Ricochet Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Is there a Epiphone George Harrison Les Paul? And did he play one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epinder Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I'm sure that at one time in his life he played an LP. But I don't think he played one to any extent on a record. I've never heard of an EPI GH LP, but I could be wrong. He did play a similar looking guitar: and this gives me an oppurtunity to show off my Duo Jet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiEric Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Harrison had a 1957 Goldtop that had been refinished to red. He called it "Lucy" after Lucille Ball. It was a gift to him from Eric Clapton and is the guitar that Clapton played the "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" solo on. He used it on some of the tracks on White Album, Let it Be and Abbey Road for sure and played it live during his solo career. I'm not aware of Harrison ever owning or playing an Epi Les Paul - though he did have a Squier Strat at one point. I've seen pics of Bob Dylan playing an Epi Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Back in the day when music came on 12" pieces of vinyl, you could get two different versions of the Beatles' Let It Be album; one came with a gorgeous book of pictures taken during that period. In there you see George with his famous rosewood Tele and also there's a black and white pic of Mr. Harrison with a Les Paul. The thing I noticed about that pic was the Grover Rotomatic tuners he had on it and how *****en they looked there... that kind of stuck with me and since then Grovers have always looked 'right' to me on a Les Paul. However I don't think there is enough connection between the LP and GH to warrant a signature guitar... George was more associated with various Gretsches over the years and later on he seemed to gravitate towards Strats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokestack Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Ah, So that's why you've always been so keen on the old Rotomatics Spud ...and why you're upset that that they don't make 'em like they used to ;^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Well, there's obviously more to it than that but yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 here's Dylan's... actually, harrison played that LP guite often, and considering it was used by Clapton on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and by GH in the "Revolution" promo film, it would make sense to do an epiphone version...especially considering they already have McCartney / Lennon guitars... call it the "Revolution Lucy Les Paul"... good 1977 interview with george: http://beatlesnumber9.com/ghcraw.html this caption is incorrect (the guitar was given to Harrison prior to WMGGW), but here is the les paul: Gibson reissued something close: 57 LP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiflyer Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Look at this one: eBay Epiphone Les Paul GH Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiflyer Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 ... and here's is a link to a discussion on the Les Paul forum about a Gibson version of this guitar. http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127954 Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 nice looking guitar...w/o the bigsby, it is pretty close to GH's for an epiphone...the "limited edition" probably refers to the bigsby, and the "harrison style" the dealer's positive spin on the looks of the guitar...I doubt it was an official "limited edition harrison style"...although I'm sure someone at epiphone chose the color for that very reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiflyer Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 From what I read on the LPF, the GH had a bigsby mounted at one time. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I posted a link to that gibson up above...click on "57 LP" in my post for more photos I like the one-off replica the guy made in the link you posted this guy is wrong, however: "George Harrisons had no switch ring" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Lucy had a bigsby pre-Harrison...in 1966 when it was owned by Rick Derringer, and prior to that when owned by John Sebastion... so the epiphone above would be a great start for creating your own Lucy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiflyer Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Another one on eBay Germany: eBay GH Epiphone Les Paul Nice finish ! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 yup, those look nice...but to reference something said on the LP forum about the 57 LP, these are definitely not "official" GH models...licensing the name from the Harrison estate would be costly, almost certainly tied into a charity like the Lennon and Macca models, and Epiphone would surely be including some sort of signature or model designation on the label or headstock... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiflyer Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 yup' date=' those look nice...but to reference something said on the LP forum about the 57 LP, these are definitely not"official" GH models...licensing the name from the Harrison estate would be costly, almost certainly tied into a charity like the Lennon and Macca models, and Epiphone would surely be including some sort of signature or model designation on the label or headstock... [/quote'] Yes, you're right. It's only a nice red trans standard, and as said in the last auction, a 'Harrison STYLE' Les Paul, not a sig model in any way. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epinder Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I'm bad. I forgot all about Lucy. It was early in the morning when I responded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Lucy had a bigsby pre-Harrison...in 1966 when it was owned by Rick Derringer' date=' and prior to that when owned by John Sebastion... so the epiphone above would be a great start for creating your own Lucy...[/quote'] True...In early August of 1968 Clapton gave the former Gold Top now refinished in SG "Cardinal red", (serial number 7-8789 and shipped on December, 19, 1957) to George who first used it on the track "Not Guilty" on August 7, 1968, contrary to common myth it was not given to George after the "While My Guitar" sessions which didn't happen for another month on September 6. In 1973 "Lucy" was stolen from Geroge's house in Beverly Hills and ended up in the Hollywood Guitar Center where it was sold (for $650) to a Mexican musician who took it back to Mexico. To get it back George had to buy the guy a '58 Sunburst Les Paul, an early Fender P-Bass and a few other instruments. I'm certain the guitar is still in the Harrison estate, it has a switch ring and a "Custom" late 60's era truss rod cover and the aforementioned Rotomatics. For a short time in the 90's Gibson offered a Les Paul Standard in cardinal red but there was never any George association. ...and Al's your uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkwire Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 According to Rick Derringer, the gold top had turned to green in some spots from finish checking, so he sent it to Gibson to refinish it. He figured if they were going to do that, he might as well try another color, so he picked Cardinal Red. He claims the guitar never sounded as good once it was refinished, and that's why he sold it. Obviously, George didn't share that opinion...he went through a lot of trouble to get it back. IIRC, Lennon put Rotomatics on his Casino as well, i.e. the 'Revolution' Casino. The Beatles must have liked those Grovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaptinkrunch Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I was aware that George had a red lp that he played from time to time (didn't know her name... and now I do lol !! ) , but I always thought of George as a Gretsch man and had a much stronger association of John & Paul with Epiphone guitars. *shrug* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I don't think George's limited use of his Les Paul warrants a signature model... in all honesty, I associate him with the Les Paul-style Gretsch Duo Jet than his Les Paul. The Telecaster and the Country Gentleman top my list, though. I had a dream that I was playing a Country Gentleman the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I don't think George's limited use of his Les Paul warrants a signature model... in all honesty' date=' I associate him with the Les Paul-style Gretsch Duo Jet than his Les Paul. The Telecaster and the Country Gentleman top my list, though. I had a dream that I was playing a Country Gentleman the other day.[/quote'] When you consider that the Les Paul was used through out the Beatles White Album, Let It Be and Abbey Road as well as in his solo years (which is far from "limited" use) and that he used the Telecaster during Let It Be more or less as a consideration to Fender for providing a lot of equipment at that point and that he had it for less than a year before giving it to Delaney Bramlett and George himself has stated that he used Gretsches "Only because he didn't at that point know how to get a good guitar sound" (He actually had wanted a Fender Stratocaster when he bought the Duo Jet) and the Country Gentleman was case of a guitar company getting their product into the hands of a hot act I'd say a personal Les Paul model would be very appropriate. I think a George Harrison Casino would now be redundant but a "65 SG with the Lyre Vibrato or a cardinal red Les Paul Standard would be fitting. I actually associate the Fender Strat (Rocky) or the Rickenbacker 12 string more with Harrison than the early Gretsches. ...and Al's your uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biff Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Another one on eBay Germany: Nice finish ! The nicest thing about all these new Qingdao (EE) models is the carved top. Compared to them my Korean LP Custom looks almost flat ... nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 Thank you for the helpfull replies! So to summarize, it's a legit Epiphone, but not a legit Signature model. And it's kind of GH-style, but not really accurate. Hmm, too bad. I'm really impressed with the look. I generally despise red solid body guitars, but with the bigsby it looks like a classic vette or mustang. Now if it only had P90s...I'd have had an excuse to buy it.:- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 The nicest thing about all these new Qingdao (EE) models is the carved top. Compared to them my Korean LP Custom looks almost flat ... nice. Really? Got pix? I mean I take your word for it, but I'd be really interested in a pic of the 2 back to back(or side by side) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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