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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Les Paul, Guitar Innovator, Dies at 94 | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 13th, 2009 04:51 pm |
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1st Post |
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Will Approved 
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While Les Paul is perhaps best known for having a Gibson electric guitar model named after him, he is also credited with inventing the multi-track recording technique. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/13/arts/AP-US-Obit-LesPaul.html?_r=1&hp August 13, 2009 Les Paul, Guitar Innovator, Dies at 94 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- Les Paul, the guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording and had a string of hits, many with wife Mary Ford, died on Thursday. He was 94. According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side. He had been hospitalized in February 2006 when he learned he won two Grammys for an album he released after his 90th birthday, "Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played." "I feel like a condemned building with a new flagpole on it," he joked. As an inventor, Paul helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll and multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the "tracks" in the finished recording. [click URL above to read the rest of the article]
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 13th, 2009 05:55 pm |
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2nd Post |
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hrlarson Approved 
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Without him things would be very different. RIP Les.
____________________ I'm not addicted. I can stop playing anytime I want. |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 13th, 2009 07:36 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Tony Provencher Administrator 
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He was also a heckuva guitarist, as well as an inventor and innovator. His music is a real treat to listen to. I don't think anyone will be resting in peace, 'cause there's gonna be one heckuva jam up there for sure!
____________________  My ezFolk Page My Other Websites
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| Posted: Thu Aug 13th, 2009 10:09 pm |
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4th Post |
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theBlackman Approved 
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The greats do fade away over time. I thank him for the innovations. One minor point, sorry Will, he actually invented "Sound on sound" or "Sound with sound". In his day all we had (I remember it well) was a mono track recording system, so you recorded a line, then played that back and recorded that first one along with the second. It used to need two recorders.  Repeat as necessary to get the layers you needed. In fact, I still have a Ampex Micro recorder (mono) that made it easy to do. You can loop the play back into the recorder with a cable, record both the new and the old at the same time (on the same track) and use the volume control to adjust the input record level from the microphone. This with a single tape with recording #1 and the new recording overlayed (sound on sound) the first cut and the new one as a combined track. Basically it did not erase the first recording and "layered" the second on the same piece of tape.
____________________ Let each day start as a blank page for life to write upon. http://ezfolk.com/audio/dusty http://cdbaby.com/all/theblackman http://youtube.com/DustinFLeer |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 14th, 2009 01:58 pm |
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5th Post |
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Philj200 Approved 
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In the mid-70's his career was not doing well and he was working hard to rekindle interest in his music. By then most of his innovations and inventions had become standard SOP and to a sad-degree, he was being forgotten. A small media blitz was fielded where I played a weel part. At the time, I was writing a column for Modern HiFi magazine. I was assigned to go out to his home in New Jersey and interview him. The interview took all evening as I found him to be an open and genial man. Some of the parts I remember: 1. While most people have a stereo system in their living room. He had a radio station, a decent sized-AM transmitter. 2. I saw the aluminum guitar the presaged the solid-body wooden instruments he is more famous for. The metal body was an evolutionary dead-end. It was too good a conductor of heat. As the guitar would pass in and out of spotlights, it would go out of tune. 3. At the time, he had upwards of 300 guitars in his house. Most of the were Les Pauls. I mean, they were all over the place. And in every stage of catabolism. 4. He had workbenches and projects going all over the place too. and I seem to remember a live-in techie who assisted him. 5. He described how he had a (in the 50's) come up with a for-runner to multi-tracking. He hid an open reel tape recorder (remember them?) in a big Gibson brand amplifier. The amp was on coasters. He would push the amp right to the edge of the performance area and play chordal rhythms as he joshed-up the audience. Then he would play a piece. The audiences were always amazed to hear the rich sound mixed in with their own voices. Then he revealed how he was recording the chords and the commentary and mixing it into the solo performance on the fly. 6. I was cautioned not to ask personal questions (i.e., his former wife). And I didn't. The Gibson website has an honorable obit. As does today's NY Times. Wiki has information about Mary Ford that is worth reading.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Sun Aug 16th, 2009 03:40 pm |
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6th Post |
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mikelewis Approved 
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Phil, thanks for your post, very informative and insightful. Les Paul was quite the musician and innovator, and his Gibson Les Paul is an iconic instrument for sure. RIP Mr. Paul.
____________________ Michael David Lewis - ezFolk.com site Michael David Lewis - Official Website Michael David Lewis on MySpace |
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