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Home , Electric guitar, Gibson Les Paul, Guitar, Headstock, Humbucker

The Standard Electric The guitar is a that has been around for many centuries. Music composition and sound evolved quite drastically over time. Therefore, the guitar transformed and evolved as well. Since the beginning of the era, , such as , , and favored the Standard for its smooth playability as well as crisp and piercing tones. Amazingly the Gibson Les Paul consists of simple mechanisms. These simple mechanisms are found on the three main components of the Gibson Les Paul guitar: the , the neck, and the body.

The Headstock

The Neck

The Body

The Headstock The first component, the headstock, has its own subcomponent: the tuners. The headstock is one of the most significant parts of the guitar because it houses six tuners which tune the guitar strings as well as hold the strings in place. It is made out of wood and angled at fourteen degrees with respect to the neck. Tuners The Gibson Les Paul’s headstock houses six tuners with three on each side of the headstock that separately hold guitar strings E, A, D, G, B, and e in place. Depending on which side of the headstock the user turns the tuner knobs, the guitar produces lower or higher pitched tones when the (s) are plucked. Lower pitch results from the tuner knob turned in the direction that decreases the string tension, whereas the higher pitch results from the tuner knob turned in the direction that increases string tension.

The Neck The neck is another separate component of the Gibson Les Paul that consists of a few different subcomponents. The lies within the center of the guitar neck to bend its shape. In addition, the neck has twenty two spaced at a specified distance apart from each other and inserted into a board, which is also part of the neck. A is found at the end of the neck to align each string properly into a tuner. Like the headstock, the neck is made out of mahogany wood and has a wide profile with a thickness of 0.765 inches. Truss Rod The truss rod is a mechanism located in the center of the guitar neck that allows the user to manipulate the curvature of the neck. The truss rod can be turned either clockwise or counterclockwise resulting in the neck bowing concave up or concave down respectively. The Gibson Les Paul uses an 18 ½ inch length truss rod with an eight millimeter screw. Frets, Fret Board, and Nut Frets are made of an alloy of nickel and brass which are embedded along the fret board at different distances. The fret board itself is made of a 22 ¾ inch long piece of red , which increases tone resonation when the user presses a finger between two desired frets. The fret board includes trapezoidal pearl inlays that adorn the guitar neck as a whole. Between the headstock and the neck and attached to the fret board is the nut, which is made out of a corian plastic material with a width of 1.7 inches. The nut is responsible for correctly aligning the six strings being fed to the tuners located on the headstock. The Guitar Body The guitar body consists of the most crucial parts of the Gibson Les Paul. This component of the guitar is where sound is amplified and produced by hooking the guitar up to an . The body of the Les Paul is constructed with for the front face and mahogany for the back. Found on the body of a Les Paul are two pickups with a corresponding pickup that activates or deactivates the order of the pickups on the guitar. The guitar body contains a tail bar piece and , which are two subcomponents used as the starting point when re-stringing the electric guitar. Also, the Les Paul body includes two tone and volume control knobs, and an output jack. Pickups and Pickup Switch Pickups are the key mechanisms through which sound is amplified when the user plucks a string. The pickups are strong that turn the metal string vibrations into electrical current . The Gibson Les Paul has special pickups called . Each pickup consists of two single coil magnets wired together. The Humbucker pickups are connected to a pickup switch which activates the desired pickup. For example, if the user wants to acquire a muffled tone, the Humbucker pickup located near the bridge must be activated while the other pickup must be cut off. Because the Gibson Les Paul has two pickups, only three possible positions can be selected using the pickup switch.

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Tone and Volume Control Knobs, and Output Jack Two pairs of volume and tone controls are located on the body of the guitar. Each pair of controls corresponds to one of the Humbucker pickups. Volume control knobs act like resistors, electrical components that reduce current flow. If the volume control knob is turned down, more resistance will act against the electrical current coming from the pickups, thus the sound volume will be lower when the guitar is plugged into an amplifier. Tone control knobs work similarly by alternating the electrical current signal from the pickups, changing the tone of the guitar. The altered electrical current signals then travel to the output jack. The Les Paul has a standard quarter inch output jack making it convenient to connect with any guitar cable on the market. Bridge and Tail bar Piece The tail bar piece is the subcomponent of the guitar body that holds the six guitar strings in place. The tail bar is made from lightweight aluminum and has a silver plated chrome finish. Following the tail bar is the Tune-o-matic bridge screwed into the Les Paul’s body by two adjustable posts on each side, which are used for changing the bridge’s height. The Tune-o-matic bridge also consists of six saddles, adjustable mechanisms that have small grooves matching each string gauge. Conclusion In conclusion, the structure of the Standard Gibson Les Paul can be quickly summarized in terms of its three main components: headstock, neck, and body. Dividing the Les Paul into three separate parts allows for easier understanding of the functioning of the mechanisms in each component as well as an overview of the entire guitar. The guitar’s success is linked to its ability to produce a and roll tone, which results from its unique design and excellent selection of technological features.