Inspirations and Favorite Guitarists

[Yair Matayev]

Hey everyone!

To get the conversation started, consider sharing the following:

1. Your favorite Les Paul guitarist(s) and why they inspire you.
2. Specific songs, albums, or performances that highlight their unique Les Paul sound.
3. Techniques or approaches that you've learned from these guitarists and incorporated into your own playing.
4. Any gear or tone tips that you've picked up from studying your favorite Les Paul players.
5. Lesser-known Les Paul guitarists that you think deserve more recognition.

Let's dive into the world of Les Paul players and discover new sources of inspiration! Looking forward to hearing about your favorite guitarists and their impact on your playing.

 

[gitmohair]

Well it's all been said before and all that, so perhaps we could just go a bit left-field.

I offer up Ariel Bender, epitome of can't-give-a-shit rock'n'roll goodness. Great live, and that's where it counts.

 

[mgenet]

Polar opposites in a lot of ways. Neil Young (Old Black) and Roger Waters
('53 -& '55 Gibson LP Gold Tops- both w/ P-90s; 1978-2019). The Yin and Yang of R'n'R...

Neil Young because he could play short songs and longs songs, take leads on
and on, and make most of them work for the piece. He also allowed me to
make mistakes when trying leads. I believe he said making mistakes was
part of rock 'n' roll (or something like that). BTW, I make a lot of mistakes when trying
lead parts...lots. So in the spirit of R'n'R I am up there. That is why I consider myself more
of a rhythm player.

David Gilmore because of his seemless precise playing, phrases and
amazing command of the guitar evoking all the emotions. Some of his
leads elicit tears. He pours more blues into his leads resulting in tasteful
and beautiful pieces unto them selves than some blues men. He is a
master and commander of the song because of his artistry.

I would want to be able to play like both of these icons of modern music.

Looking forward to seeing others' inspirations...

 

[Leee]

Roger Waters
('53 -& '55 Gibson LP Gold Tops- both w/ P-90s; 1978-2019).
David Gilmore because …

Wait…
Which one?




And trust me - I make plenty of mistakes when I attempt to play leads myself.

Les Paul?
Gotta be Jimmy Page.
Any of a couple dozen songs.
An explanation here would be redundant.

 

[gball]

Being old enough to have eagerly awaited the release of new Led Zeppelin albums, it was always Jimmy Page first and foremost for me. I mean, c’mon, dragon pants? I was hooked on LPs because of that swagger.

 

[Duane_the_tub]

Ronnie Montrose laid down some killer riffs on his '58 Burst on this album:

He gets shoeboxed for being heavily Page influenced, but his playing on this record lays the foundation for the birth of hair metal some 20 years later. Motley Crue, Cinderella, Great White, Poison, Badlands etc. - these bands followed the blueprint laid down by Ronnie Montrose on this record.

I know it's cool to laugh off that genre now, but that music WAS rock radio for about 10 years in the late 80s-90s. Ronnie was absolutely ahead of his time and as influential as they come.

 

[Steven]

Favorite Les Paul players would be a toos up between Page, Moore, and Clapton.

 

[01GT Eibach]

Brian Roberston / Scott Gorham
Thin Lizzy at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on the China Town tour ... life changing ...

 

[filtersweep]

Jimmy Page and Slash- because they looked cool as hell when they played.

I was less into their actual playing than ‘the look.’.. .. or their tone.

 

[Nick-O]

Him......

and Him....

 

[Leee]

Who?

And who?

 

[ArchEtech]

A lot of my favorite players don’t play Les Pauls so this is tougher for me.

Slash is actually pretty good even though he got over hyped by Gibson and Guitar Hero. I really like his tone and his tasteful melodic style. I think the hype has even made people take for granted how great he is as a player.

Jimmy page has to be right there because we’ll because. I’ve listed to a lot of zep because of my dad. He’s written great rock songs and has a very unique signature style. Like Hendrix he makes sloppiness sound so good it isn’t sloppy.

Unknown guitarist. Shane Johnson. He’s a friend, was/is the guitar tech for Imagine Dragons And can play circles around some of the top guitarists. He’s a monster blues player on an R7. Lives in Austin now.

 

[efstop]

I didn't know what a Les Paul was until the late '60s. I knew it was an LP Custom on the cover of Cosmo's Factory when it I saw it in the early '70s. CCR would be my earliest inspiration by a Les Paul player though I had been playing or trying to for 7-8 years by then.

 

[HRC]

My top 5.

Toy Caldwell
Duane Allman
Dickey Betts
Tommy Crain
Gary Moore

 

[redcoats1976]

wot...no joe perry fans here? the guy plays a mean les paul.was talking to a friend of mine in an areosmith tribute band last night,came home and raised the pups on my guitar to get more of the high gain sound...not that it matters as much in my living room at lower volume.

 

[EasyAce]

The first one to make me aware of how beautiful a Les Paul could sound in the right hands was . . .

 

[Christosterone]

More importantly, who were u shocked to see using badass les Pauls?

-chris

 

[Cookiee]

Some of my favourite Les Paul players:

 

[Peter M]

Then, now, always...

Not so much now, but when I was 12... hell yeah. Great guy in person.

Found a great appreciation for these guys as I matured as a player:

I also marveled at this man after my player brain was fully developed

He still makes my jaw drop when he gets going:

Not as a lead player... but as a rhythm player... fuck yes.

 

[Midnight Blues]

For me, hands-down, Peter Frampton.

I purchased Humble Pie's "Humble Pie Performance Rockin' The Fillmore" when it was released in '71. It was his playing on that album, which was unlike that of any of his contemporaries, that made me want to play guitar in the first place. That album remains my all-time favorite album, with the possible exception of the "Humble Pie Performance Rockin' The Fillmore The Complete Recordings" album that Frampton and Jerry Shirley released several years ago.

His Les Paul remains, since it's return now named the "Phenix" is still my favorite. I've spent uncounted hours listening to that album and gawking at the pictures of it on there ever since I bought it and I still do.

I wish I could type that I've learned something from him, but after more than 50 years, I'm still trying to figure-out how he plays the way he plays.

Of course there are others like Beck, Page, Lifeson, Moore, Green, Ronson, Barre, Kossoff, etc. that I've always greatly admire too.