Guitar MX Blog

Les Paul died today; he was 94 years old. Les was much more than a guitar player. He was a tinkerer, inventor, innovator, visionary and legend. He is best known for inventing the solid body guitar that bears his name. But that’s not all, he also invented. multi-track recording and pioneered many recording innovations, such as overdubbing and reverb effect. Modern rock music wouldn’t exist as it is today without Les Paul.

Les created his own electric guitar at age 13 by placing telephone receiver under the strings of this acoustic guitar. He continued to experiment with various methods of guitar amplification, and liked the sound that was made by a solid body. In 1952, Gibson asked Les to create a solid body guitar for them, and the rest is history.

In this video, Les performs a song with his wife Mary Ford, and briefly discusses the multi-tracking technique he invented.

There were very good documentaries made about this great man, which can be viewed here:

• Les Paul. Guitarist Extraordinaire

• Les Paul – Chasing Sound!