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Books on Les Pauls


rocketman

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I have 1) Million Dollar Les Paul by Bacon, 2) The Gibson Les Paul Handbook by Balmer, 3) The Beauty of the 'Burst by Iwanade, and 4) 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul by Bacon. The other Gibson book I have is The Gibson Electric Guitar Book - Seventy Years of Classic Guitars by Carter. I also like American Guitars by Wheeler.

 

Which ones do you have? Any thoughts on the one(s) you like most?

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I have Balmer's Les Paul Handbook. I could have used a little more setup tips and mods, and a little less about how awesome Peter Green and Gary Moore are. I also thought the celebrity guitars section toward the end could have been a little more informative. All in all, though, it was a good read.

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I have Balmer's Les Paul Handbook. I could have used a little more setup tips and mods, and a little less about how awesome Peter Green and Gary Moore are. I also thought the celebrity guitars section toward the end could have been a little more informative. All in all, though, it was a good read.

 

I have the Balmer book as well.

My beef with it is that MOST of the repairs/mods etc were all shown on an Epiphone. Ive never seen so much

wiring in my life!....If they cant afford to take apart a real Gibson Les Paul then they shouldnt write the book.

Other then that its an ok book.......oh ya, that cheesy picture of Balmer on the last page! lol

He looks like a mortician trying to be cool!

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The Gibson Les Paul Book by Bacon and Day. There was a post a while back about weight relief Les Pauls. The book claims the holes were not drilled around the bridge, but around the toggle area. I made a complete a$$ of my myself here arguing for the info in the book only to be proved wrong.

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The Gibson Les Paul Book by Bacon and Day is my favorite. It goes into considerable detail, and while it may be inaccurate in two or three places, it is more readable and useful than the other I have. 'Burst by Scott and Da Pra is less about the guitar and more about obsessive-compulsive disorder, and constant inside jokes to show how cool they are to have the guitars you don't. Pretty pictures, though, but overall, it's annoying to read unless you share their obsession.

 

The rest of the Gibson books I have are either general or specialized on an instrument other than the LP. Walter Carter's 100 Years of Gibson has some illuminating information about the ineptness of the Norlin management (you understand that I have a Norlin LP and love it) and their ability to take a robust conglomerate and cripple and fray it until Gibson was in danger of becoming an offshore brand. A R Duchossoir's Gibson Electrics and The Guitar Identification Book have much of use in them, perhaps more so in the later editions than the older ones I have.

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Let's see here, where do I start...

 

Interactive Gibson Bible

The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy

The Modern Era of the Les Paul Legacy is on order

Gibson Guitars: Ted McCarthy's Golden Era 1948-1966

The GIbson Electric Guitar Book - 70 Years of Classic Guitars

50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul

Beauty of the Burst

Tone Man - Kunio's Excellent Selection of Guitars

The GIbson Burst - 1958, 59, 60

Haynes Gibson Les Paul Manual

Million Dollar Les Paul

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  • 6 months later...

I've read all the books except the Balmer. By far my favorite is Robb Lawrence's "The Early Years Of The Les Paul Legacy"--great biographical info and terrific instrument coverage, not to mention all the great pics! (I really want that LP Custom with the Switchmaster wiring!) I can't wait for Vol. 2.

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