The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typical design features a solid mahogany body with a carved maple top and a single cutaway, a mahogany set-in neck with a rosewood fretboard, two pickups with independent volume and tone controls, and a stoptail bridge, although variants exist.
Gibson Les Paul
Les Paul playing his signature model with Mary Ford in 1954
Goldtop Les Paul with the 1952-style trapeze-style bridge
Les Paul logo on headstock
A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect the vibrations of the strings; these instruments are usually plugged into an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to be heard. Solid-body instruments are preferred in situations where acoustic feedback may otherwise be a problem and are inherently both less expensive to build and more rugged than acoustic electric instruments.
Fender Esquire 1st prototype in 1949 at Fender Guitar Factory museum
Example : Mid-1970s "Lawsuit Era", solid-body, set neck, Mann/Ibanez electric guitar