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  • Why people love late '50s Les Pauls

... illustrated in a video that does not use a 1950s Les Paul. What's going on here, is that this guy loves the particular characteristics of that short run of sunburst Les Pauls so much that he got himself a replica made by well-known (in Les Paul circles) Israeli luthier, Gil Yaron. This is basically as close as you can possibly get to one of those unaffordable guitars without owning one.

The point is though, that in this video this guy explains what these guitars had going for that he had to have one made exactly like it - and hence the reason that the originals are so desirable. And it's not just that many famous people played them. It's that these Les Pauls were different to 85% of those that were made since.

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    I played with a guy who had a sunburst 50s LP, picked up for (I think) R300 at a pawn shop. He hardly ever played it in public, but the once or twice he did... Man, that tone
      peterleroux wrote: I played with a guy who had a sunburst 50s LP, picked up for (I think) R300 at a pawn shop. He hardly ever played it in public, but the once or twice he did... Man, that tone
      I wonder what happened to it. I wonder whether he managed to hold on to it until it was worth the really big bucks.
        A nice combination, a $10,000 Yaron and BRILLIANT guitarist Pete Thorn. ?

        Killer stuff!!!

        "A Tele on steroids"...so true.
          Tokai SA wrote: "A Tele on steroids"...so true.
          It's the combination of the low-output, scatterwound PAFs with the lightweight, one-piece mahogany bodies. As he says, the low-output humbuckers allow you to hear the inherent tone of the wood - which is there in spades. So you get this bright, gritty, acoustic sound.

          My Tokai has this woodiness to it - although I think it would be brought out better with some replica PAFs. My '83 Gibson on the other hand is made from much heavier mahogany, and doesn't have this same kind of woody resonance. You can hear it acoustically for starters. I'm not having a go at Gibson here. Reinhard's R9 also has masses of this acoustic resonance.
            singemonkey wrote:
            peterleroux wrote: I played with a guy who had a sunburst 50s LP, picked up for (I think) R300 at a pawn shop. He hardly ever played it in public, but the once or twice he did... Man, that tone
            I wonder what happened to it. I wonder whether he managed to hold on to it until it was worth the really big bucks.
            Last I saw him he still had it, and knew exactly how much it was worth. It had been re-finished at some point, so that might knock a few k off the value, but he wasn't looking to part with it.
              Great vid! Thanks. Damn! That neck pickup is sweet.

              Pete's great in that he can play, knows what he's talking about and can articulate it. Most other demoers only get two of the three. I usually find myself nodding my head a lot to his clips. And smiling. ?
                peterleroux wrote: Last I saw him he still had it, and knew exactly how much it was worth. It had been re-finished at some point, so that might knock a few k off the value, but he wasn't looking to part with it.
                It'll be worth a lot. Especially restored to near original condition. There are so few for sale that even modded guitars are worth a lot. I don't think you can get a 'burst of any kind for under $100K.
                Chocklit_Thunda wrote: Ah I follow Gil avidly on the Tele forum! What a master!
                It's pretty much impossible to argue that there is any difference at all between Gil's LPs and the originals. There'd be as much difference between two '59 LPs as there is between his and a '59 LP. Still, it's diminishing returns, of course. There are still a lot of factory LPs - Gibson Historics and Asian clones - that have all of the sonic characteristics when paired with the right pickups. And you buy a couple of them for the price of one of his.
                Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Great vid! Thanks. Damn! That neck pickup is sweet.

                Pete's great in that he can play, knows what he's talking about and can articulate it. Most other demoers only get two of the three. I usually find myself nodding my head a lot to his clips. And smiling. ?
                Yeah. He hit the nail on the head. There's this thing about these early PAFs and very accurate copies. I refer to it as a "squeakiness." A kind of grit on the high-end. A lot of great pickups don't have it. Gibson '57 classics are great, but they don't have that. Bareknuckles have that, as do a number of other maker's PAFs.
                  singemonkey wrote: There's this thing about these early PAFs and very accurate copies. I refer to it as a "squeakiness." A kind of grit on the high-end.
                  I know exactly what you mean - I call it "squeak" too and Teles and good LPs are the best place to find it. You hear the grind on the pick attack that makes it jump out.
                    BTW - what pickups are those in the Yaron LP? His own or another pickup maker's?
                      Alan Ratcliffe wrote: BTW - what pickups are those in the Yaron LP? His own or another pickup maker's?
                      His own. He remeasured every specification to come up with his LP build. You can see his posts on replicating the PAFs on the TDPRI forum.
                        Very nice demo ... Pete's seems like a great guy and articulates well

                        does his LP really sell for $10K ?
                          Attila Barath wrote: Very nice demo ... Pete's seems like a great guy and articulates well

                          does his LP really sell for $10K ?
                          If this luthier is the guy I'm thinking of on TDPRI, he hand rolls his own oil and paper capacitors. Real attention to detail stuff there
                            Ooh... I like the look it had before it was reliced:

                            Attila Barath wrote: does his LP really sell for $10K ?
                            Depending on options, but yeah, seems like most go between $9K and $11K... About a year waiting time (which will probably bump up significantly now - shows what getting one in the hands of the right player can do).
                              Have you guys seen his other thread on TDPRI about his proto build "the Bone"
                              he bases it on a 50's LP and removes all the things he finds wrong with them and adds subtle things to make them better....
                              Now THAT is craftsmanship
                                Looks as good as any Tokai I've seen ?
                                  Those drive tones are awesome.. surprised he can do with that setup what i do with my metalzone

                                  Respect to the brutha ?