Jeff Beck Interview: '54 Oxblood Les Paul

We saw the Gibson Jeff Beck 1954 Oxblood Les Paul a few weeks ago at NAMM; here's Jeff talking shop about the guitar and about musical inspiration. Good stuff.

Mike Bloomfield Prototype, Live in New York

If you're like us, you were wiping the drool off your chin looking at the gorgeous Gibson Custom Shop Mike Bloomfield Les Paul Prototype unveiled a few weeks ago at NAMM. And if you're in the New York area, you have a chance to see and hear this particular guitar in person at B.B. Kings on February 7th, played by Jimmy Vivino, according to Allen Bloomfield's blog. Allen Bloomfield is Mike's brother, and he is the rightful owner of the prototype Bloomfield Les Paul. It's cool that he's loaning out that beautiful Les Paul to do what it's meant to do. Jimmy Vivino will be performing at B.B. Kings to celebrate Al Kooper's birthday.

NAMM 09: Gibson Booth

The first stop for us each year at NAMM is upstairs where Fender and Gibson set up shop. We started with Gibson, who this year had a much larger room than last year which made for much easier viewing of the new stuff. Let's just get this out of the way: our favorite guitar in the room was this killer Michael Bloomfield Les Paul (above). Wow! A lot of attention in '09 will be paid to the 50th Anniversary 1959 Les Paul Reissues, which feature the first comprehensive revision to the specs (over 20 changes) since 2003:



The new '59s will be very limited, in both numbers and color. Only Cherry Sunburst and Dark Burst will be offered. We played a bunch at the booth and they feel great. They really were sweating the details to make this the most accurate reissue Les Paul they have ever produced. The soft V to the neck felt great, and, we didn't get to plug them in but we hear that the taper of the pots is finally just right. Contact us for a complete list of the updates to the entire Historic Les Paul line.

Here is a pretty new '59 335 Reissue:



And a Trini Lopez (with the trapeze tailpiece):



Another very cool Les Paul coming this year are the new '54 Oxblood Jeff Beck Les Pauls. They will be in both Signed/Replica and VOS trim, and the signed versions are coming back from London very soon, we hear. We'll have them! Have a look at the top-line replica on display in the booth:



Gibson spared no expense setting up a lavish interactive display for the Dark Fire Les Paul. The Dark Fire is essentially the second generation Robot Guitar, a self-tuning guitar that can store and instantly achieve alternate tunings. We spent a little time running one through it's paces, and we had a lot of fun. It's pretty cool to watch it instantly tune itself into an open G tuning, and then to dropped open D, and then... The Dark Fire:



Gibson Montana was showing in full force, with some cool signature guitars like this Elvis Costello:



Check out the mother-of-pearl fingerboard:



The acoustic Gibson that flat knocked us out was this 1942 J-45 Legend Special, a NAMM-only Special we'll be getting. It's made with hide glue just like the good ol' days, and sounded like a cannon going off:

The Wisdom of Les Paul

Esquire Magazine recently published these quotes from 93-year-old Les Paul, who still plays a weekly gig at the Iridium in New York City. He's a real Guitar Hero, kids:

"It's not technique -- it's what you have to say.

I got the mumps. They threw me in a crib so I wouldn't roll out onto the floor. And there's a big bay window in my house, and that window stayed perfectly still until that train started to chug. At a certain speed, I could reach up and feel the pane, and that glass pane would vibrate. I said, Doggone, there's got to be a reason for this. So I go to the kindergarten teacher, and she takes me to the science teacher, and the science teacher takes me to the library and reads it off to me -- "This is called resonance." That was the beginning.

The audience, they're not professionals. They just love music. It isn't necessary to play over their heads to be admired.

You can't go to the store and buy a good ear and rhythm.

I got out of the car and there was a knife in my neck. The guy says, "Don't move." And the drummer got out of the car, and he got a gun in his head. This was my entrance to the South Side of Chicago. But it was necessary, because I wanted to play jazz.

When rock came in, people didn't know what to do. Even Sinatra, he didn't know what to do. The music was changing. And it's changing now.

Last time I saw Count Basie, he was in a wheelchair. They wheeled him up onto the stage, he sits down at the piano, and he gives the downbeat, and that band played like they were in heaven. And right in the middle, the band cuts. He had to take one hand and put the other on it, and he comes down with one note. And it was the greatest note I ever heard in my life.

I gave up the guitar in 1965. Didn't want to see a guitar. I'd go out and get drunk. When I came out of the heart surgery, the doc said, "Promise me you'll work hard." I said, "I thought working hard is what got me here." He said, "No, working is what will keep you alive."

There are times when you want to go where you used to go and you can't go there. So I'm back to Count Basie lifting his hand. And I find you can stop that show with one note just like you can with a hundred.

I better go play now."

Interviewed by John H. Richardson, September 1, 2008

To Hell and Back: Extreme Relics

Larry Acunto profiles The Music Zoo's latest custom runs in the December issue of 20th Century Guitar magazine. From our Tom Murphy Ultra Aged Gibson Les Pauls to the superbad Nitro Aged Charvel® San Dimas guitars and Fender® Masterbuilt Ultimate Relic Stratocasters®, these guitars will have you doing double-takes. Click the cover image above to launch a photo gallery of the entire article.