WHAT LES PAUL SPAWNED
Back in the Stone Age of rock ’n’ roll, the 1950’s, there was a guitar player by the name of Les Paul who, along with his wife Mary Ford, had already established himself as one of the most innovative electric guitar stylists ever to play the instrument No, Les Paul wasn’t a “rock ’n’ roll” guitar player himself, although his unique style has influenced many of rock’s great players.
WHAT LES PAUL SPAWNED
EXTENSION CHORDS
Allen Hester
Back in the Stone Age of rock ’n’ roll, the 1950’s, there was a guitar player by the name of Les Paul who, along with his wife Mary Ford, had already established himself as one of the most innovative electric guitar stylists ever to play the instrument No, Les Paul wasn’t a “rock ’n’ roll” guitar player himself, although his unique style has influenced many of rock’s great players.
Les Paul was, and probably still is, a tireless tinkerer. His inventions, such as low-impedance pickups, multi-track tape recorders and tape echounits, became his“gimmicks,” the earmarks of a style that has yet to be duplicated.
Of these many contributions, probably the one that stirred up the most interest among guitar players was the echo sound. It was rich and full, and it sometimes made Les’ guitar sound like several guitars playing at once. Reverb was one thing, but that echo effect was something else again-. Funny thing, though. Les kept his gadgets to himself, and guitar players were^baffled by his sound.