Tell Your First Experience/Exposure to a Les Paul Guitar

[rjwilson37]

My first real guitar was a Les Paul copy, which I believe was a Hondo II in Wine Red. I picked it up for around $180 in 1977/78 with my paper route money. It was definitely a huge step up from the piece of crap I was playing before it, something my brother gave me that he traded something for. I was in Les Paul heaven for sure, it definitely played really well. My first Gibson years later was a Gibson L6S.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm thinhing this thread has made a down payment on being stickied. It's a topic everyone here can chime in om.

 

[scozz]

I'm thinhing this thread has made a down payment on being stickied. It's a topic everyone here can chime in om.

I think you're right Thump...but regardless... I love reading all these great stories, each one is as distinctive as the people writing them!!

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I think you're right Thump...but regardless... I love reading all these great stories, each one is as distinctive as the people writing them!!

Same here, brotha. Much mre interesting than listening to a buddy tell me for the umpteenth time how his wreck six months ago unfolded. This thread has a lot of good stuff in it, stuff I can relate to, struggling for that first real Gibby, that first "aha!" moment -- "this is what they're talking about!"

 

[kezian]

freshman year of highschool, 2007. I had just gotten my first electric guitar (a cheapo strat kit from costco) and started hanging out with the cool musician kids. went over to a friends house to play a bit and we sneak into his dads room and pull out a '69 goldtop out from under the bed. blew me away. this wasnt a guitar to me, it was a piece of art and it embodied everything that drew me to play the guitar in the first place

my next birthday, i returned the strat (gotta love costco) and got me an epiphone les paul. one day ill get me a 69 goldtop

 

[scozz]

Great story @kezian!

Epiphones are great guitars, and a great value for the money. But there's nothing quite like a Gibson LP. If I were you I wouldn't wait for that 69 GT...there are are plenty of great used LPs out there. Just my opinion.

 

[joedonner2001]

@3:13

And my first Les Paul:

 

[kezian]

Great story @kezian!

Epiphones are great guitars, and a great value for the money. But there's nothing quite like a Gibson LP. If I were you I wouldn't wait for that 69 GT...there are are plenty of great used LPs out there. Just my opinion.

ive got a used vintage japanese copy now, it does the job. quite well

 

[timgman]

As a kid of 15 or so, My older brothers friend had a les paul copy. It was a "crestwood" les paul custom cop (in fact my older brother has it now). anyways, I had a crappy sears hondo and this thing had the "dark dirty" tones the metal guitarist had (I was never a EVH fan.. metallica / gnr / zep / rush were it for me. I ended up in a hardcore band and remembered that guitar.. my first official gigging guitar was a korean epi custom. Next was a 77 black gibson LP deluxe routed for HB's. Kept that for a long time.. (my friend still has it) and I added a 90 standard burst plain top to it.. They weremy 2 main axed for 10 years.. they were road worn and beat.. Me sad that I'm just an old man that had nicer guitars and amps now but they don't get played like that anymore.. ok they were the tools of the trade and used for one purpose.... to KICK ASS and take no names!

 

[moreles]

As a player, somebody lent me a 3/4 size LP at a gig. It sucked beyond description (like the short-scale “student” Fenders) both to play and to hear. It took me years before I wanted to try a LP again.

 

[scozz]

As a player, somebody lent me a 3/4 size LP at a gig. It sucked beyond description (like the short-scale “student” Fenders) both to play and to hear. It took me years before I wanted to try a LP again.

I'm sorry to hear that @moreles ...LP psycho damage at a young age!

But on the bright side, you were able to overcome that negative psychological occurrence.

 

[scozz]

And my first Les Paul:

Wow man!!!!
What a spectacular first Les Paul @joedonner2001 !!

What a beauty...is that a mahogany top? Also, what year is it? I love the light WR color!

I may be slightly bias though...

 

[Archie090612]

I started playing when I was about 10 in about 1999 after I had bin learning for about a year on a strat copy called
“07 USA” lol I started to buy some guitar magazines and started to obsess over the Gibson les Paul I was lucky enough to eventually get my first les Paul in my teens and I’ve owned 3 since my current one a custom shop model.

 

[joedonner2001]

Wow man!!!!
What a spectacular first Les Paul @joedonner2001 !!

What a beauty...is that a mahogany top? Also, what year is it? I love the light WR color!

I may be slightly bias though...

That was a 2006 '57 reissue in faded cherry. All mahogany, yes.

I rather foolishly sold it to buy a '58 reissue. I'd buy it back if I could find it.

 

[Gibsonrocknroll]

1970 Jimmy Page.

 

[Subterfuge]

so many shows it's hard to recall, but one that sticks out was Thin Lizzy in '77 at Seneca College here in TO. General admission standing directly in front of Brian Robertson playing a black/cream Les Paul all evening, he was a really hot guitar player back then ...

 

[hazmat7719]

The first time that I ever held a real Les Paul was over 25 years ago in my high school electronics class. A student brought in an old tobacco Les Paul custom that had a broken pot. I don't know what year it was made but, it was awesome. The guy said his dad got it for him from a pawn shop for $500, what a deal!