Les Paul's Original 1954 Black Custom 'BLACK BEAUTY" - Tom Doyle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2014
- LES PAUL'S ORIGINAL 1954 GIBSON BLACK CUSTOM "BLACK BEAUTY" - Tom Doyle, Les Paul's personal guitar-man, luthier, sound engineer, co-inventor, and close personal friend of over 45 years, shows us Les Paul's personal 1954 Black Custom... THE Very First and Original Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar that was custom made just for Les - The ONE that started it all... THE Genesis of every other Les Paul that has ever been made since... every other make and model Gibson Les Paul guitar was based off of this specific guitar! There would be no Les Paul Standard, there would be no '59 Burst, no Les Paul guitar as we now know it without this first Black Les Paul Custom Guitar.
This is THE electric guitar that started it all. The first 1952 Goldtop, albeit iconic, was a bit of a "flop" and had a whole bunch of inherent design flaws. Les wanted and demanded that Gibson make a much better electric guitar if it was going to have his name on it -- So he and Gibson's Ted Mccarty got to work and they designed this Les Paul Black Custom especially just for Les.. and Les approved!!! This guitar had all the right mechanical specs, proper parts, design features, aesthetics, and sound that Les had been after... and is the VERY guitar all other Les Paul guitars to come have been based on ever since. This is Les Paul's personal Custom "BLACK BEAUTY" guitar that left the Gibson factory in late December of 1953 and was delivered to Les in the first weeks of 1954. Les used this guitar on all of his Listerine Shows, and began modifying and experimenting almost immediately. You can see what looks like several Black Les Paul guitars on these mid 50's TV Shows, but in reality it was just this one - just with different hardware configurations that les would try ie: different pickups, different knobs and various controls, and even stoptails that were switched out for various Vibrolas and Vibratos, and so on. This beautiful Black Gibson Guitar is the beginning of the beginning, and we are so proud and very grateful that Les Paul himself personally gave this historical icon to Tom way back in 1976, for all of Tom's years of dedicated service.
Guitar Player Magazine called this guitar "One of the Most Important Electric Guitars of All Time!"
For more info go to: www.tomdoyleguitars.com - เพลง
"An elegant weapon...for a more civilized age."
Even as a total metalhead who loves the distortion sound, I'd give my left nut to go back in time and meet Les. Modern music simply wouldn't be what it is today without guys like him and Leo Fender who worked tirelessly to deliver options to musicians looking to find themselves. Besides: you can never craft a truly great distorted tone unless you first understand clean tone. Notice how many of metal's pioneers were trained musicians...
Thanks Uncle! (smile) I finally have both a '69 Personal, and a "70 Professional. I can use this great video to help the kids, and teachers at my local school to hear electricity, and experiment with ultra-cool electromagnets with Hands On music science and rock and roll history.
I don't know who invented 5th grader's but they deserve an award. Hand them an electric guitar and you can teach them Quantum Mechanics (smile). 5th grade teachers, all teachers, shape our Nation's Future! As a meager scientist, I am privileged to bring Les Paul science to the classroom! If you read this message, Please Volunteer at your Local school!! Peace, Mark Doyle
wow what a great story and axe.I love this video.
thank you Gibson and les paul for your hard work for me to have a nice guitar to play
By the way, during Les Paul era, distortion wasn't accepted in the studios... It meant that the recording when wrong ! It was a non quality issue. When the rock and rollers arrived, and started playing loud (Jeff Beck, etc), Les Paul understood that his time at the top was over. But he never stopped looking for that perfect tone of his. He became a close friend of Eddy Van Halen. When Van Halen talks about Les Paul, he almost cries each time. Two Greats !
Met he and Lou Pallo twice at Fat Tuesdays as a teenager, Les was the coolest, nicest guy. That was the first time I'd ever seen a performer, shake hands and meet and chat with fans. He kissed my gf and signed my LP Certificate :-) Oh Les you're def missed! Great Video Tom, thank you!!!
Now that's a nice explanation of the legacy of Les Paul.
Wonderful little history lesson for the guitar enthusiast.
He's a good man ! He worked for Les Paul almost without any salary ! Les Paul was not very generous by nature. Maybe he suffered from poverty when he was young and therefore he was keeping all he could for himself. Mr Doyle is certainly a big part of Les Paul success and I'm happy to see and hear that he is touched by those precious gifts from the Man himself ! Look for the entire story of Mr. Doyle : the begining of his relationship with Les Paul. It's very interesting !
Les is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met he was so kind and told the greatest stories
I always love how Les and Fender are at the complete opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to guitar making, Les was a player and so he invented this guitar to suit his needs and constantly morph it along the years, Fender was a not a musician, he prefers hearing the opinion of musicians on the things he wanted to improve on the guitar.
Best Guitar ever! As a young adult years ago, the first guitar I ever pick up was a Black Beauty and it was so intimidating that Black Beauty spoke to me "if you don't know how to play me I don't have time to teach you". I never felt another guitar that was made to be played like a Black Beauty.
Thank you Les Paul and Tom..
I hope to one day be financially able to drop a set of Doyle Coils into my Les Paul. From everything I have seen, heard and read, they are great pickups.
Anthony Norton keep it original.
+Davis Crispo drop in some bkp misha mansoor juggernauts, play it high gain through a powerball on drop Z, fokk yea bR00tal.
Great story of Mr. Les Paul
Thanks for posting !
Fan of Les and Mary from the 50s ... loved watching the TV shorts. Thanks for the excellent presentation!
Hard to believe..around 1960 my neighbor in East Rockaway N Y , Ruby Waltzer, ( who played guitar professionally ) was taking my father and I to New Jersey for lunch with Les Paul. I do not know why, but the date was cancelled, and never re-scheduled... I played guitar with my oldies group " THE BRAVADOS " for many years, but never had the chance again to meet Les. I have always been sad at the thought of " how close " Don Rodgers
Lots of nice surprises. I wasn't expecting to see a Bigsby on it. Lovely piece of history.
Thank you for sharing such wonderful story's.
Great history lesson on the man that changed so much for music in his lifetime. Les Paul was the greatest, a real national treasure.
Having collected Les Paul guitars since late 70's , also many other makes and models. I maintain, the Black Beauty to be the ultimate, in appearance, sound, playability, manufacturing, etc. Excellent commentary,thanks for sharing ! 🎸
Tom was the only guitar tech I trusted my Les Pauls with. I used to visit him in Washington Township, NJ and then in Sussex, NJ. He treated my guitarist with TLC. Tom, come back to Jersey.
The mind, the innovation, and the forethought that went into his exact creation.....vastly impressive! The floodgates of rock and roll were opened with the Gibson Humbucker, and history was made. Thank you to Gibson, Les Paul and Leo Fender among the greatest pioneers of their time! Thank you very much Tom for posting your video! Truly incredible!
Tommy Doyle is a genius and a super nice guy. He’s the guy that influenced me to go to luthiers school and when I sold Tommy my 61’ SG Les Paul that the headstock was repaired on he let me play this guitar in his shop which at the time was in his back yard in an upstairs loft. Tommy’s also one the Tri State areas great jazz guitarist. Tommy would get me into Fat Tuesday’s and then Les’ venue changed to Iridium. When Tommy would come down to the music stores in Ocean County,NJ I’d always go outta my way to meet up with him. Les Absolutely loved this man and rightfully so. Bless you Tommy Frankie O’Hearn.
Man! What a wonderful thing to have!! Les Paul was such a brilliant man.
So great to see and get the full low-down on this particular guitar. It SHOULD be noted, however, that Les mastered and recorded 'distorted' guitar on several occasions. Listen to 'Big Eyed Gal' from 1962 and 'The System' from 1967, among others. Les could do ANYTHING (if he wanted to).
Theres talk of the million dollar burst... This guitar is priceless. Theres no way on earth it has a price. Its stunning in everyway.
There is a burst that sold for a reported million. Originally owned by Peter Green then Gary Moore. I guessing about 10 years ago, just after it was acquired , it showed up at the Dallas Guitar show. I got a pic of me holding it along side my own 59 burst. It was later that day played by a friend on stage.
Amazing guitar 🎸! The mother of Les Pauls! The original! What is it worth? It’s priceless!
I had to watch this twice to soak up all this historic first hand info, thank you, for doing this.
If I could like it twice, I would. Thanks for posting
It's still ironic for me that Les created the Les Paul guitar and highly modified it to his liking to REMOVE Distortion, nowadays Les Pauls are synonymous with that iconic broken up marshall sound, it's so iconic and ironic for that guitar.
Take a bow Tom ,great video on the man who not only invented his guitar,but also double tracking and echo created by him.That man was an inventor as you are, can't wait to try out your pickups on my Paul's!
This was Les Paul's work horse. Very cool.
Thank you Mr.Tom for sharing this
Whenever you encounter a wonderful invention (like a Les Paul guitar) you should take the time and reflect on what the inventor envisioned for it. It makes you appreciate the beauty and value of the instrument as well as give you insight of what it may be capable of that you hadn't intended. Great story. Thank you.
Great, informative video. Love to see original source Perspectives and insights. Thanks for posting this...
Thank you Tom .. Great video... !! and of course thank you Les..!!
beautiful, thanks for sharing.
Amazing! So many history behind this beautiful model!
I've got chills. As someone that likes to tinker with guitars, this was fantastic. I admire les paul even more now. On top of being an amazing player, an audio electrical innovator, he's joyous, accepting of everyone and funny. Is there anything bad to say about this guy?
If I’d have a “Time Machine” Mr. Les Paul would be one of the first I would like to pay a visit. Just to say Thank You in person.
WOW ... The History in that single instrument is awe inspiring. .... Maybe you could make an even trade ... THAT guitar for The Gibson Guitar COMPANY!
Tom was my guitar tech throughout the 80's and 90's. I used to go to his house in Washington Township, NJ to have my Les Pauls set up. Then around 2000 he moved to Wantage, NJ in Sussex County and I would drive all the way the heck up there to have Tom work on my guitars. He worked on my Les Paul in the thumbnail pic. Not sure where he is now, maybe Florida. Tom is the best luthier - period. He is the only one I would let touch my guitars. To this day, I have tried almost every guitar tech here in Jersey, and they pale compared to Tom. I miss you brother.
Incredible!
Thanks for that awesome video!
Kinda wanted to hear it.
I got to meet Tom and touch that guitar at NAMM a few years ago.
Awesome video . A pleasure to see up close a guitar that appeared in many photos & on records. I gather, this guitar is totally mahogany with an ebony board. Notice the top is flat also. Thanks for posting.
I remember old G.P. player mags with an advertisement of Mr. Doyle's pick ups on an obscure looking
Les Paul with F holes in the early 1980's.
Wow .. great story, nicely told !
What a great video ..to hear Tom tell it exactly like it was when he was there is just incredible 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I'll buy that for a dollar!!
Historic piece that has les
Paul's DNA al over it wonderful video!
awesome story thank you for sharing
Great explanation of artists at then just being kids and kids just looking for something like I was. That's not bad at all. There still buying les paul guitars 🎸 yes! Great quote Tom! ! You my man are a truly blessed and genuine human being Tom. We hear it in your explanation of the guitar and man and others. Thanks
Wow, this is beautiful. Thank you so much, I learned a lot in this video, Tom.
so nice interview!
That was more interesting than watching the evolution of the human species.
Les Paul is an influence on my recording technique. I wanted to see him play live, and that moment left.
He is already missed. Thx-
Les Paul lives! Thanks to the process he helped develop- recording.
I forgot what award he received but it was very late in his life and his comment was priceless: "Giving me an award is like putting a new flagpole on a condemned building!"
oh come on, I wanted to hear it now.
What a great story.
So proud of you. Great guitar.
Very Cool Guitar.
Love them, have 32 year old black custom and a 2017 Standard HP Heritage Cherry Sunburst......beautiful
Tim Halstead how do the HP's feel in comparison to more traditional models?
We all stand on the shoulders of giants.
What a visionary genius!
with chickenhead knobs, love it!
Love your pickup in my Tom Holms guitar.
I love that clean sound that’s why I love BB king and dicky betts and Duane allmon clean
Thank you. Great way to tell us what was...
the first goldtop? 1st? ever? absolutely priceless... wow
Only thing that would’ve made this video better would have been to hear black beauty 👍🏽
Very cool 😎
This is a really interesting story
great…thanks
They broke the mold after Les!
Mother of all Gibson Guitars , now thats freekin awesome :)
More specifically the mother of all "Les Paul's"
@@markshipley560 Thanks, I was gonna say the same thing
Great story Tom.
les paul guitars I want them all
that was great!
That guitar is a work of art. Near perfect form and function.
les paul is the Electric guitar god
Then what was Leo Fender...? Maybe 2 guitar gods. Both have there place. I grew up listening to Les Paul & Mary Ford. He sure could play. :>)
RESPECT!! I have always wondered about why my brothers and I seemed to instinctively cut up perfectly good guitars to make them "Better" (Huge Smile). Thank You for holding the Legacy! I hope you will reintroduce the Tru-Clone Low impedance pickups.
Wow, Tom really knows what he's talking about.
These older LPs that were owned by Paul himself all seemed to have the output jack mounted on the top rather than the side.
It’s kinda ironic that his name sake “LesPaul” put him out of business as a recording artist. Distortion and the LesPaul was what I remembered as being hand in hand. What a great inventor, 8 track recording, great guitar electronics.... his legacy will go on forever.
Priceless would be an understatement...
Tom. What does it feel like to own that les Paul guitar
Wow. What a relic, one day ill take my kid to museums to see some of this stuff up close i bet. Great video.
That' s a dream guitar that almost humans can' t get, lucky man !
Bob Ayers only one person on earth can own it
+Bob Ayers the only way to get it is stealing it lol, this thing is priceless
great story
Sweet!!!!
Brillant
Very cool video! If it weren't for Les Paul, the great guitars we have today would not be here.
wow what a restless genius Les was.
Les Paul was the Man .
He was Nicola Tesla of the guitar world
Or Nikola Tesla was the Les Paul of electricity
Tom Doyle also has a pickup company that makes the best PAF style humbuckers on the market (at least in my humble opinion). They are called Doyle coils and if you are looking for a replacement pickup you should check them out. They aren't cheap but if you really care about your tone they are wortgh every penny.
We think we are gear nuts. And make upgrades and such on our guitars. By a simple pickup change. Try this. The true inventor and gear nut . MR LES PAUL
The original musical maverick, Lester Polfuss.
endings kinda happy but sad too
Tom.
I'm gonna need you to go ahead and mass produce clones of those low impedance pickups.
R E S P EC T!!! 😇😇😇😇😇