What Les Paul Gave Recording

by Jason Johnston

Certainly the first thought that comes to mind when you hear the name "Les Paul" is his greatest invention in the history of Rock n' Roll: the solid body electric guitar. But with his recent death, we should remember his equally amazing contribution to the world of audio recording and engineering. A part of his history many people don't know.

We must not forget on the outset, that Les Paul (born Lester William Polsfuss) was a talented musician who sold millions of records. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and his inventions were an outcome of his creativity matched with a need. He first invented the technique of overdubbing and used it extensively on these early recordings. The first was his 1947 recording of, "Lover (When You're Near Me)," where he used a method of mixing a new sound with the previous recorded sound on acetate disks (phonograph records). He would then use the new recording to mix with his new playing and record. The final song was made from eight separate guitar parts, each overdubbed on top of the other: the first in history. His extensive experiments also resulted in the first electronically produced reverb, delay and echo.

This technique of overdubbing grew into what became "multi-track recording" when he invested his own money and commissioned Ampex in 1954 to build the first eight track multi-track tape recorder. In the multi-track a recording head could record a new track and play back previously recorded tracks simultaneously. This idea of being able to record new sounds over top of the old may have come from his childhood when he would modify the player piano rolls by punching out new notes (surely much to the alarm of his parents). This may be the most influential invention in the history of recording. Les Paul was the Gutenberg of audio. After the first 8 Track Ampex multi-tracker was created and installed into Les Paul's home studio (Pictured here as the silver stack on the right) The invention was later known as the Ampex Sel-Sync (Selective Synchronization). This was the foundation of all modern multi-track techniques, even to today's most cutting edge multi-track software like Pro Tools, Cubase or Sonor utilizing computers and hard drives.

Les Paul said his greatest God-given gifts were perfect pitch, a love for music with the ability to learn it quickly, and the curiosity and persistence of an inventor who wants to know "how things tick." These gifts lead to many more gifts he left behind for the world of music and recording.

Sources:
http://www.reevesaudio.com/visitlesandmary.html
Les Paul, Recording-tech pioneer dies at 94, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10309101-1.html
The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy: 1915-1963, pg. 4-,Robb Lawrence, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul
http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Paul_Les.html