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EXPLAINED: 2 | Rare Historical Photos

“I’ve had so many people reach out wanting to know what it is and if we can build one for them”: What’s the story behind Noel Gallagher’s new Murphy Lab Les Paul? Gibson finally reveals all

Gallagher's mystery Oasis reunion Les Paul has caused a stir in guitar circles – and now the truth has been revealed

Guitar World

“My friend calls and says, ‘I’ve got this customer. I need you to come down here right away. It's George Harrison'”: How Norman Harris helped reunite a Beatle with his long-lost Les Paul

The Lucy Les Paul was gifted to Harrison by Eric Clapton and used on a score of iconic recordings. When it was stolen, Harris came to his rescue

Guitar World

“It just never felt like it worked with Queens. There’s something about it – it’s a little too ordinary”: Troy Van Leeuwen explains why Queens of the Stone Age are not a Fender Strat band

The alt-rock maverick doubles down on his love for offsets and the Tele's versatile tone

Guitar World

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“I’m going, ‘Whoa, I just quit my band, put all my eggs in thisThin Lizzybasket, and now we’re breaking up over a beard?!’”: Scott Gorham recalls the band's close shave when Phil Lynott was not tickled by Brian Robertson’s whiskers

Thin Lizzy's Live And Dangerous lineup was exactly that, and with Robertson, things could get hairy over the most trivial matter

MusicRadar

“A timely reminder of a true great. Will you sound like him when you plug it in? We wish”: Epiphone Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood review

Another fabled Les Paul joins ‘Greeny’ in Epiphone’s top-end lineup

Guitar World

“I wanted to have the register like a violin. The luthier said to me, ‘I can build you any guitar you like.’ It was a lightbulb moment for me”: Uli Jon Roth on what you get when you cross a Strat and a Les Paul with a violin hybrid

After modifying Strats only got him so far, one luthier came to his rescue and they found that the sky's the limit

Guitar World

“It features a smaller, parlour-sized body that is reminiscent of a scaled-down SJ-200 in overall shape”: Gibson has just unveiled a new Les Paul like no other

It’s a Les Paul, sure, and with a bookmatched AAA flame maple top, too. Only this one is reimagined as a parlour-sized acoustic guitar

MusicRadar

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Their ranks have included blues-rock luminary Bernie Marsden, shred god Steve Vai, and journeyman virtuoso Reb Beach – here's the ultimate guide to the A-team guitarists that have shaped Whitesnake's blockbuster, stadium-conquering sound

David Coverdale’s revolving door of talent has included some of the finest rock guitarists of all time. This is how they each contributed to the many-times-platinum band's legacy

Guitar World

“The owner refused to believe me and called me a liar. Then I realized the craziest thing...” This luthier was offered the chance to buy a ’90s Les Paul, but something didn’t feel right –it turns out he had the ultimate proof to hand

The guitar was brought into George Parfitt’s guitar shop, but a deep dive into the instrument’s history led him to a baffling discovery – and a powerful illustration in not trusting serial numbers

Guitar World

“I had 30 days left on my visa or they’re gonna throw me out of the country. I didn’t know they’d already auditioned 24 guitarists”: Scott Gorham recalls his nerve-racking Thin Lizzy audition – and his first impressions of Brian Robertson

Back in 1974, Thin Lizzy were auditioning a second guitarist to accompany their newest recruit: the 18-year-old Les Paul-wielding Brian Robertson

Guitar World

“It’s the Kinks meets AC/DC. I had to play around with the riff because I didn’t want it to sound like You Really Got Me – you don’t wanna get sued”: Jim Babjak revisits 5 classic Smithereens riffs – and reveals the gear and stories behind them

New Jersey's finest have had their share of killer riffs. Here Babjak walks us through the catalog, talks trials by click-track, and reveals how A Girl Like You nearly ended up at the movies

Guitar World

“There’s a sleek look to bands like Loathe, Spiritbox or Knocked Loose. Spiky shapes are engrained in our values – we want to wear our influences on our sleeves”: Employed To Serve are re-embracing metal guitars –but dropping amps

Preparing to tour fifth album Fallen Star, guitarists Sammy Urwin and David Porter talk Scandi influences, trading offsets for baritones and amp modelers, and breaking down musical tribalism

Guitar World

“I remember there was a video of Gary Moore and he played Red House on this Fiesta Red Strat, and I thought it was just the most incredible thing”: Is Toby Lee Britain’s next blues-rock superstar?

The Firebird-toting Blackstar endorsee's name has been mentioned ever since he recorded a track for B.B. King, aged 10. Here, he explains why he was always playing for keeps

Guitar World

“An amazing piece of history from the British blues scene”: Robert Plant is selling a trove of gear for charity – including a John Birch-modded ‘62 Stratocaster with two switches that once belonged to Stan Webb of Chicken Shack

The 1990 Les Paul that Les Paul gave the former Led Zeppelin frontman has been sold but that Strat is one super-cool refin – so too the mandolin and resonator

MusicRadar

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Guitar World

“It's like saying, ‘Give a man a Les Paul, and he becomes Eric Clapton. It's not true’”: David Gilmour and Roger Waters hit back at criticism of the band's over-reliance on gear and synths when crafting The Dark Side of The Moon in newly unearthed clip

The clip is featured in Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, the newly restored version of the band's groundbreaking Live At Pompeii film

Guitar World

“I was in a frenzy about it being trapped and burnt up. I knew I'd never be able to replace it”: After being pulled from the wreckage of a car crash, John Sykes ran back to his burning vehicle to save his beloved '76 Les Paul

What would ~you~ do for your favorite guitar?

Guitar World

"A traditionally spec'd, workhorse machine that sounds like a Les Paul should while offering some limited-edition aesthetics": Gibson Les Paul 60s Double Trouble review

In what seems like a sly reference to some legal battles, Gibson brings a '60s-style Les Paul with vintage appeal

MusicRadar

“This is a beautiful, well-executed Les Paul, and that’s the sort of guitar you tend to hold onto for life. That’s as sound an investment as there is”: Gibson Les Paul Standard ‘50s Double Trouble review

Looking for a collectible Gibson electric without the Murphy Lab price tag? This limited edition model is a compelling twist on the current Les Paul Standard with the subtle whiff of vintage mojo

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Guitar World

“It's the most significant development in the last 50 years. Everything else has just been a little tweak on something Leo Fender or Les Paul did”: Once Allan Holdsworth picked up a headless Steinberger, there was no turning back

Though he'd also later work with Carvin, Holdsworth remained a headless guitar devotee for the rest of his life, telling Guitar World in an interview just days before his death, “Once you play a headless guitar, you’ll never want to play a regular guitar again”

Guitar World

“I got together with Jeff a few years ago. The famous white Strat was sitting on the couch so I said, ‘Jeff, pick it up and play it!’” Rockabilly rover Mick Rogers on playing with Frank Zappa, touring with Kiss, and rootsy jams with Jeff Beck

The veteran rocker recalls how Frank Zappa helped him get his first Les Paul – and also got him kicked out of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – and discusses his recordings with Jeff Beck, which Rogers says were the last the late virtuoso ever made

Guitar World

“They’re basically Les Paul copies, let’s be frank. It’s a Les Paul-style guitar and I already have amazing Les Pauls”: Kirk Hammett owns over 100 guitars but none of them are PRS. He explains why

The Metallica guitarist has an enviously extensive guitar collection, but it doesn’t feature any of Paul Reed Smith’s builds

Guitar World

“We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear”: The Les Paul Recording Studio opens in Hollywood – bringing the innovator’s revolutionary gear to a whole new generation of musicians

Aside from his work revolutionizing the electric guitar, Les Paul helped modernize recording methods, and this new studio honors his legacy with the gear he built

MusicRadar

"This console is where multi-track recording was born": The Les Paul Recording Studio opens with "meticulously restored" equipment used by the inventor and guitarist

"We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear to working condition, allowing today’s artists to record using the exact tools that revolutionized popular music"

Guitar World

“The Boys Are Back in Town is at least as memorable for its guitar breaks as for its chorus”: Thin Lizzy inspired Metallica, Iron Maiden, and the Cure, practically invented twin lead guitar, and have had 15 guitarists. Here’s your guide to all of them

Thin Lizzy are tough enough for punks, heavy enough for metalheads, poetic enough for romantics – and their catchy riffs and licks have been played by some of the finest guitarists on earth

Guitar World

“A meeting was arranged, but the guy took off and drove to Guadalajara”: It was used for one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, then “kidnapped” and driven to Mexico – the Hollywood-like story of one of George Harrison's most famous guitars

Clandestine meetings, dramatic TV pleas, ransom demands, hurried getaway drives across the Mexican border... it sounds like a thriller, but it all revolved around a very special Les Paul

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