluded to here. Apparently, Les broke his arm badly (shattered would be a better description). So, he had the doctor set his arm in a bent position so that he could still play the guitar since it would never really be mobile again. That is a true guitar player.

      Thank you, Les, for everything. We will rock on in your honor.

    3. Re:Chet Atkins and now Les Paul by mcgrew · · Score: 3, Informative

      The electric guitar wasn't his only nerdy accomplishment. The wikipedia article lists a lot of firsts, including the first multitrack recording.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  5. Pete Who? by MojoRilla · · Score: 4, Informative

    Pete Townsend did play a Les Paul, but only from 1972 to 1979. If you are looking for an iconic posterboy for the Gibson Les Paul, try Jimmy Page. Other notables include Slash, Joe Perry, and Ace Frehley. Here is a list of of 15 iconic Les Paul players from Gibson.

    1. Re:Pete Who? by mwbeatty · · Score: 4, Informative

      Sure he did. See here

  6. 'Guitarhero' by fwice · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Whoever tagged this article 'Guitarhero' was absolutely correct.

    The man's influence on music cannot be stated highly enough.

    Between the design (and implementation of the electric guitar) to multitrack recording to delay effects, he really was a renaissance man.

  7. Ah well... by Stenchwarrior · · Score: 4, Funny

    At least we still have Esteban

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  8. Oblig. Wayne's World by damn_registrars · · Score: 5, Funny
    Per Wayne Campbell:

    Oh yes, she will be mine

    Butchered by CmdTaco:

    Someday I'm going to get me one.

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    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  9. Rest in peace you musical genius... by ShadowBlasko · · Score: 3, Insightful

    RIP Les Paul. You changed the world, one string at a time

    My Guitar Gently Weeps...

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
  10. Re:A true innovator by mcgrew · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The Log"
    Paul was dissatisfied with the acoustic guitars that were sold in the mid 1930s and began experimenting with a few designs for an electric model on his own. Famously, he created "The Log," which was nothing more than a length of common 4" x 4" lumber with bridge, guitar neck, and pickup attached. For the sake of appearance, he attached the body of an Epiphone hollow-body guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems: feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body.

    Les Paul actually invented the first true electric guitar. All the ones before it were simply acoustic guitars with mocrophones. If it weren't for Les Paul, rock and roll might possibly have never come about.

    --
    Free Martian Whores!
  11. Ah, nuts. by RevWaldo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Les Paul and his trio played (every?) Monday nights at the Iridium Jazz Club here in NYC. Every once in awhile I'd see the ad for it and think "I gotta check that out sometime. After all, he won't be around forever."

    Of course, I never did.

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    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  12. Re:A true innovator by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Informative

    actually,George Beauchamp made solid aluminum body electric guitar in 1931 and sold them through the company Ropatin (we now know as Rickenbacker), intended for Hawaiian music that was popular during the 30s. Popularly called a "frying pan" because of round body.

  13. Re:What, too soon? by stalky14 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or, Les is mort.

  14. HEY ABBOT!!!! by TiggertheMad · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who is Pete Townshend?

    Yes.

    Who is Pete Townshend?

    Yes.

    Pete Townshend is Yes?

    No, Jon Anderson.

    Who is Jon Anderson?

    No, that's Pete Townshend.

    Who?

    Yes.

    Ah-ha, I have it now..

    No thats Morten Harket.

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