Les Paul Models in the Norlin Era

Subsequent years brought new company ownership to the Gibson Guitar Company. During the “Norlin Era”, Gibson Les Paul body designs were greatly altered, most notably, the change to the neck volute. Because the Les Paul had the reputation of having an easily broken neck joint, the volute strengthened the neck where it joined the headstock to avert breakage. To further increase the strength, the neck woods were changed from mahogany to a three-piece maple design. The LP body was changed from a one piece mahogany with a maple top into multiple slabs of mahogany with multiple pieced maple tops (also called a “pancake body’).

In this era, as well, Gibson began experimenting with new models such as the Les Paul Recording. This model is often eschewed by guitar purists: considered “too full of gadgetry”. The Recording featured low-impedance pickups, many switches and buttons, and a highly specialized cable for impedance-matching to the amplifier. Less noticeable changes included, but were not limited to, maple fingerboards (1976), pickup cavity shielding, and the crossover of the ABR1 Tune-o-matic bridge into the modern day Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge. During the 1970s, the Les Paul body shape was incorporated into other Gibson models, including the S-1, the Sonex, the L6-S, and many other experimental models.

Deluxe

The Deluxe was among the “new” 1968 Les Pauls. This model featured “mini-humbuckers”, also known as “New York” humbuckers, and did not initially prove popular. The mini-humbucker pickup fit into the pre-carved P-90 pickup cavity using an adaptor ring developed by Gibson (actually just a cut-out P90 pickup cover) in order to use a supply of Epiphone mini-humbuckers left over from when Gibson moved Epiphone production to Japan. The Deluxe was introduced in late 1968 and helped to standardize production among Gibson’s USA-built Les Pauls. The first incarnation of the Deluxe featured a one-piece body and three-piece neck in late 1968. The “pancake” body (thin layer of maple sandwiched by two layers of Honduran mahogany) came later in 1969. In late 1969, a small “volute” was added. 1969 Deluxe’s feature the Gibson logo devoid of the dot over the “i” in Gibson. By late 1969/early 1970, the dot over the “i” had returned, plus a “Made In USA” stamp on the back the headstock. By 1975, the neck construction was changed from mahogany to maple, until the early 1980s, when the construction was returned to mahogany. Interest in this particular Les Paul model was so low that in 1985, Gibson canceled the line. However, in 2005, the “Deluxe” was reintroduced with more popularity due to its association with Pete Townshend.

Studio

The “Studio” model was introduced in 1983 and is still in production. The intended market for this guitar was the studio musician; therefore, the design features of the “Les Paul Studio” were centered around optimal sound output. This model retained only the elements of the Gibson Les Paul that contributed to tone and playability, including the carved maple top and standard mechanical and electronic hardware. However, the Studio design omitted several stock Gibson ornamentations that did not affect sound quality, including the binding on the body and neck. A notable exception to this is the Studio Standard, a model in the mid 1980s that included body and neck binding, though with dot fingerboard inlays instead of more ornate trapezoids.
Custom Shop models

Due to the popularity of the Les Paul guitar, hundreds of unendorsed imitations or copycat versions began to sell in the U.S. and overseas. Due to the lack of U.S. legislation addressing patent infringements or restricting import sales, the cheaply priced imitations created legal and financial problems for the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Although troublesome, there were overseas copycat companies that produced very high quality Les Paul and Stratocaster imitations. In fact, during the 1970s and early 1980s, a Japanese company, Tokai, made superb replicas of the 1957-59, accurate reproductions of early Les Paul designs constructed in a Gibson Guitar Custom Shop. A custom Les Paul guitar painted by race car illustrator Sam Bass is presented to the winners of NASCAR Nationwide Series races at the Nashville Superspeedway.

Modern Les Pauls

In the mid 1980s, Gibson changed ownership and began manufacturing a range of varied Les Paul models to suit different user needs. The 1980s also saw the end to several design characteristics that were classic to the Les Paul, including the volute and maple neck. However, due to consumer demand, The Gibson Les Paul guitar is available today in an array of choices, ranging from guitars equipped with modern digital electronics to classic re-issue models built to match the look and specifications of the guitar’s earliest production runs from 1952 to 1960.
Les Paul’s guitar

At 93 years old, Les Paul himself still plays his personal Les Paul Guitar onstage, weekly, in New York City. Paul prefers his 1972 Gibson “Recording” model guitar, with different electronics and a one-piece mahogany body,and which, as an inveterate tinkerer and bona fide inventor, he has modified heavily to his liking over the years. A Bigsby-style vibrato is currently the most visible change although formerly his guitars were fitted with his Les Paulverizer effects device.

Epiphone Les Pauls

The Gibson-owned Epiphone Company makes around 20 models of the Les Paul, which are copies of the original. Made in places outside the U.S., the Epiphone Les Paul’s are made from more commonly-available woods and have less hand detailing than the Gibson models, and, as a result, sell for a lower price. Epiphone also offers their version of the Junior.

Gibson Robot Guitar

Gibson Robot Guitar (alongside assorted guitar effect pedals).In 2007, Gibson announced an idea to create a computerized Les Paul, dubbed the “Robot Guitar”. It was released on December 7, 2007. The guitar has a computer integrated into the body with a “master control” knob next to the volume knobs, which can be pulled out, turned, or pressed to issue different commands to the guitar. One of the more notable features is the ability to tune the guitar to standard tuning simply by pulling out on the master control knob and strumming the guitar, while the tuning pegs adjust themselves to standard tuning. Another use of the master control knob is to be able to tune the guitar to alternative tunings, such as drop D, by pressing on the control knob to fit the setting. The new Les Paul has a new custom silverburst blue finish. While the product was advertised in the American popular press as a “world’s first”, similar systems, some external, have been in use for decades.