Rock and Roll 

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        The Gibson Les Paul has become world famous for its design and sound. It was first developed in 1941 by Les Paul himself and was known as "The Log". It was debuted in 1952 by Gibson. It was made from two woods, maple and mahogany, and was the first time that two woods had been combined on a solid instrument for a musical purpose. The tune-o-matic bridge appeared on the Les Paul in 1954 and in 1958 the Les Paul was offered with a Cherry sunburst top, which became one of the greatest guitar designs ever. Les Paul’s modification of acoustic guitars were the start of the modern day electric guitar. His guitars are used by many artists around the world, including Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

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1952 - First Gibson Les Paul was issued

• Had maple cap on top of mahogany back and neck
• A striking gold paint job
• A cutaway in the lower half of the body - this allowed players to easily reach the highest notes
• A sculptured, arched center section on the body
• Two adjustable pickups with separate volume and tone control for each
• Three-way tone toggle for switching between and combining the two pickups
• Cream-colored plastic pickgaurd
• Pickup covers
• A long trapeze bridge tailpiece

1954 - The Les Paul Custom was introduced

• Painted black with white trim to resemble a tuxedo
• Later know as "Black Beauty" or "The Fretless Wonder" because of the ease it could be played

1957 - Humbucking pickups were inroduced.

• Most pickups has only one coil, humbuckers had two.
• This arrangement cancelled, or "bucked," the annoying electrical hum when the instrument was placed to close to an amp.

Note:  Between 1957 and 1961, the Custom came with three pickups.