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| Modern Guitars Magazine - News Archive Updated : Guitarist and Inventor Les Paul Passes Away at 94 Electric guitar icon Les Paul passed away today, the result of complications of severe pneumonia, at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. He was 94. Born June 9, 1915, as Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he later adopted the stage name Les Paul and, in addition to his contributions as a performing artist, played a major role in the development of the solidbody electric guitar, most closely associated with his namesake instrument, the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Guitar's best selling instrument. The only person with membership in all of the following: the Grammy Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Les Paul enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a recording artist, inventor and innovator, and a performer who, despite arthritis, permanent hearing loss and a heart attack followed by bypass surgery, for over 12 years maintained a twice-weekly performance residence at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club until recently. His 2005 CD, Les Paul & Friends; American Made World Played, was a double-Grammy winner. More » Gibson Guitar Introduces the Zoot Suit SG Electric Guitar Though at first glance the look of the Gibson Zoot Suit SG electric guitar might be more reminiscent of '60s era psychedelia than the zoot suits of the '30s and '40s, behind the name are some interesting construction twists certain to garner interest from players and possibly collectors. This new entry from Gibson USA has not started to ship yet, but is expected to carry an MSRP of $1,999 with a likely street price from retailers in the area of $1,199. The instrument comes in six color schemes: Rainbow, Black and Red, Black and Natural, Black and Orange, and Red and Blue. While certainly colorful, it's interesting to note that they are not painted. Instead, the Zoot Suit SG is constructed from a number of laminated birch wood pieces (each approximately .075" thick) dyed with a different color, given two coats of satin nitrocellulose lacquer, then bonded together to form the body and the neck. In addition to the cosmetic effect, Gibson claims that the construction method "...yields maximum sustain and resonance." More » Taylor Guitars Celebrates 35th Anniversary Taylor Guitars of El Cajon, California, has announced the introduction of limited edition models in celebration of its 35th anniversary. Founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor (who at the time had not yet turned 20), Kurt Listug and Steve Schemmer and originally named Westland Music Company, by the end of its inaugural year the company could boast three employees, the production of six instruments, and having overcome several hurdles, including its original facility. "That place was so bad," says Listug. "The roof leaked like crazy, and whenever it rained, the place flooded. It rained hard the night before we opened [October 15, 1974], so we spent the entire morning of our first day in business trying to get as much water out of there as we could." Bob Taylor recalls the spirit of the company's early days: "When it flooded, we'd take all the sawdust that we'd already swept up, and sprinkle it around the floor to soak up the water. It made the place even more of a pig sty. But it was fun. What did we know? We were just kids. Somehow, we'd skirted having to get real jobs. We didn't have a boss, we were making guitars. What could be better?" More » Peter Wolf on the Guitar Manufacturing Industry In July of 2009, Modern Guitars columnist Peter Wolf announced the launch of his new business, Brandwolf Consulting, LLC, aimed at helping music instrument makers with sales, marketing and related strategic concerns such as branding and distribution. Wolf recently left Paul Reed Smith Guitars where he served as the company's Director of Sales & Marketing from 2004, having previously been the International Sales Manager for PRS since 1997. His business relationship with PRS, however, goes back to 1990 and Wolf's founding of PRS Guitars Germany, a distribution company that imported and distributed high-end guitars and amplifiers to Central European countries. According to a recent press release from Brandwolf Consulting, "Under his direction, PRS Guitars’ export sales increased 10-fold in only 10 years and distributors and dealers in 56 additional countries were appointed and cultivated." While on some levels the driving force behind guitar lutherie and making is a passion for the art and craft, economics plays a significant role in the contined health of the industry. Today's financial climate poses a challenge to how guitar makers and manufacturers go forward, if not an outright threat to whether or not they can. More » Guitar Luthier John Page and the Story of 016, Part Two Modern Guitars columnist John Page continues his photo chronicle of the creation of a new piece of electric guitar functional art in The Story of 016, Part Two. Page, who co-founded the Fender Custom Shop and who has been a leading proponent of how and why the contemporary electric guitar can serve a dual role as both working instrument (functional) and the source of visual pleasure (art), has pursued a career in fine art after leaving Fender, creating a number of successful art gallery-level wood-based sculptures. After a hiatus from guitar building, Page re-entered the field in 2006 with his completely hand-built custom line, the P-1. The Story of 016 discusses how Page's new twist on the P-1 incorporates his love of both finely built custom guitars and fine art. The client who commissioned the 016 asked Page if it could somehow serve as both a high-end guitar and a piece of art. "For me," says Page, "this is the best of all worlds, mix my two great passions, guitars and visual art!" More » Increase Website Traffic |