old mark Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Glad to find this older thread on the Les Paul Low Impedance guitars...I just got a 1971 Les Paul Recording Guitar as a 66th birthday gift to myself, after wanting one since they were new. My understanding is that Les wanted a versatile guitar that could make whole ranges of tones with no external "stomp boxes" or effects. He designed the guitar and designed the pickups and circuitry and actually made some early pickups himself. These were HIS ideal guitars rather than Gibson's Les Paul models. I have played my guitar using the high impedance switch, but have not yet found a usable transformer for the amp end of the cable...I do have a Shure mic transformer, but can't get it to work. FWIW, my guitar was recently overhauled by Gibson in Nashville - everything works. It shows its age, but it is a beautiful player, and this will be MY personal guitar, and will probably never leave my house. The playability is really very fine. I'm very glad I found the one I did when I had money to buy it. mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveg Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 my understanding of the Recording Model is this: The guitar has low impedence pickups. Consequently, it can be plugged straight into the sort of low impedence mic inputs found on mixing boards, which is what Les Paul intended it for. However, as guitar amps have high impedence inputs, its necessary to have a transformer between the low impedence pickups and the guitar amp. The Recording has an internal transformer for this purpose, which is switched in by the Hi/Lo impedence switch. Therefore it is not strictly necessary to use any sort of external transformer, no matter what you're plugging into. However, it appears that many users are not happy with the quality of the internal transformer, and suggest leaving the guitar on the low impedence setting, and using an external transformer (in this case the Shure) to step it up to a high impedence output. This could have the added advantage of placing the transformer on the amplifier end of the cord, reducing the loss that might be caused by a very long guitar cable. Take it from someone who has used an original LPR since 1972. It is not about the quality of the internal transformer. It is about the positioning of the transformer relative to the Guitar and Amp. The transfomer works best on the amp end of the lead and as close to the amp as possible. I have used cheap transformers and the original Shure transformer and there is not a lot of difference other than reliability and quality of build - as long as it is used in the right place. I always tell owners to plug it into a desk or a multitrack and listen to the variety of CLEAN tones via headphones. THEN try to duplicate those sounds through an amp. DG To the OP. The tuners on mine are nickel plated Grovers with nickel plated tulip buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Hello Mark! Congratulations for making such a good decision! It ain't easy to find the right present for birthday. :) You managed it very well! Those guitars are great, so easy to bond with them for life. Enjoy Yours with good health! It is such a fascinating instrument: I own mine since 26th of February, and still find new tones by playing with the knobs. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Glad to find this older thread on the Les Paul Low Impedance guitars...I just got a 1971 Les Paul Recording Guitar as a 66th birthday gift to myself, after wanting one since they were new. My understanding is that Les wanted a versatile guitar that could make whole ranges of tones with no external "stomp boxes" or effects. He designed the guitar and designed the pickups and circuitry and actually made some early pickups himself. These were HIS ideal guitars rather than Gibson's Les Paul models. I have played my guitar using the high impedance switch, but have not yet found a usable transformer for the amp end of the cable...I do have a Shure mic transformer, but can't get it to work. FWIW, my guitar was recently overhauled by Gibson in Nashville - everything works. It shows its age, but it is a beautiful player, and this will be MY personal guitar, and will probably never leave my house. The playability is really very fine. I'm very glad I found the one I did when I had money to buy it. mark Congrats on the new guitar & happy 66th birthday. You will be one of the few people in the world, that will have the opportunity to enjoy what Les Paul enjoyed playing. Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 To the OP - The tuners on mine are nickel plated big Grovers, smooth as silk....very similar to the factory tuners on my Epiphone Elitist Casino... Thank you for the birthday wishes. I have wanted a LP Recording Guitar for about 40 years, and finally found a factory stock guitar when I had the money to buy it. It's a joy to play, but It won't ever leave my house...unless I actually do that recording I have been thinking about. I have a lot of guitars, more than 40, and the LP Recording is a real treasure to me. Here are a few of my oddities...The Epiphone Zenith bass, Gibson SG Special 3 pickup, and the '71 Les Paul Recording Guitar... Nothing else like it, period. mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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