Is The Les Paul a Jazz Guitar?

jb_abides · Feb 12, 2014

or

Elmore · Feb 13, 2014

Yes it is. A good LP can do anything. It will not sound like a hollow body, but it does its own thing nicely in the hands of a talented player.

yeti · Feb 14, 2014

Just saw this on the other forum.
George Benson on a Burst in 1964. Sounds like jazz to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnR8EoLTYZ8#t=43

Elliot Easton · Feb 14, 2014

The answer is yes. That's kinda what it was designed for-a jazz guitar without feedback. Brilliant!

Elliot Easton · Feb 14, 2014

No one could have predicted what would happen when Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield plugged them in!

Big Al · Feb 14, 2014

Elliot Easton said:
The answer is yes. That's kinda what it was designed for-a jazz guitar without feedback. Brilliant!

I never thought it was, Mr. Elliot, (btw how was camp?), I always had the impression that Gibson was going after Fender and went for clear sustainy twang tone, as most of the early solidbody builders were. Country and Western Music seemed to be the biggest market in the 50's, with R&B, Rock n Roll and blues making up most of the rest.

The hollowbodies could not get the loud, bright and clear tone,(somethind T. McCarty hated!!), but the Les Paul could be dialed back for an acceptable Jazz tone.

Stevedenver · Feb 14, 2014

I agree, it was an upscale answer to Fender, complete with the reigning star of 1952 and his honey voiced wife. Don't think it was designed for jazz per se.

There is, as I recall, in The Gibson, perhaps, an interview with McCarty(?) confirming this as the marketing strategy, and using the violin top carve to distinguish the product as a Gibson, but also , using appointments similar to the 'orchestral guitars' ie the big Gibson jazz boxes.

As the dearth of examples in this thread shows (even though it wasn't the question it got a few examples, mostly from the not so recent past) , by and large, it is not used by jazz cats.

And, I rarely ever have seen one played in a jazz club. A strat is more common than a lester in live jazz that ive watched .

jrgtr42 · Feb 16, 2014

Just about any guitar can be used for any style - some work out better than others, generally.
I don't see why the LP wouldn't be a good jazz guitar - most jazzbos are looking for a clear, ringing sound, without a ton of high-end treble. Flip over to the neck PU, roll down the tone a bit, and you're there with it. If you want, flip back to middle or bridge PU for a solo, and no need to touch anything else.
Heck I've seen guys playing jazz on shred-specials - Ibanez S-series FLoyd Rose hum-single-hum guitars and making it sound good.

KennyY · Feb 18, 2014

This guy gets a nice jazz sound out his Les Paul on a few jazz standards (I'm not sure its a vintage one).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY9LgXLPjHo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON38-N6QFGY

I'll settle using my Les Paul Custom for jazz. It would be nice if Gibson would make a thinline L4C with a floating pickup.

Stevedenver · Feb 18, 2014

he sure does-and it sounds very Polytone to me
thanks

Elliot Easton · Feb 18, 2014

I don't disagree with you guys, but whether it was country, rockabilly, jazz, pop, or rock and roll, most of that music was played on hollow bodies, so feedback was often a problem. I think Les Paul's experiments in this area precede, or at least parallel Leo Fender's. I'm not sure it's so important what kind of music was played on them. As most of us realize by now, you can play any kind of music on a great guitar!

yeti · Feb 18, 2014

HbarC · Dec 12, 2017

Zombie thread , I know , but some things are timeless.

Larry Coryell used a Les Paul for awhile, which I thought some of y'all might enjoy hearing.

http://youtu.be/60-L-hvCQjQ

I find my 55 Gold Top & 57 Special to be nicely suited for jazz, they are most versatile.

Big Al · Dec 12, 2017

Elliot Easton said:
I don't disagree with you guys, but whether it was country, rockabilly, jazz, pop, or rock and roll, most of that music was played on hollow bodies, so feedback was often a problem. I think Les Paul's experiments in this area precede, or at least parallel Leo Fender's. I'm not sure it's so important what kind of music was played on them. As most of us realize by now, you can play any kind of music on a great guitar!

Of course. I believe feedback suppression was a primary driver for solidbody design. Not creating a feedback proof jazz guitar. Equally important was the bright sustainy tone so popular with steel guitar and Pop and C&W music. Les Paul was a pioneer of the styles and tones. Les was not a Jazz artist and the solidbody guitar was seen as an alternative voice to the typical hollow body electric guitar. "The Les Paul Sound" was a bright cutting tone and not the wooly warm jazz tone. It is pretty clear that Gibson wanted to expand their market. They already dominated the Jazz guitar thing, they needed to expand into this new market with an appropriate instrument.

deytookerjaabs · Dec 12, 2017

Les Paul not a Jazz Guitarist?

:ha!

Les was absolutely the most popular JAZZ guitarist of his time right before he got his own endorsed model. He won the Downbeat (Jazz Aficionado) Magazine reader's poll for best *jazz* guitarist in '51 over guys like Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, and even his personal hero Django Reinhardt. He built his career playing the Cole Porter songbook, cutting his teeth from Chicago jazz jams all the way to backing Bing Crosby in Hollywood. This was all before his venture into Pop Ballads with Mary Ford etc.

Saying Les Paul isn't a Jazz guitarist because he played other styles is like saying the same of George Benson or Wes Mongomery.

His trio records are essential Les Paul listening:

As for the intended tone of comparing Fender to Gibson I'll quote Ted McCarty:

Leo drove me crazy, trying to out-build him on amplifiers. One thing Gibson always had, even before I went there, was a good mellow instrument, and a good mellow amplifier. Not this raucous tone. We didn't want a guitar like that, and we didn't want an amplifier like that.

Gibson players wanted the mellow sound, while Fender players wanted the harsher sound. Gibson wanted the range of sound that would not be hard on your ears.

El Gringo · Dec 12, 2017

yeti said:
Just saw this on the other forum.
George Benson on a Burst in 1964. Sounds like jazz to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnR8EoLTYZ8#t=43

That was most awesome and thank you for posting .As it clearly demonstrates in the video you can most certainly Jazz Out on a Les Paul .Most impressive that George Benson was jazzing out on a Vintage Burst with a bigsby .Looked like he was playing on the neck pickup which is where I would play with the amp dialed in for some clean tones .

deytookerjaabs · Dec 12, 2017

El Gringo said:
That was most awesome and thank you for posting .As it clearly demonstrates in the video you can most certainly Jazz Out on a Les Paul .Most impressive that George Benson was jazzing out on a Vintage Burst with a bigsby .Looked like he was playing on the neck pickup which is where I would play with the amp dialed in for some clean tones .

Ironically, the next cat in McDuff's band, a little fella by the name of Pat Martino also played a Les Paul. Though, not a 'burst, it was a staple pickup custom:

Pat+Martino+McDuff+Holloway+Hibbler+Dukes+1963.jpg

Sometime late in his tenure with McDuff it was stolen, who knows how much longer he would have used it, probably at least through his first few records which are classics IMO. His Dad bought it for him when he was a teenager, had a lot of meaning for him I'm sure.

fakejake · Dec 12, 2017

Jim Hall had a '54 custom as his main guitar during his time with Chico Hamilton. Sounded beautiful! That was before he bought the ES 175 most associated with him.

16987d1420643596-jim-hall-les-paul-jimhall_lespaul-jpg

El Gringo · Dec 12, 2017

I love Pat Martino , that was so awesome and thank you for posting .

Ed Driscoll · Dec 12, 2017

Les Paul isn't a jazz guitarist? He certainly faked it well enough to fool ol' Bing Crosby.

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