 The 1971 Gibson Les Paul Low Impedance Catalogue
The late sixties and early seventies were pivotal times for the world guitar markets. Mass production was becoming the norm, and American guitar companies were struggling to compete with their cheaper Japanese rivals. Gibson did not stop experimenting however and innovations with higher end models included the Les Paul Personal, and Professional guitars, with a matching Les Paul Bass. These were low impedance instruments designed specifically for recording, 'a guitar that can virtually produce any sound that you would want'. (Incidently, this spirit of bass innovation continued with the moving pickup of the Grabber, and later with active models such as the RD Artist; another Bruce Bolen idea that was too ahead of its time to be commercially sucessful).
Les Paul describes the thinking behind this series.
'For years i've worked to produce a multitude of distinctive guitar sounds. The hang-up was to obtain everything in one guitar, now i'm not talking about gimmickry, i'm talking about the real McCoy; authentic guitar sounds, the type of highs that can rip your ears off, the type of bass response that's clean and clear. Every note must be balanced and offer maximum sustain.'. |  |
Gibson changed hands in December 1969, and number of models changed significantly over the next few years. Cheaper models (the SB series) were introduced to compete on a budget level, and the Les Paul Bass and Professional guitar were redesigned to become the Les Paul Recording guitar and Triumph bass respectively. So in 1971, to launch the newly redesigned models a 4 side low impedance Les Paul catalogue was produced including an interesting flexi disc demonstrating some of the many sounds possible. The disc was narrated by Les Paul himself, and guitars were played by Bruce Bolen.
Side one featured only the Les Paul Recording guitar, and sound clips can be found on the vintage guitars website. Side 2 featured a track named Tomorrow, today recorded by Gibson product development director, Bruce Bolen, who plays both instruments, and is presented here.
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