A brand-new recording studio has opened up in Hollywood, California, honoring the legacy of Les Paul, the man who helped revolutionize the electric guitar.
Named The Les Paul Recording Studio, of course, it features “meticulously restored original equipment used by the legendary inventor and guitarist, including his groundbreaking audio console and 8-channel recording set up”.
Les Paul is best known for his namesake solid-body guitar design, which Leo Fender courted before Gibson was convinced of its worth, but he also made a raft of innovations in the recording world.
Working out of his Hollywood garage, Paul poured hours into developing “the new sound” and his work brought multi-track recording, sound-on-sound, close mic’ing, overdubbing, speed manipulation, and echo to the fore, changing the recording landscape forever.
As such, the change-making 8-track console he built with Rein Narma in the 1950s stands as the new studio’s centrepiece. Known as “The Monster” – but not to be confused with “The Beast”, a seven-necked guitar that is heading to auction this month – the console featured in-line equalization and vibrato effects that were way ahead of its time.
In fact, multi-track recording, today more commonplace than darkness at night time, was born on the console. Les Paul’s Ampex 5258 Sel-Sync machine, dubbed “The Octopus,” sits alongside it – he loved a nickname, apparently. This was the first-ever 8-track recorded producer.
However, the studio isn’t just about showcasing the groundbreaking and now vintage gear. The Les Paul Studio has plenty of state-of-the-art technologies nestled within its four walls, too.
“We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear to working condition, allowing today’s artists to record using the exact tools that revolutionized popular music,” says studio owner Michael Braunstein.
“Combined with the newest technology and digital recording tools, the Les Paul Recording Studio will welcome musical artists, producers, engineers, and students to a new and innovative studio environment that is the only one of its kind in the world.”
The studio will also double up as an educational tool for students to study and record with its equipment. Braunstein calls it “an ideal setting for the next generation of musical artists, to find inspiration in the rich history the studio has to offer”.
Guitar World has also spotted Gibson’s Mary Ford-honoring Standard Gold Top Les Paul in a studio snap, which is a lovely touch.
The Les Paul Recording Studio is located in the historic United Recording building at 6050 Sunset Blvd, which has seen everyone from Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys to Tool and the Mars Volta record albums.
Head to Les-Paul.com to learn more.
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