Les Paul was not only a virtuoso guitar player, he was also an innovator and inventor who brought electronics experimentation to the music scene that enabled many of the sound devices we now have in rock ‘n roll. Yet he wasn’t a rock player. He primarily played jazz.

Paul, who died from complications of pneumonia at 94 Thursday, developed some of the early amplifiers for guitar, overdubbing — in its early stages called sound-on-sound — various delay and phasing effects and tape looping copied by such companies as MXR and Line 6, among many others. And, of course, let’s not forget he created the original design for what became the Gibson Les Paul guitar, synonomous with rock ‘n roll and originally rejected by Gibson.

In the video below Paul duets with country legend Chet Atkins on Avalon, both showing off their considerable skill and technique.

In the next clip, Paul demonstrates the Les Pulverizer, his tape loop machine. Continue reading So long Les →