Lester William Polsfuss

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Two days ago, the great Les Paul died.

Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009) was a musician and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar, which "made the sound of rock and roll possible." He is credited with many recording innovations, including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound, delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording.

His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many of the guitarists of the present day. He and his wife Mary Ford had many hit records in the 1950s.

Les Paul is well known for his collaboration with Gibson to form the Gibson Les Paul, one of the most famous solid-body guitars in the world. It has been used by many guitar legends including Slash, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Pete Townshend, and Rick Hallenback.

So, the Gibson Les Paul is one of the most famous solid-body guitars in the world. The other equally famous solid-body electric guitar would be the Fender Stratocaster.

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The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top horn for balance while standing. The Stratocaster has been used by many leading guitarists, and thus can be heard on many historic recordings. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and the Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most common and enduring models of electric guitar in the world. The design of the Stratocaster has transcended the field of music to rank among the classic industrial designs of all time; examples have been exhibited at major museums around the world.

Users of this model include David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray.

A dead giveaway in differentiating Gibson and Fender guitars would be the headstock, (the head above the neck). Fenders have all six tuners on one side while the Gibsons have 3 tuners on each side.

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Here you have Joan Jett on a Gibson.

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And here you have Joan Jett & the Blackhearts with their famous I Love Rock N Roll. Turn up the volume a little, will you?