Gibson Pure, Les Paul Standard, Flying V Owner's Manual
OWNER’S MANUAL
P U R E
®
© 2003 Gibson Guitar Corp.
To the new Gibson owner:
Congratulations on the purchase of your new Gibson electric guitar – the world’s most famous
electric guitar from the leader of fretted instru m e n t s .
Please take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with the information in this booklet re g a r ding
materials, electronics, “how to,” care, maintenance and more about your guitar.
And then begin enjoying a lifetime of music with your new Gibson.
The Components of an Electric Solidbody Guitar 4
Gibson Innovations 6
The History of Gibson Electric Guitars 8
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
B o d y 1 4
Neck and Headstock 1 4
P i c k u p s 1 5
C o n t ro l s 1 7
B r i d g e 1 9
Ta i l p i e c e 2 1
CARE AND MAINTENANCE
F i n i s h 2 2
Your Guitar on the Road 2 3
Things to Av o i d 2 4
S t r i n g s 2 4
Install your Strings Corre c t l y 2 6
String Gauge 2 7
Brand of Strings 2 7
S t r a p
B u t t o n
S t o p b a r
Ta i l p i e c e
Tu n e - o - m a t i c
B r i d g e
The Components
of the Solidbody
Electric Guitar
Featuring a Les Paul
S t a n d a rd in Heritage
C h e rry Sunburst
12th Fre t
M a r k e r / I n l a y
N e c k F re t N u t H e a d s t o c kF i n g e r b o a rd
Tu n i n g
K e y s
M a c h i n e
H e a d s
Truss
R o d
C o v e r
S i n g l e
C u t a w a y
P i c k u p s
B o d yTo n e
C o n t ro l s
Input Jack
T h re e - w a y
Toggle Switch
B i n d i n g
4
Vo l u m e
C o n t ro l s
S t r a p
B u t t o n
S t o p b a r
Ta i l p i e c e
Tu n e - o - m a t i c
B r i d g e
The Components
of the Solidbody
Electric Guitar
Featuring a Flying V
in Wo rn Cherry
12th Fre t
M a r k e r / I n l a y
N e c k F re t N u t H e a d s t o c kF i n g e r b o a rd
Tu n i n g
K e y s
M a c h i n e
H e a d s
Truss
R o d
C o v e r
P i c k u p s
To n e
C o n t ro l
Input Jack
Vo l u m e
C o n t ro l s
P i c k g u a rd
B o d y
T h re e - w a y
To g g l e
S w i t c h
5
H e r e are just a few of the Gibson innovations that have reshaped the guitar world:
1894 – First archtop guitar
1922 – First ƒ-hole archtop, the L-5
1936 – First professional quality electric guitar, the ES-150
1947 – P-90 single-coil pickup intro d u c e d
1948 – First dual-pickup Gibson, the ES-300
1949 – First three-pickup electric, the ES-5
1949 – First hollowbody electric with pointed cutaway, the ES-175
1952 – First Les Paul guitar
1954 – Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Jr. intro d u c e d
1955 – Les Paul Special intro d u c e d
1957 – First humbucking pickup
1958 – Flying V and Explorer intro d u c e d
6
1958 – First semi-hollowbody guitar, the ES-335
1961 – SG body style introduced in the Les Paul line
1963 – Fire b i rd guitars and Thunderbird basses intro d u c e d
1969 – Les Paul Personal and Professional with low-impedance pickups intro d u c e d
1979 – L.P. Artist with active electronics intro d u c e d
1982 – First solidbody acoustic, the Chet Atkins CE
1983 – Les Paul Studio intro d u c e d
1990 – Les Paul Classic intro d u c e d
1996 – Les Paul Smart W ood intro d u c e d
1998 – Double-Cutaway Les Paul Standard intro d u c e d
2002 – Gibson Digital Electric Guitar intro d u c e d
7
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GIBSON ELECTRIC GUITA R S
G i b s o n ’s legendary acoustic engineer, Lloyd Loar, was experimenting with electric
i n s t ruments in 1924, at the dawn of electronic amplification. However, Gibson’s stru ggle to dominate the banjo market took precedence through the 1920s, and it wasn’t
until the mid-1930s that the company once again turned its attention to electric
guitars. In 1935 Gibson’s Walt Fuller designed a pickup that was introduced on the
E-150, an aluminum-body lap steel. Early in 1936, the pickup was put in a midline
a rchtop model and named the ES-150 – ES for Electric Spanish, 150 for the re t a i l
price of $150 for the guitar and amplifier set.
The original ES-150 bar pickup with its hexagonal housing is now known as the
“Charlie Christian” pickup, because it was installed on the ES-150s and ES-250s that
Christian used to establish the new concept of electric jazz guitar.
Gibson made several improvements in pickup design before World War II, although
many players still consider the “Christian” pickup to be the best jazz pickup ever
8
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