The Gibson Les Paul Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul [Hardcover]

Paul Balmer (Author), Les Paul (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2008

This is the first ever hands-on how-to manual devoted to the famous Gibson Les Paul, in production since 1952.  This guidebook shows owners and dreamers the basics of selecting and buying a Les Paul; maintenance and repairs such as tuning, setting intonation, tremolo alignment, fret repairs, bridge and nut adjustments, electrics troubleshooting; spur-of-the-moment stageside fixes; basic "performance" enhancements; and more.  With tips and techniques specific to each of the numerous Les Paul models, this book is the guitarist’s ticket to electrifying success.       

 

Along with the Fender Stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul is without doubt the most iconic electric guitar ever made--beloved and sought after by guitarists everywhere. It’s the signature sound for musicians as distinguished and different as Jimmy Page, Carl Perkins, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons, Mudy Waters, and Frank Zappa.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Vintage Guitar Magazine

“…a great reference for budding rockers, as it covers the Epiphone models as well as the older Gibson brothers and is packed with tips and tricks to make any Les-Paul-style guitar play better…Especially useful are the photos that show nearly every current variation of Les Paul with various parts removed and describing the placement of wiring and screws…It makes for a great reference shelf item for those times when your Les Paul needs a little extra.”

Canadian Musician

“…the ultimate owner's manual for these iconic instruments.”

Book Description

This is the first hands-on how-to manual devoted to the legendary Gibson Les Paul, a guitar favored by stars like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, to name just a few.  This guidebook shows owners and dreamers the basics of selecting and buying a Les Paul; maintenance and repairs such as tuning, setting intonation, tremolo alignment, fret repairs, bridge and nut adjustments, electrics troubleshooting; spur-of-the-moment stageside fixes; basic "performance" enhancements; and more.  With tips and techniques specific to each of the many Les Paul models, this book is the apprentice guitarist’s ticket to electrifying success.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760334706
• ISBN-13: 978-0760334706
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Balmer was born in Liverpool England in 1951.
He performed as part of the 'Merseybeat' scene from 1962 until 1974.

He also studied classic guitar with the great Brendan McCormack and drums with Ron Parry.

In 1974 Paul joined the BBC at Pebble Mill studios initially as a sound engineer and then trained as a radio producer and television director.He presented many music programmes on BBC Radio 3

Founding his company 'Music On Earth'in 1991 he travelled extensivly making programmes such as 'Africa I Remember' for BBC2.

In 2002 his DVD film Stephane Grappelli a life in the Jazz Century was nominated for a British Academy Award.

The book of the film 'Stephane Grappelli With and Without Django' was well recieved by GRAMOPHONE -..useful and interesting..fine writing..good research sorting the facts from the myths! Guitarist Julian Bream declared it "a fascinating part of jazz history vividly retold!"

In 2007 Paul's film 'Julian Bream My Life In Music' became The Gramophone DVD of the year.

he has written 6 books including contributions to The Penguin Encyclopedia of Music.
His guitar series has been well recieved;

THE FENDER BASS MANUAL

Fantastic! Very, very impressive. - stewmac.com

"The latest volume of this brilliant series is stacked with tips...should be considered an essential purchase for any owner" GUITARIST magazine

This expertly researched edition is superbly illustrated and all very readable given Balmer's friendly and chatty approach JAZZWISE


"Well organised and nicely photographed it's a thorough and worthy purchase" - GUITAR & Bass Magazine


TELECASTER MANUAL

" The ultimate tome ... Superb ... a must for every Telecaster owner" - GUITAR BUYER

"GENIUS!" - MI Pro (Musical Instrument Professional)

"AWESOME!" - The Editor 'PLAYMUSIC'

" ... packed with essential information about one of the greatest guitars that has ever twanged upon this earth ... the right level of insight and detail for players to gain a better understanding and confidence" - GUITARIST

"The complete guide to sourcing, setting up and maintaining your Tele" - TOTAL GUITAR

STRATOCASTER MANUAL

"FAN-STRATING-TASTIC!" - GUITAR BUYER MAGAZINE

"Thanks for the Fender book, I can now tune up and start playing" - HANK MARVIN

"Should come as standard with every new Strat" - STEWMAC.COM

LES PAUL MANUAL
"The definitive book on the Les Paul"- PERFORMING MUSICIAN

"Great for budding rockers - a great reference item for when your Les Paul needs a little extra" - VINTAGE GUITAR

TELECASTER MANUAL

"This manual is one of those books where you'll dip in to find something specific and realise sometime later you've read way more than you originally planned - always the sign of a job well done!" - GUITAR & BASS

"... useful tips ... interesting ... useful comparative measurements ... enough in the way of general information, large photographs, to earn it a place in your bathroom for weeks to come." - PERFORMING MUSICIAN

"A Comprehensive Guide" - GUITAR TECHNIQUES

"64 fascinating pages of repair, maintenance and good old fashioned TLC - the narrative brings the subject matter to life ... good practice whatever guitar you play ... fascinating" - UK ROCK MAGAZINE

"... the ultimate owner's manual for these iconic instruments" - CANADIAN MUSICIAN

"It isn't hard to make a good guitar sound great even on a limited budget - this book is one of the best at showing you how" - VINTAGE GUITAR

"Look's fantastic! , they have become our favorite place to go when looking up facts about Les Paul's, Strat's or Tele's." STEWMAC.COM

He is currently writing The Haynes Acoustic Guitar Manual and A Haynes Electric Guitar Primer.
He lives in Oakley Vale England with Judy Caine and their son Karl

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more history than set up and troubleshooting, December 26, 2009

By 

James Gelb "tone deaf" (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gibson Les Paul Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul (Hardcover)

This book has a good history of the Les Paul guitars but is weaker on the topics I actually purchased it for, such as set up and troubleshooting.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Covers the basics but more information please, June 11, 2009

By 

James A. Carlon "Big Jim" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gibson Les Paul Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul (Hardcover)

If your aim is to buy a book which explains the basics of setting up a Les Paul then this book does achieve this. It also touches in areas of modification and repair. However, for my liking it doesn't really provide enough detail.

The book lists the recommended settings by Gibson for saddle height, pickup height, neck relief, etc but strangely the author doesn't offer any opinions on these settings as even Gibson is referenced as stating that some settings can be subjective - for example pick up height. Another small criticism is that the information for setting up is not all under one section. The neck relief and pick up height is in another section of the book.

The book has some nice illustrations and provides interesting reading on some famous Les Pauls and their owners but I would have liked lots more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Les Paul Primer, January 6, 2009

By 

Richard Prokopchuk (Tucson Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gibson Les Paul Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul (Hardcover)

The LP Handbook is a great primer for people new to the Les Paul and thinking of getting one. It's a great quick reference guide for those same people who want to take care of their guitars themselves and not pay high rates at the local guitar repair shop. In that same context however, it's great for folks who need to look up one particular thing. The facts aren't strewn all over the place, they are in one neatly organized area. Why read through repairing Fenders or Guilds to get to the good stuff? Super book. Lester should be proud. Did I say great enough times ??