How the Les Paul transformed from an elegant jazz guitar into rock ’n’ roll's weapon of choice

The Les Paul's journey | Steve Lukather talks jamming with Eddie Van Halen, and the time Prince gave him the silent treatment | Kayla Kent – a YouTuber heralded for nailing Dimebag Darrell’s playing style – has already learned one of Zakk Wylde’s live Pantera solos Created for sauuuuul.peliculas@blogger.com |  Web Version December 12, 2022 CONNECT WITH THE PICK       Handpicked stories from the world of guitar SIGN UP ⋅   SHARE Editor's Note The Les Paul's journey Through the myth, legend, and eye-watering price tags of those from that period in good condition, the incredible journey of the Gibson Les Paul during its golden era can sometimes get a bit lost. In less than a decade, the model went from a signature guitar for one of jazz and pop's most innovative and successful guitarists to something far greater – with lots of trial and error on the part of Gibson along the way. As Gibson's Senior Director of Product Development, and one of the keepers of the company's archives, Mat Koehler is more familiar than almost anybody with the sometimes-significant, sometimes-minute, changes Gibson made to the Les Paul year by year during the '50s.  Koehler even – in a newly-published interview with GW – reveals that, in the absence of complete physical company records, there are certain little things that determine whether a much-coveted 'Burst Les Paul is authentic or not. Just don't try asking him what those things are... Jackson Maxwell – Associate Editor, guitarworld.com Top Stories Steve Lukather talks jamming with Eddie Van Halen, and the time Prince gave him the silent treatment (Getty Images) The Toto guitarist waxed lyrical on his illustrious career in a new conversation recorded at Hollywood's Sunset Sound Kayla Kent – a YouTuber heralded for nailing Dimebag Darrell's playing style – has already learned one of Zakk Wylde's live Pantera solos (Kayla Kent/YouTube, Medios y Media/Getty Images) The Kramer-wielding shredder tackled Wylde's take on the Cowboys From Hell solo, which he performed during Pantera's first show in 21 years last week An SE version of David Grissom's signature DGT guitar is coming, PRS says (Scott Dudelson/Getty Image) The Maryland company announced the news by way of a 10-minute video that chronicles the guitar's evolution from a morning commute idea to an in-development project Features How the Les Paul transformed from an elegant jazz guitar into rock 'n' roll's weapon of choice (Neil Godwin/Future) Gibson's Mat Koehler has spent countless hours tracing the history of the company's iconic electrics. 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