The Evolution Of The Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitar

There are many alternate versions of the famous and popular Les Paul guitar. One of them is the Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar, which is one of the high end models offered by Gibson and is intended for veteran guitarists or collectors. The Custom was designed by its namesake, Les Paul, who first teamed up with the Gibson Company in 1952.

The Les Paul came out just after the Fender Telecaster guitar, which popularized the solid body electric guitar model. The Les Paul had some notable differences to distinguish it, such as the fact that the strings on the Les Paul were connected to the top of the guitar, rather than fed through the body. The Les Paul also stood out because it was available in multiple color schemes.

The Les Paul Custom guitar, in particular, was designed to be a more high class looking instrument. It is primarily black in color, which led to the Custom being nicknamed the Black Beauty. When he first pitched the idea, Les Paul likened the design to the look of a tuxedo. The top of the guitar was made form mahogany, whereas the standard LP was made from maple. 1957 brought about the invention of the humbucker pickup, which was then added to the Custom, giving it a thick, warm sound.

Modern Customs feature a fretboard made of ebony, which provides a sharper tone. It also has lowered frets than the norm, which has led the Custom getting an additional nickname, which is the fretless wonder.

The Les Paul Custom guitar has been in the hands of many notable artists since its debut in the 1950s. Guitarists such as Mick Jones of Foreigner, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones have utilize the custom at some point in their careers.

A brand new Custom costs over $5,000. No longer strictly the Black Beauty, this guitar is also available in other colors and finishes such as Cherry Sun Burst and Antique White, among others.