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Who sold more Les Pauls?

Guitar Whiskey

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Aug 10, 2006
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This guy.


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jtees4

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Feb 26, 2010
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Page sold tons of Les Pauls while playing his Tele on the records.
 

Texas Blues

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Apr 13, 2008
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Its still Ace.

He was the best part of this band.



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Billy Porter

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Mar 16, 2005
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A well as the usual suspects. In the UK but also elsewhere:

Mick Ronson
Marc Bolan
Mark Knopfler
Steve Jones
Phil Manzanera
The Edge

Not everyone started playing guitar because of Page, Clapton, Beck or Green.
 

johnreardon

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Mar 15, 2006
Messages
544
A well as the usual suspects. In the UK but also elsewhere:



Not everyone started playing guitar because of Page, Clapton, Beck or Green.
Agree, I started at school in the late 50s. Some of us just wanted to form a 'group' because of the skiffle/rock and roll things going on. We started playing mainly instrumentals in the Shadows/Ventures style then moved on. My first 'real' guitar was a Guild Slim Jim, then moved on to a Strat.

I bought a Les Paul NOT because of someone playing one. It was purely because I went into a shop and tried many guitars. I liked Les Pauls. Managed to get my small collection up to 16 of them, but now down to 6.

Apart from when I saw the Shadows playing Strats, I have never bought a guitar because of some so-called star played one.
 

Billy Porter

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Mar 16, 2005
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1,129
Agree, I started at school in the late 50s. Some of us just wanted to form a 'group' because of the skiffle/rock and roll things going on. We started playing mainly instrumentals in the Shadows/Ventures style then moved on. My first 'real' guitar was a Guild Slim Jim, then moved on to a Strat.

I bought a Les Paul NOT because of someone playing one. It was purely because I went into a shop and tried many guitars. I liked Les Pauls. Managed to get my small collection up to 16 of them, but now down to 6.

Apart from when I saw the Shadows playing Strats, I have never bought a guitar because of some so-called star played one.

I've read biographies of most of the British greats and all credit Hank Marvin as their first influence to starting playing guitar. Just read recently in Guitarist magazine that even Peter Green also started playing due to the Shadows.
 

johnreardon

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Mar 15, 2006
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544
I've read biographies of most of the British greats and all credit Hank Marvin as their first influence to starting playing guitar. Just read recently in Guitarist magazine that even Peter Green also started playing due to the Shadows.

For me it was more of an overall effect of the 'group' concept of people playing musical instruments together rather than concentrating on one person, i.e. Hank. Having said that, I started out as the 'Lead' guitarist and still am, I suppose

Like many in the late 50s, early 60’s I wanted to join in the ‘new’ music emerging at the time. Some friends from near where I lived and I decided we would form a pop group.
We begged our parents to get us some electric guitars and my brother was going to be the drummer. My parents bought me a guitar, believed to be a Selmer Futurama III, on hire purchase and my brother got a snare drum. We started practicing and before long it became obvious that my brother was not really interested and also suffered from a complete absence of rhythm, so he gave up. We found a replacement drummer from the school I attended.

As did many guitarists back then I bought a copy of Bert Weedon’s ‘Play in a Day’. I think it cost me around 5 shillings in old money and, whilst playing in a day was perhaps a bit ambitious, it certainly laid down the foundations. The book showed me how to tune the guitar, play many chords and also gave tips on maintenance. The book is still popular today although it costs considerably more at just under £10 in 2013.
 

ES5

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Nov 13, 2015
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I'd agree with OP...Ace.

I'm in my early 30s...seeing the movie "Detroit Rock City" as a 12 year old set everything in motion. Made me want a cherry sunburst Les Paul with double white pickups so bad. Got into Zep later on...

I'd guess Ace sold more Les Pauls, but Jimmy Page created the market for Bursts.
 

Redhod

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May 2, 2002
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Gibson didn't even make the Les Paul between 1961-76, so there were a lot of peak R&R years without you being able to buy one. In the late 60s-early '70s, the SG was really popular among bands. You saw them everywhere. Lots of 335s around, too.

I think Clapton's use of the LP was known only by the cognoscenti. He sold way more Fenders -- especially after that beautiful Layla album cover. Buddy Holly to Beach Boys, those guys moved Strats.
While the Beano album is held up now like a holy relic, at the time of its release it was just a minor record in the States, mostly available in the "underground" record shops.

My own hero worship of Mike Bloomfield, and seeing him wail up close, is the reason there is a Les Paul in my house now.
Well, now that I think about it, I wasn't actually moved to buy one until I saw Dickey Betts from 7th row seats.

I bet this subject has already been researched by someone at Gibson. I'm going to hazard a guess that it was Jimmy Page who inspired the most people to get a Les Paul. They toured a lot, and his Burst was always right in your eyes.
 

guitarbob123

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Jan 2, 2009
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214
I'd say the numbers back Page or Slash. Probably Slash seeing as he's had so much exposure with Gibson for the last couple of decades now whereas Jimmy doesn't get highlighted quite as much without Zep being in the limelight.

You older guys might underestimate how much things like Guitar Hero impacted anyone under 25-30, literally everyone I know who's ever picked up a guitar (even if they didn't get a Les Paul themselves) is like 'Oh you have a Gibson Les Paul, it's just like the guitars Slash plays.' Even my friends back in my uni halls years ago were like 'Your guitar looks like the one the guy in Guns N Roses has, the top hat guy'
 
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